Male teachers in primary school

[anawee23]

Hi Ladies,
Just wondering if you would like to give me your opinions on male teachers in primary schools and whether you think there are enough of them, feel free to be honest and straightforward.

I am currently training to be a teacher and have the task of researching and discovering what parents and adults in general think about Male primary school teachers and whether there is a connection to the bad publicity and the fact that there are less than female teachers?

I have done all my research regarding statistics and facts and figures, but would love to know how the general public and parents feel about this matter/topic.

Thank you for participating, I look forward to reading your replies.

[southernbelle77]

DD currently has a male teacher. In the school there are 12 classes and 13 teachers (one class has a job share). Of these 13 teachers, 2 are male. I have to admit that I wasn't too sure how DD would react to a male teacher (no idea why!) but he has been a fantastic teacher and done the world of good for DD! I think it would be good to see more male teachers.

[lovecheese]

"Connection to the bad publicity" ? how so? Unfortunately male primary teachers seem to be rarer than hens teeth. There is only one male teacher, and 2 male support staff, in my DD's school and from what I have heard - my DD's have not been in their classes - the children love them, especially the boys.

[ILoveDrKarl]

1 full-time male member of staff at my son's school - the janitor.

1 male teacher who does subbing in a number of different schools in the area, but this year seems to be in my son's school pretty much full-time. (not listed as a member of staff though and no guarantees I guess that he'll be around next week, let alone next year)

My son's favourite teacher?.... Mr.Male Teacher! He's actually a very good teacher and a really genuinely nice guy - all the kids like him, esp the boys. As a parent I can't say anything negative about him at all and eally wish he was a permanent fixture.

I think it's really important for all children to have male role-models in the school environment, but esp for boys, so I'd be keen to see more male teachers for sure.

[TheCowardlyLion]

DS's primary school has a male head teacher (very common, I know) but he is one who really gets involved with the day to day life of the students - going on trips with them, coaching sports practices and so on - which I am all for. There are a couple of older male teachers who I am sure do a good job but I really prefer the younger ones who can relate to DS at the same time as giving him a strong role model to look up, iyswim. We have some younger male TAs who help out with things like after school care, holiday club and sports and I think it is fantastic to have that. Male teachers in primary schools are really important and I think there should be more of them.

The kind of hysteria that can surround men entering into these roles - primary teachers, nursery workers, and so on - really irritates me. No wonder so few of them want to do it .

[AnnieBesant]

My brother is a primary school teacher. Somebody once 'joked' to me that he might therefore be a paedophile . FFS!!

There are three at my DC's school, about 1/4 of total staff. They are fab indeed.

[LifeInTheSlowLane]

I have two boys, and I'd love male teachers to be more common. At their old school there was only one (who left) and at their new school there are a couple - the sports teachers. DS1 definitely would like male teachers, whereas DS2 has always loved his female teachers. Perhaps it's a cliche but I think male teachers are quite good for bringing some of the unruly boys under control and providing good role models for all of them. I don't understand what you mean by "bad publicity" by the way.

[TobyLerone]

There were no male teachers in my childrens' infant school, and the school seemed to be proud of that, like it was some kind of selling point

They are now at junior school and I think there are 2 male teachers, plus the headmaster.

I'm not sure how much the sex of the teacher matters, but it does seem that there is a 'shortage' of male primary teachers.

[TobyLerone]

Also, FWIW, I went to the same junior school and IIRC about half of the teachers were male when I was there. There were 3 headteachers in my time, and they were all male.

[iloverainbows]

IMO there are not enough male teachers in the state sector, it is much more common though for independant schools to have more male teachers. Personally I think it is very important and something that needs to be addressed. Men bring something different to the party and I think it is good for children to see both men and woment in the role.

[nobetterthanthat]

We only have 1 male teacher. Every other staff member is female.

He isn't a great teacher and he has a tendency to stereotype along gender lines a bit too much. DS has struggled with him a bit because he sets lots of work within a football concept which, according to ds, is boring. He also gives football based rewards (pencils or rubbers with a football theme) which lots of the dcs don't like. I think they got football overload.

That said I wold welcome more male teachers. DD had a male student teacher in her reception class and she really liked him. We used to have a very good male year 6 teacher but he got a headship at another school. I just don't rate this particular teacher.

I didn't know there was negative publicity around male teachers so I can't comment on that.

I had a horribly sexist male teacher in primary school but there are probably lots f men who could say they same about a female teacher they had.

