Male teachers: always valued AND vulnerable
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost
As a man who chose to teach, I took the road less travelled, and that HAS made all the difference. This was the focus of my PhD research and my work as a teacher, administrator and curriculum consultant for many years.
Back in 1977 I was hired by the Calgary Board of Education to teach kindergarten. I became the subject of a front-page article in The Calgary Herald in 1978 as the only man teaching kindergarten.
I loved teaching and focused my time and energy into becoming a good teacher. I read good picture books, I set up the centres, I took my guitar to school and we sang silly songs. I attended workshops and meetings for kindergarten teachers. However, beginning in my first year I heard comments from parents, teachers, administrators, librarians, secretaries and caretakers about my presence in the school building as a man. I heard that I was a good role model for boys, and that more men should teach in the elementary school.
While I described myself as a creative teacher, an effective writing teacher, a teacher-researcher, a musician, and a writer (Jones, 2002, 2017, 2022, 2024, 2024) yet others consistently labeled me a male teacher. What does this mean? Why do others continue to see my maleness as important? Who am I as a teacher? And who am I as a male teacher? Who am I, in this place (the elementary classroom)? Even though I always felt supported and valued, I began to feel increasingly uneasy about my position in schools, as a man.
An Unwritten Expectation
This is probably the statement I have heard the most: I am a good role model. The boys need positive role models. Do we ask women to “be” female role models? Do we ask what kind of female role models we see in elementary school? Is teacher-as-mother/nurturer an adequate female role model?
The question is, which role(s) are men expected to model? Some people express the hope that a man will present a model of a less traditional expression of masculinity, so that children observe a man who sits on a chair reading stories to young children, zips up their coats, sings songs, and treats women as friends and colleagues. Others hope that men will model traditional male behaviours so children experience a good disciplinarian, a sports coach, science teacher, administrator or a computer expert. Single moms will request the male teacher for their children (sons and daughters) expressing a need for a man in their lives.
To become a “male role model” is an unwritten expectation of the teaching position, yet when I sit in a classroom surrounded by children no one tells me how to “become” a role model, or what kind of role I should model.
Allen (1993, 1997) has written extensively about male teachers. The men in his (1993) study “were at a loss to identify exactly what this work (role modeling) consisted of” (p. 122) or how to do it, “beyond ‘doing what men do’. They sensed others’ conflicting definitions of the male role itself: the disciplinarian surrogate father engaged only in ‘unfeminine’ activities, or the feminine, nurturing, empathic companion to children” (p.126). Men are placed in a paradoxical position, he continues, for “even as they were expected to be a male role model, they were simultaneously stereotyped as feminine – because of the work that they do.”
He coined the phrase “anomaly as exemplar” to express this contradiction. Men, who are engaged in work viewed as “women’s work”, are an anomaly, yet are asked to represent “maleness” to the students. Moreover, as teachers of young children, men walk a fine line, he continues. “Conforming too closely to traditional definitions of masculinity again raises doubts about men’s competence as teachers, while emphasizing nurturance and sensitivity opens men to the charges of effeminacy, or even worse” (p.126).
Because of our presence in the elementary school, we can become a different stereotype in every person’s mind. There are conflicting expectations on the men.
My metaphors of male teachers
I represent the challenges of the ‘male role model” with my list of metaphors. Each of these are on a range of positive to negative. I include these so readers can think about your view of men in schools. I have presented these metaphors in conferences, and in conversations with men and women about the teachers in your schools.
- The Big Bad Wolf. We are always the BBW in our culture. But in the school sometimes we are asked to be the discipliner. Parents said “I’m glad my child has a man teacher, because he listens to men”.
- Father figure Parents often said – we’re so happy to see a man in this school, you are a good father figure. But never call a woman teacher a good mother figure. And some father figures are negative…What kind of father? Why do we bring images of home into the school?
- Different from “typical men” but not too different. “Typical men” don’t like kids, don’t care for children, cause violence, don’t help out in the kitchen. Or “typical men” might represent what some call “toxic masculinity”. Or men who benefit from the patriarchy. Those men who do NOT fit as “typical” might be men who don’t fit in. Parents and other staff have different definitions of “typical” and want us to be NOT that.
- Lone wolf at the end of the hall. An only man can feel lonely. It can be challenging to have work friends when they are all women.
- Fox in the farmyard. Like a fox in the farmyard, why are you there? Others may assume that the men are up to no good. Or perhaps you plan to become an administrator.
- The volunteer handyman. The male teachers are asked to move equipment, set up chairs, fix the computers, boost start cars.
- The thorn among many roses. Men can feel like we are always the thorns among the roses.
- AND a care giver. Men in caring professions value their contributions and are proud of their work.
