I was thinking about a discussion I had at school last week. One of my guys in my class was talking about why he wants to be a teacher. He said he would like to be a strong male role model because many kids don't have that in their lives (as he didn't when he was young). But he said when he tells people that the most common reaction is 'oh so you want to hang around with little boys'. What do you guys think about men as teachers, particularly in the younger grades? Weird or not so?
Teaching, especially in elementary school, is dominated by women [I think the first time I had a male teacher was 6th grade history], but I think maybe many kids could benefit from the presence of men in the classroom. Last semester when I did my observations in a 1st grade class there was one little boy who had some behavior problems. He would at times get very combative against the teacher, and wouldn't listen to what she was telling him. You could see he was challenging her authority every time, just seeing how far he could go. One day he was particularly problematic, laying on the floor, throwing items, etc. and the office was called. A pretty large man came and got the boy. I'm not sure who the guy was, I wasn't at the school long enough, but he was obviously some member of the staff. A little while later he brought the boy back, sat him down in the chair, and stood there while he did the work he was supposed to have been doing with no problems. I remember thinking then maybe this is what this boy needed. He didn't respect the teacher, but this big guy he was going to listen to.
Maybe a lot of these boys (and girls too) need a positive male influence in their lives that they sadly aren't getting at home, but they aren't getting them in school either. What are your views on this?
