MenTeach E-News
June 2012
1) Clemson Call Me MISTER program to expand into Mississippi
2) Numbers of Manitoba (Canada) male child care workforce increasing
3) Can older males get hired as a teacher?
4) University enrollments in Australia buck trend on male teachers
5) Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Teachers and Accusations of Abuse
6) Are the percentages of male teachers going up or going down?
7) A letter: Gender equity for men in Maine
8) Wanted: Black male teachers across the nation
9) International Conference “Men in Early Childhood Education and Care” in Germany
10) St. Paul teacher retiring
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1) Clemson Call Me MISTER program to expand into Mississippi
The successful and nationally recognized Call Me MISTER program, established at Clemson University in 2000 to increase the number of African-American males teaching in K-12 schools, will collaborate with Jackson State University to increase the diversity of available teachers in Mississippi. This collaboration will be funded by a $200,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek, MI. Read the article: /node/1929
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2) Numbers of Manitoba (Canada) male child care workforce increasing
I just got these numbers (see below) from my contact within our Provincial government of Manitoba (Canada). I certainly am encouraged, as the trend seems to be in an upward direction. The fact that our government even cares enough to keep these numbers is amazing in its own right. See the numbers: /node/1931
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3) Can older males get hired as a teacher?
[MenTeach: We receive many letters from men writing about their job searches. Has this been your experience looking for a teaching job? Are older men being hired?]
Thank you for taking an interest in my story. I am convinced, though, that my story is far from unique. I suspect that it is commonplace and I urge you to seek out others who have the same story to tell. The more information we can get and the more widely we can disseminate this information the better. People, especially women, need to know about this. There is widespread, institutionalized anti-male discrimination in the teaching profession. Read the rest of his letter: /node/1934
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4) University enrollments in Australia buck trend on male teachers
The number of men enrolled in tertiary education courses is at odds with a perceived shortage of male teachers in schools. The University of Newcastle’s Dean of Education Professor Jenny Gore said the proportion of male enrolments in teaching courses had remained relatively stable at about 26 per cent of the total education student population over the past five years. The number of men enrolled in the university’s education programs has increased by 37 per cent between 2007 and 2012.
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5) Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Teachers and Accusations of Abuse
We publish letters and articles on a regular basis from men falsely accused. One of our members, Professor Jon Bradley has been interviewing both men and women about this issue. He recommends a book called: Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Teachers and Accusations of Abuse. by Matthew D Olson & Gregory Lawler.
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6) Are the percentages of male teachers going up or going down?
MenTeach gets interviewed by media on a regular basis. One of the biggest challenges is when all of the interview doesn’t get included. For example, in ExchangeEveryDay, June 7, 2012, we see a headline: Male Teachers Declining. Here’s the article: “The economic downturn seems to have worsened an already vast gap between the numbers of men and women teachers, particularly in the early grades,” writes Sarah Sparks in Education Week (May 9, 2012).
According to the “U.S. Bureau of Census Labor Statistics 2011 Current Population Survey,” men make up only 18.3 percent of elementary- and middle-school teachers and 2.3 percent of preschool and kindergarten instructors – “a dip from the 2007 prerecession proportions of 19.1 percent in grades 1 to 8 and 2.7 percent in preschool and kindergarten.” Bryan Nelson, of the World Forum Men in Early Childhood Education Working Group, believes this differs from previous economic declines when more men entered K-12 teaching. Read the entire editorial: /node/1943
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7) A letter: Gender equity for men in Maine
My name is Barbara Barth and I wear a couple of hats at Central Maine Community College (CMCC) in Auburn, Maine. I’m an adjunct faculty member (economics), a part-time advisor (for General Studies students and student athletes) and the part-time Gender Equity Coordinator. In addition, I am an ordained Episcopal clergy who works in the Episcopal Diocese of Maine as a supply pastor/priest. As the Gender Equity coordinator at CMCC I oversee our “office” whose task it is to support men and women who are studying and preparing for work in non-traditional fields of study for their gender. Christina Libby is our resource person for purchasing at the College (she placed the order) and she forward your email to me. Read her letter: /node/1946
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8) Wanted: Black male teachers across the nation
It’s a nationwide problem – the shortage of Black male teachers. Only two percent of the nation’s nearly five million teachers are African American. “That’s one in 50 teachers. Something is wrong with that picture,” says U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “As a country, we have a huge challenge to make sure many more of our young Black boys are successful. Our graduation rates have to go up dramatically, our dropout rates have to go down. To get there, I’m convinced we have to have more men of color teaching, being role models, being mentors and doing so not just in high school but on the elementary level.” Go to website: /node/1947
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9) International Conference “Men in Early Childhood Education and Care” in Germany
The International Conference “Men in Early Childhood Education and Care” on the 27th and 28th of September 2012 in Berlin, Germany.
The Coordination Centre “Men in early childhood education” and the Faculty of Primary Education of the Humboldt University Berlin invites you to attend the international conference “Men in Early Childhood Education and Care: Strategies, experiences and perspectives”. The conference will be held on September 27/28th 2012 in Berlin and will be supported by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. To read the entire invitation: /node/1849
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10) St. Paul teacher retiring
Parenting is tough. This St. Paul teacher made it easier. Now he’s retiring. He gets guys to croon “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” moms to open up about hormonal rollercoasters and kids to put away their toys. He started a support group of sorts for stay-at-home dads, a rock band that sings about the twists-and-turns of parenting — and a backlash against lavish kid birthday parties that went international. This week, Todd Kolod wrapped up a career of nearly three decades in St. Paul’s early childhood and family education program. The soft-spoken, self-effacing 56-year-old is a bona fide celebrity among the program’s graduates. He’s known for his guitar, the pioneering dads-only classes he launched at the Rondo Education Center and his frankness. That extends to his own turbulent childhood, which has fueled his on-the-job longevity. Read the rest of his story: /node/1952
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