Feature/General
Male Teachers in Elementary Schools
By Jennifer Lawson
January/February 2004

Perhaps the National Education Association should launch a campaign similar to that of the Marine Corps: “We’re looking for a few good men.” Currently, the percentage of male teachers in primary and secondary-level education ranks at a 40-year low: only 21% of the nation’s 3 million teachers are men and, here in Georgia, we have one of the lowest percentages in the nation at 19%. Even worse is the percentage of male teachers who teach at the elementary level: a mere 9% nationwide.* What are the reasons behind this huge disparity? What do some of the increasingly-rare male teachers in Athens have to say about the issue? And can anything be done to turn this trend around?

• The National Education Association cites the following reasons for the downward trend:
  Colleges of education historically have a tough time luring men because of dated notions that teaching is “women’s work.”
• Salaries are low for teachers, as compared with other professionals, which lowers the prestige and social value of a career in teaching.
• Many men don’t see the teaching profession as a lucrative way to provide for their families.
• The prevailing philosophy within education is that men go into teaching to “teach the subject,” and women enter teaching to nurture and develop children. Since males tend to gravitate toward secondary teaching, this leaves a critical shortage of male teachers at the elementary level.

Chad Jenkins, who taught physical education last year at St. Joseph Catholic School, echoes at least two of the N.E.A.’s reasons: he left primarily due to low pay and low prestige. Initially attracted to teaching P.E. because of the allure that “summers-off and playing games all day” offered, Jenkins feels strongly that society’s overall lack of respect for the profession of teaching drives both men and women away. He points out the irony that “the student grows up to be a successful and well-paid doctor or lawyer, while the teacher who taught that child how to read, study and be a productive member of society is still living paycheck to paycheck.”

Damon Anderson, the current music teacher at St. Joseph’s, personally experienced another factor which he thinks contributes to the number of male teachers who leave during or shortly after their first year of teaching. He was “somewhat surprised and unprepared for the large amounts of patience required – particularly in dealing with the kindergarteners.” Fortunately for both Anderson and his students, he decided to work through those initial frustrations and now feels very confident in his abilities to deal with students' attention and discipline issues. In fact, Anderson suspects that male teachers might even have an edge when it comes to commanding more respect from students, if only because of their deeper voices and larger size.

Anderson also worries that it might take quite a bit of “creative financial juggling” if he and his wife decide to raise a family on his current salary but thinks that the rewards offered by a teaching career help to counter its downsides. For Anderson, those rewards include what he views as “the unique opportunity to prepare music students for a future in high school band” and his job’s ability to combine his passions for both music and teaching.

Eric Grooms, an eight-year veteran of kindergarten teaching at Whit Davis Elementary School, is about to find out if he can support a family on his teacher’s salary. He and his wife, Natalie, are expecting their first child in March and he plans to continue with the job that he was drawn to by both his love for children and his desire to make a difference while serving as a male role model for children. In regards to his current status as the only male teacher at Whit Davis, Grooms feels that in addition to the low pay, many men might not feel comfortable with the nurturing that teaching younger children requires.

Mr. Logan (center), a fifth-grade teacher at Chase Street Elementary School, points out that education needs to look at and develop the “whole child – not just the academic parts” and that when this is achieved, “education will be where it needs to be.” Mr. Sugiuichi, a.k.a. “Mr. Sugi,” (left) works with Mr. Logan’s fifth-grade class at the Chase Street computer lab. He feels a responsibility as a male teacher because he is often the first male role model in a child’s life.

Even with his own strong desire to teach, Grooms initially found himself unprepared for “the amount of time and energy required to adequately prepare for even kindergarten teaching.” He adds that “the hundreds of details that go into each day was, and still can be, overwhelming at times” and advises any young men who are interested in teaching “to get involved in his community’s schools and try to actually experience the reality of teaching young children...to see both the positive and negative aspects...also, [an aspiring teacher] needs to have a great love and passion for teaching children [and] patience is a necessity!”

Jim Randolph was recently in a similar situation to that of Eric Grooms‚ as both an elementary school teacher in Barrow County and as an expectant father awaiting the birth of his first child. In the end, Randolph made the difficult decision to leave his job in order to become a stay-at-home dad when his daughter, Harper, was born eight months ago. The decision was based on simple economics, as his wife, Annette Santana, earns more money, despite the fact that she is also a teacher. Randolph feels that in addition to the salary issue, the perception that “teaching at college and even high school levels is somehow better than teaching in elementary schools” seems to deter men from entering the profession. In reality, the only real difference that he noticed between male and female teachers was the propensity of the women to decorate their classrooms more effectively. Randolph feels strongly that students benefit from having both sexes in the classroom and hopes to go back to teaching when his daughter is a little older.

Darren Rhym is an English and religion teacher at Monsignor Donovan Catholic High School. A former college professor, Rhym thinks that the male to female disparity in all levels below college shows that the issue is related to the age of the students. “I think men feel more comfortable with older students and perhaps prefer teaching adults. I also think that society and perceptions of teaching affect decisions as well – there is a stigma associated with high school and elementary education that perhaps suggests that teaching younger students is more akin to babysitting and daycare work, rather than teaching.”

But Rhym is quick to point out that his own reasons for choosing high school teaching over elementary-level teaching had less to do with the age of the students and more to do with the fact that he wanted to teach “just English” and that this is usually not possible in the lower grades, where one must be a jack-of-all-trades. Rhym also feels strongly that children derive many benefits from having both male and female teachers throughout their education and that because of the male shortage, “it is the kids that suffer.”

Mr. Weaver reads to his third-grade “BRAG” (Barrow Readers Achieve Greatness) class at Barrow Elementary School. Weaver, who taught for five years before coming to Barrow, said that he enjoys teaching at the elementary level mostly because of the creative aspects of the art and music classes as well as the “open-mindedness” of the children.

Two other male high school teachers in Athens noted that both middle and high school teachers are eligible for additional supplements on top of their base salary if they coach a team or sponsor an extracurricular group or club. This extra income, in addition to providing an outlet for other skills that they may possess, is often significant enough for a teacher to choose middle or high school teaching over elementary level.

So how can this trend reverse itself? Obviously, better pay for all teachers would encourage more college students to enter the profession. More importantly, there is a direct correlation between the states with the highest salaries and the highest percentages of male teachers. Currently, Michigan leads the way, with the most male teachers (37%) and a top-five ranking in highest salaries. Similarly, Mississippi ranks 50th and 49th respectively in lowest percentage of male teachers and lowest nationwide pay.

Almost as important as higher pay may be the implementation of strong initiatives that identify and encourage prospective male teachers early in their academic careers. Even the seemingly small effort of “talking up” the joys and benefits of elementary-level teaching has proven effective in increasing interested students. One study of men who became teachers showed that the influence from one of their own teachers was the fourth most common factor in their career decision.

Additional studies have shown that men’s roles in primary education extend beyond teaching. One 1996 study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, showed a direct correlation between children whose fathers were directly involved with their education resulting in better grades and conduct in school. In fact, it concluded that “fathers’ involvement has a stronger influence on the children getting mostly A’s than does mothers‚ involvement.” So Dads – don’t underestimate your importance in balancing out the low levels of male teachers in our schools. You don’t have to become a teacher to make a big difference in your child’s education (but it wouldn’t hurt!).

*All statistics taken from the 2003 rankings of the National Education Association. Go to www.nea.org or www.nces.ed.gov for more information.