{"id":728,"date":"2015-11-17T15:00:55","date_gmt":"2015-11-17T21:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/?p=728"},"modified":"2015-11-09T09:35:47","modified_gmt":"2015-11-09T15:35:47","slug":"lutheran-schools-need-more-male-teachers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/2015\/11\/17\/lutheran-schools-need-more-male-teachers\/","title":{"rendered":"Lutheran Schools Need More Male Teachers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Written by Harmon Krause <\/em><\/p>\n<p>I did not expect to hear anything unusual while MLC President Mark Zarling gave an update at my teachers\u2019 conference. However, as Zarling gave his presentation on the college, he stated something that took me a bit by surprise. He said something that would make an applicable introduction for this article. He said, \u201cMen aren\u2019t going to college, and I don\u2019t know why.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Zarling\u2019s comment comes from an even larger issue than men going to college \u2014 a lack of male educators.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The gender politics of education is not a new phenomenon. Male teachers have always been the minority in elementary schools (Martino, 2008). There are not enough male teachers, at least in early childhood and elementary settings. Below are the statistics of all active called workers, provided by the WELS Commission on Lutheran Schools (2015).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Early Childhood <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0Male\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 0.7% (3 of 440)<\/li>\n<li>Female \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 99.3% (437 of 440)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Elementary <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Male\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 26.4% (635 of 2405)<\/li>\n<li>Female \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 73.6% (1770 of 2405<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The percentages aren\u2019t only low in WELS schools. Males account for about 17 percent of the public elementary and middle school teaching force (Mullenholz, 2013).<\/p>\n<p>Statistics show that females are more successful after high school than males. \u201cDespite rising college costs and the many other challenges facing America&#8217;s schools, women have made extraordinary strides in education. They have overtaken men in high school and college completion in the last few decades, earning 58% of bachelor&#8217;s degrees and 62% of postsecondary occupational certificates\u201d (DiPrete and Buchmann, 2013).<\/p>\n<p>The success of females translates to the workforce as well. The decrease in male teachers is, of course, a reflection of a broader change occurring in society about gender roles and occupations. In the United States, for the first time in history, more women work outside the home than men (United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010).<\/p>\n<p>The push for females pursuing careers comes from their teachers. Male teachers have the ability to build strong relationships that will help boys succeed in elementary school and into middle school. We need men in the early grades to build critical relationships with our male students who are, in large numbers, disengaged in school, lagging behind girls in reading, overly identified as having behavioral problems, and more frequently referred for special education (Mullenholz, 2013). The push for males to pursue careers or teaching isn\u2019t as strong because there are few male teachers to prod them in a positive direction. The overall change occurring in society about gender roles and occupations could simply be a lack of men in front of the classroom.<\/p>\n<p>There is a gender gap in education. It begins at the primary grade level and goes to the secondary level. Results show that the gulf between girls and boys at the end of secondary school has now widened to a record level (Paton, 2011). Some experts contribute this gender gap to the number of males at the elementary and middle school level. Prof Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at Buckingham University, said: \u201cThe danger of having so many female teachers is that boys get the impression that education is a feminine thing and it is somehow sissy to be fully engaged with education. Boys may demonstrate their maleness by standing a bit apart from the learning process\u201d (Paton, 2011).<\/p>\n<p>There should be male role models for male students, just as there are female role models for female students. There is a need for Christian men in the early grades to build critical relationships with the male students who are lagging behind girls, disengaged, and identified as having behavioral problems.<\/p>\n<p>There is also a need for Christian men to be role models for girls, especially those growing up without fathers. One-third of all children in the United States grow up without a father (Mullenholz, 2013). Christian male teachers should be spiritual role models for their students, role models that embody spiritual leadership in the school, church, and home.<\/p>\n<p>The impact and role of male teachers also affects pedagogical practices within a classroom. There\u2019s a difference\u2014whether it\u2019s in style, voice intonation, just the presence of having a male in the classroom\u2014that many boys respond to best. The effects of having a male in front of the classroom are substantially positive.<\/p>\n<p>Above all, it is important to remember that having a male in front of the classroom does not simply make him a good role model. It is very na\u00efve to believe that the complexity of a good educator could be reduced to sex difference. We need male teachers in front of the classroom for many reasons. As teachers, male or female, we need to make sure our students are getting the best Christian role models.<\/p>\n<p><em>Harmon Krause (\u201814) currently teaches seventh and eighth grade and serves as principal at New Hope Lutheran Academy in West Melbourne FL. He is also enrolled in MLC\u2019s Master of Science in Education program with an emphasis in instruction.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>References<\/p>\n<p>DiPrete, T., &amp; Buchmann, C. (2013, June 11). Bridging the male education gap. Retrieved July 30, 2015, from http:\/\/articles.latimes.com\/2013\/jun\/11\/opinion\/la-oe-diprete-male-education-gap-20130611<\/p>\n<p>Martino, W. (2008). Male Teachers as Role Models: Addressing Issues Of Masculinity, Pedagogy And The Re-Masculinization of Schooling. <em>Curriculum Inquiry,<\/em> <em>38<\/em>(2), 189-223.<\/p>\n<p>Mullenholz, G. (2013, July 19). Op-Ed: We Are in Desperate Need of More Male Elementary School Teachers. Retrieved July 30, 2015, from http:\/\/www.takepart.com\/article\/2013\/07\/19\/we-need-more-male-elementary-school-teachers<\/p>\n<p>Paton, G. (2011, September 2). No male teachers at 4,500 primary schools. 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However, as Zarling gave his presentation on the college, he stated something that took me a &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/2015\/11\/17\/lutheran-schools-need-more-male-teachers\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon-text sd-sharing\"><h3 class=\"sd-title\">Share this:<\/h3><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-facebook\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-facebook-728\" class=\"share-facebook sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/2015\/11\/17\/lutheran-schools-need-more-male-teachers\/?share=facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-twitter-728\" class=\"share-twitter sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/2015\/11\/17\/lutheran-schools-need-more-male-teachers\/?share=twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-print\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-print sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/2015\/11\/17\/lutheran-schools-need-more-male-teachers\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to print\"><span>Print<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[23,14],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2MA5F-bK","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=728"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":736,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728\/revisions\/736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}