The (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) Daily Tribune ran a nice piece about a guy who is teaching kindergarten, despite all the stereotypes about who we might expect to teach young kids. He was, in fact, the only male in his college graduating class.
A few years ago, the National Education Association said there was a national shortage of male teachers and laid out what it saw as the problems and solutions:
- 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 when compared to salaries for 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.
NEA said:
States with the highest salaries tend to have the highest proportion of male teachers. Michigan is ranked first in the percentage of male teachers (37 percent); Michigan ranks in the top five nationally in teacher pay. Mississippi is ranked 50th in the percentage of male teachers (18 percent); Mississippi is ranked 49th out of 50 states in teacher pay.
In 2005, The Christian Science Monitor said:
Just 21 percent of the nation's 3 million teachers are men, according to the National Education Association (NEA). Over the past two decades, the ratio of men to women in the classroom has steadily declined. Today it stands at a 40-year low.
"The teaching profession is definitely dominated by females," says Donald Washington, senior program analyst for the NEA.
The shortage of male teachers is most pronounced in elementary school, where men make up just 9 percent of teachers, but middle schools and high schools also suffer from a male-female imbalance.
Currently, in secondary schools, about 35 percent of teachers are men -- the lowest level ever for the profession.
The story continued:
[Bryan] Nelson, [founder of MenTeach, a nonprofit clearinghouse that promotes the recruitment of male teachers,] is concerned about how the shortage of male teachers affects students.
"Children are missing out on different teaching approaches, alternative authority figures, and male role models because there are so few male teachers," he says. "Children are also getting a powerful message that teaching is something men just do not do."
Research conducted by MenTeach reveals three key reasons for the shortage of male teachers: low status and pay, the perception that teaching is "women's work," and the fear of accusation of child abuse.
"There is a lot more status associated with being a college professor than an elementary school teacher," Nelson says. "And if we started paying teachers what we pay NBA players, there would be a lot more men entering the field."
Here are some more resources for you to peruse as you follow this story:
There are a number of scholarship programs available that recruit people from other fields to teaching. For example:
The Beige Book
You may not know it, but the Federal Reserve Board releases something called The Beige Book eight times per year. It produces a snapshot of economic conditions on a regional level. You can use these reports to really drill down on local economic, business and spending stories. Here are the district summaries, just released:
Here is the national report.
Term Life Insurance Costs Drop 50 Percent in 10 Years
People are living longer, so term life insurance costs have dropped. NPR's "Morning Edition" has an informative story.
Nasty Neighbors
WFLD-TV Fox 32 in Chicago produced some interesting stories on neighbors from hell. The nasty neighbors include people who train spy cameras and spotlights on the neighbor's bedroom windows. They spray herbicides through the fence on gardens and even have an open dump next door.
Watch the stories here.
Cops say they can't possibly track the complaints. Part Two of the story shows what happens when the disputes escalate.
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