What it’s like to be a man in primary teaching

Male teachers face everything from acceptance to hostility regarding their career choice. August Deshais, a kindergarten teacher for Cutten School District in Eureka, California, took a year-long preparatory course before entering the credential program.

A woman stood up in class to announce, “The only men that would want to work with young children are molesters or homosexuals.”

Luckily, the rest of the class did not hold her offensive opinion, but the fact remains that men in childcare positions are often viewed with suspicion.

To Friends fans, think back to the episode in which Ross and Rachel are searching for a nanny. The only qualified is a man. Despite taking excellent care of their baby, Ross announces that he is too uncomfortable and fires him. The “manny” (male nanny) is given stereotypically feminine qualities such as crying over everything. It is also suggested that he must be gay or at least bisexual.

The interaction is humorous, but it highlights a deep stereotype. Because men are not thought of as particularly emotional, they are not supposed to inhabit the more nurturing or motherhood-y roles like babysitting and teaching.

Women’s work

August said: “I have heard from older male teachers that when they expressed an interest in teaching primary (K-2), they were told that was not for men by their administrators. I imagine that view point may still exist in some areas, but hopefully it is decreasing.”

Another Cutten School teacher, Mike Richards, who taught kindergarten for eight years and now teaches second grade, says when he taught kindergarten, “Parents seemed to grill me the first time I met them. I would get asked a lot of questions regarding why I wanted to teach Kindergarten, and I could definitely tell that I was being studied pretty closely. Second grade seems to be a little different. However, this also may be because I came to a school where the culture seems to have already accepted males in the primary grades. The first school I was at had only myself as a male teacher in any grade less than third.”

Nurturing roles like teaching continue to be overwhelmingly dominated by women.

August said: “For some it may be due to the lack of men teaching in primary grades providing examples for those considering that path in the future. I hope that will not be the case for my students as some of them may someday consider teaching, and will hopefully remember they had a male kindergarten teacher.”

Building diversity takes time, and individuals need to be shown just how many opportunities are available.

Becoming a teacher

Mike said: “I wanted to pursue a career that would not just fulfill my financial goals. I saw teaching as a job that could be looked at from the inside out. I wasn’t pursuing it to pay the bills. I wanted to be a teacher because I love kids and I wanted to make a difference.”

August had similar reasons saying, “Between realizing I have more patience than the average person, combined with the fact that I was always impressed when I encountered men working in my daughters’ preschools, I decided to return to school for a teaching credential (with the hope of specifically becoming a kindergarten teacher). My hope, besides ensuring that my students are prepared to be successful students and contributing members of society, is that I will serve as a positive, nurturing, male role model in their lives.”

Being nurturing is not uniquely feminine just as being analytical is not uniquely male.

So why is it so important to have men in the classroom?

Discipline is cited as a male strong point. Mike encountered a mother who specifically requested male teachers for her children because, “She felt that her children tried to ‘test’ females too much and they were good at getting away with doing it. Now, this in no way means that a male runs any more of a disciplined environment than a female, but to this parent it seems to be so.”

Fourth grade teacher Greg Morse (also of Cutten School District, Eureka, California) said, “I feel it is essential for primary school children to have both male and female teachers. Parents have often told me that I expect more from their child than last year’s teacher. This might or might not be true, but it is the perception, and perception often is reality.”

Teachers need the parental support that comes with trust.

Father figures?

Mike says, “I have really seen a difference in students who come from households where they don’t have a solid father figure or male role model at home. I have found myself filling that role on many occasions in the past. There have been some really neat turnarounds that I have witnessed over the years of students who were headed down the wrong path […] I feel that my gender played a role in some of these situations.”

On the other hand, Greg said: “my experience tells me that by fourth grade, the role model idea is lost on children who have not had a father around in their critical early formative years. I do believe we can be a role model, but not in the way that we are often thought of—nearly as a father figure. We can help children gain confidence in their ability as students; this is so important to their success in school and life.”

Whether male teachers act as father figures or mentors, they positively impact students.

Greg said: “I think there is a growing trend of more men entering elementary education. I hope the trend continues.” Our perspectives are shaped by our identities. Males and females bring equal but different perspectives, and schools are lacking without both”.