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Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Primary education

Female Teachers and The Teaching of Boys

151 replies

zanzibarmum · 23/01/2009 21:53

I know the teachers on the site will not agree but does the largely female (most single with no kids?) teaching force struggle to understand our boys and engage them in learning. What are the views of parents.
As a mum of both girls and boys my experience is that many normal, well behaved boys get a raw deal from some of the teachers though it is not of course something you raise with teachers for fear of getting your head bitten off - I know my own sister who's a teacher had a go! Views

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DesperateHousewifeToo · 23/01/2009 21:56

Yes! And lots of other mum's of boys in ds' class would agree.

Not sure what you can do about it though.

cory · 23/01/2009 21:57

IME it's about personality of the teacher rather than a straightforward question of sex. Ds absolutely loves his current female teacher and I feel she really understands him. But he also loved his last teacher who was male. Wasn't quite so taken by his teacher before that, who happened to be female.

Feenie · 23/01/2009 21:57

I have a 3 year old ds, and have taught a class with 18 boys and 4 girls. Guess which of them gave me the most bother?! If I HAD to choose (because I really enjoy teaching both), I would say give me a class of boys every time.

janeite · 23/01/2009 21:58

Views - no, I don't agree with you.

BUT I do think there is an urgent need for more male childcare workers, nursery teachers, reception teachers: not because too many female teachers are single with no children (not sure where you get that from: facts? figures?) but because too many little boys have no positive role model in their home lives.

zanzibarmum · 23/01/2009 21:58

Feenie, why?

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janeite · 23/01/2009 21:58

Feenie - I'm a secondary teacher and would also far prefer to teach all boys than all girls!

LadyMuck · 23/01/2009 22:01

I don't think that boys are that rare in the classroom so even a single female teacher will get used to boys very quickly. There may be a few newly qualifieds who lack experience, but I think that the main issues with boys education is that, in general, they mature at different rates to girls and they need plenty of space and physical activity (which presumably girls also benefit from).

WilfSell · 23/01/2009 22:01

When DS1 got a male teacher, we were delighted for all the reasons you mention. ALL the boys loved him.

Half way through the year, we realised he was very slack, cared more about making jokes with the kids, and had utterly mis-recognised our DS' abilities. The teacher left after a year.

I do think role models are needed. But teaching itself? Not about gender, it's about quality.

DesperateHousewifeToo · 23/01/2009 22:02

Actuall, Cory you are right. It is more about individual teachers' approach and personality, rather than sex.

Reception teacher was fab. Really had teh measure of all the boys and how to motivate them. Year 1 and current teacher, don't have as much idea about how to appeal to their sense of humour and encourage participation, etc. They are all female.

I'm interested to see how ds reacts to male teachers in his new school next year.

zanzibarmum · 23/01/2009 22:02

So why do female teachers stops boys playing football during playtime or rationing it to once a week. Or another who punished the boys in the class by not allowing them to play football in the one playtime a week they were scheduled to do so.

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cory · 23/01/2009 22:04

Not specific to females, zanzibar.

myredcardigan · 23/01/2009 22:04

I teach primary and boys are by far easier.

I also disagree that most teachers are single with no kids. All our staff are female at the moment but onle one is unmarried.

TamartorousBeastie · 23/01/2009 22:05

Thats only two female teachers out of how many?

Far too few a number to make such a generalised comment.

cory · 23/01/2009 22:07

I agree that the mostly-single-and-no-kids-female is a stereotype, probably from the days when female teachers weren't allowed to marry.

Feenie · 23/01/2009 22:08

Agreed. We have only 2 teachers with no kids, and one is male.

VERY generally speaking, boys tend not to bear any grudges. Tell them off, and, if you are being fair, they tend to accept it more readily than girls and move on.

I repeat, VERY generally speaking, before I get flamed!

RiaParkinson · 23/01/2009 22:08

I dont agree at all

Teacher are teachers not 'girl teachers'

I actually resent to 'teaching of boys' thing...

they are not wild things with 'short little spans of attention' as some would seem to infer..

They are 'people' just like girls - all different!

zanzibarmum · 23/01/2009 22:08

The teachers as always are looking at this from the "producer" side - the question was about the experience of boys and my experience from several mums is that boys' needs are not to the forefront of the teaching and learning experience.

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twinsetandpearls · 23/01/2009 22:10

I do think that we need more male teachers, I have moved to a new school where there are more male teachers and more to the point more strong male teachers and it has a real effect on discipline.

Boys and girls need positive male and female role models and role models with different types of personality.

I tend to be very good with naughty boys, I also married one but that is another story. I am much better at naught boys than girls as a rule.

I have never stopped boys in my school from playing football, infact this week I saved a goal using my bum

zanzibarmum · 23/01/2009 22:10

Told you... teachers (on this site at least )are so touchy. Anyway back to the parents of boys...

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mckenzie · 23/01/2009 22:10

DS has only had female tteachers so far (currently year 3) and it's only this year's teacher who I would say seems to engage more with the girls than the boys. Purely by coincidence I am sure she also happens to be single and children free. I'm not saying she is a lesser teacher for that - just that my DS hasn't got on well with her whereas he has lgot on very well with his previous teachers. Could also be DS's age of course. DD is 3 going on 14 byt DS is 7 going on 5

Feenie · 23/01/2009 22:10

Knickers! Because of the disparity between girls' and boys' attainment, most things on the curriculum are geared towards boys.

I agree with Ria, though. They are all different.

cory · 23/01/2009 22:10

My experience is that my boy's needs are being met just as well as my daughter's. But then that's all it is - anecdotal experience. Same as yours. And I've spoken to many mums too.
And my ds plays football every day in the lunch hour.

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twinsetandpearls · 23/01/2009 22:11

I dont think the teachers are being touchy we are just not agreeing withh you.

Feenie · 23/01/2009 22:12

Our kids get to play every playtime, too.

TamartorousBeastie · 23/01/2009 22:13

I echo what cory said and that applies for my two DSs

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