In school, elementary children meet mostly women teachers, and so the lone male teacher takes on a strong identity. He is always special and always noticed. However, over time, some men find it increasingly difficult to live up to the conflicting expectations. How do men form appropriate, healthy, caring relationships with children, parents and women colleagues? How do men protect themselves, while working in a caring profession? What does it mean to be a “male”?
As an advocate for men in the classroom, I find it interesting that the call for diversity, equity and inclusion does NOT include a call for more male teachers. Children have a right to be taught by both men and women. Men and women working together provide positive models for children. I think, I hope, that my presence in schools promotes alternative, non-violent, image of maleness. Some students connect best with women, others with men. In times of staff shortage in the caring professions, we continue to hire from half the population.
So what can you do to support the men who choose to teach?
If we are not going to see more men in our schools, how can you support the men on your staff, so they will stay in teaching?
- Men need mentors. In your school, you can mentor and support at least one man who teaches. Email articles. Meet him for coffee. Help men connect to other men. I organized “Burgers and Beer” dinners. I organized a men’s book study group about teaching boys.
- Men need protection. Processes need to be in place around caregiving, touching, supervising washrooms, working with students after school and meetings with parents.
- All teachers need to understand the complexities and contradictions male teachers experience in the workplace, and support the men in their schools who continue to teach. How do you work with your male colleagues? Challenge YOUR stereotypes about gender. Do you assume the men are “good with boys”? Do you resent the men on staff?
- Young men need encouragement to teach and care for children. This acts against typical gender roles in our culture. Notice the young men you meet, the volunteer coach, the swim teacher and the summer camp staff. Encourage those men to consider teaching. Many men in my classes told me they never thought about teaching, and they never saw male teachers until high school. High schools can offer opportunities for students to experience non-typical occupations. High schools near an elementary school can offer credits to volunteer.
- Leadership in a school must support male teachers on staff.
- Avoid depicting gender stereotypes in promotional materials.
- Men: write your stories. Keep a journal. Present at conferences. Talk to high school students. Your very presence demonstrates that men CAN teach.
I believe that children have a right to be taught by men and women (all genders). They experience the wide range of characteristics, behaviours, ways of being when they learn with all genders. Some students relate best to women, others relate best to men. I think the presence of male and female teachers contribute to children’s gender knowledge. Teaching IS viewed as the work of women if all teachers are women. You are an exemplar. Focus less on the “male role model” and more on providing all children with opportunities to relate to a diverse range of adults.
References
Allan, J. (1993). Male elementary teachers: Experiences and perspectives. In Williams, C. L. (Ed.) Doing “Women’s Work”: Men in Nontraditional Occupations. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Allan, J. (1997). The Persistent Fewness of Men Elementary Teachers: Hypotheses from Their Experiences, Paper presented at Annual Meeting of the Midwest Sociological Society. East Lansing, MI: National Centre for Research on Teacher Learning. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 418 064).
Frost, R. (2013). The collected poems. Vintage Classics.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken
Hallgren E. Schulte B. Miller R. (2021) Professional caregiving men find Meaning and Pride in their Work, But Face Stigma. New America Wash. DC. https://www.newamerica.org/better-life-lab/reports/professional-caregiving-men-find-meaning-and-pride-their-work-face-stigma/
Jones G.R. (2017) Burgers and Beer: an informal group supports male teachers. Education Canada EdCan Network. Fall 2017
https://www.edcan.ca/articles/burgers-and-beer/
Jones G.R. (2024) The stories of retired male school teachers, now teaching education students at various universities. Prism. University of Calgary https://hdl.handle.net/1880/120117
Jones G.R. (2024) Male Elementary School Teachers — Still an Endangered Species. news&views autumn 2024 (vol33.1)
Articles about male teachers
Germain Dominique (2023). Gender diversity in early childhood education: a cause that is advancing at a snail’s pace. Child Care Federation. Copyright © 2023 Canadian Child Care
Germain Dominique Coordinator, Early Childhood Education Collège Montmorency, LavalCanadian
https://cccf-fcsge.ca/ece-resources/topics/diversity/gender-diversity-early-childhood-education-cause-advancing-snails-pace/
McGrath Kevin F. Bhana Deevia. Van Bergen, Penny. Moosa Shaaista
Do we really need male teachers? Forget those old reasons, here’s new research
https://blog.aare.edu.au/do-we-really-need-male-teachers-forget-those-old-reasons-heres-new-research/
Smith, J. 2004. Male primary teachers: Disadvantaged or advantaged? Paper presented to the Australian Association for Rese3arch in Education Conference. Melbourne Australia. Retrieved from http://www.aare.edu.au/data/publications/2004/smi04051.pdf