[bigbadbarry]

Male teachers are brilliant for little children (in principle, I mean - there must be as many bad male teachers as females!). DD has one at the moment and loves him. Unfortunately they tend to get on the "glass elevator" and are whisked away to be management :(

[anawee23]

Hi, Just to explain what I mean by 'Bad publicity'

I am referring to the amount of hype that the press put on any story regarding male teachers and schools in general, how that if there are circumstances where there is suspected 'foul play' that the press thrive of it and give Male teachers bad publicity.

They never make an issue of the huge positive impact's that a male role model can have on children in general, both boys and girls should have male and female teachers in my opinion, and I was just enquiring as to what other adults/parents think also.

My youngest daughter aged 5, is currently being taught by a male teacher and she cannot praise him any higher than she already does, last year she had a female teacher and was a little unsure about having a 'boy' as a teacher, but she has thoroughly enjoyed the whole year with no complaints at all so far, she say's that he is 'cool'. lol x

Once again I would like to thank you for your participation.

[pinkgirlythoughts]

I had two male teachers during my time at primary school, in year 4 and another in year 6. I remember being absolutely devastated to learn that I'd be having Mr X as my y4 teacher, rather than Mrs Y or Miss Z (the new NQT teacher that I really wanted, but turned out to be really mean!). I had a fantastic year in his class, and remember him as being one of the best teachers I've ever had. I don't think gender really matters, as long as they're good at their job.

Also, FWIW, my stepdad is a primary teacher, and although he teaches y6 now, his PGCE is actually an early years specialism, and he's spent most of his school career teaching infants. As far as I know, he's never suffered any kind of bad press from parents or anyone else for choosing to work with the littlies.

[Itsjustafleshwound]

My son attends a pre-prep and my daughter attends a local infant school in a good, leafy 'burb - they have NO male teachers at either school or in surrounding schools (independent and govt). I think it is a pretty poor show and just demonstrates to impressionable children that teaching is a 'female' job.

I think it is imperative that there are male teachers on board and not just responsible for looking after the school grounds or being holed up in an office.

The best teacher I ever had was my A level maths teacher and he was also our headmaster.

[JemimaMop]

We are very lucky, at my DC's primary school there are equal numbers of male and female teachers. It is pretty well balanced actually, the Head (who also teaches, it is a small school) is male, the deputy head is female, the teacher in charge of sports is female, the teacher in charge of music is male. So no real stereotypes. Which is a good example for both my sons and my daughter.

[smee]

My son's inner city state primary has 50% male teachers, so he finds male teachers normal. He's in Yr 2 now, and 2 out of his 3 class teachers so far have been male. Both fantastic. Was one of the reasons why we liked the school tbh.

[smee]

Meant to say both the HT and Deputy are female.

[jennifersofia]

I have done teaching practice in 3 schools, and worked in a 4th. (Inner city) There was either less than 3 males in each school, or in one school, no males at all. I think this is a very sad state of affairs, and wish that there were more men willing to go into primary, particularly lower primary. One man in my training said that he wanted to go into primary, but he was too worried to because of potential liability, so was going into secondary instead.
I think all children need positive sustained male input in their lives, and for some children school is the only safe place this can happen. Men interact very differently with children, and with all the best will in the world, I taught very much from a female perspective, because I am female!
None of my children (dds, 10 and 8) have ever had a male teacher (not by design!) and when we recently tried to employ a male piano teacher it came out that she was seriously concerned by the fact that he was male.

[lemonmousse]

One male teacher at our school and one male TA.

Male teacher commands alot of respect from the pupils and is well liked. He is the first male teacher our school has had in over 15 years!

Male TA is adored by the children - they absolutely love him. It's great to see a young lad in such a female dominated profession.

[jennifersofia]

By the way, good luck to you.

[MarioandLuigi]

We have 2 male teachers at our larger than average primary, one of them isnt permenant staff, but a PE teacher that seems to go to many different schools just for the PE sessions.

The other teacher seems lovely, but he is well respected and well liked. I am hoping my DS gets him next year for year 6.

Thinking back as a child, my favourite primary school teacher was the only male one I had. The year was lots of fun and I remember all the things we learnt about (Tudors, Volcanos). He had a real passion for the subject and he still teaches (where he is still the only male)

[mistlethrush]

I wish there were more male teachers in Ds's infant school (OK, I wish there were some!). They do have outside coaches for afterschool clubs - the two karate masters have complete respect from their charges, even though they have a hall full of them.

[legal1]

No permanent ones at ds's school and I think its a shame. Dd loved it when she had a male teacher covering for a week.

[legal1]

Mean dc's

[Blackduck]

My ds (yr 3) currently has a (young - NQT) male teacher and the kids love him. I think it is great for children to see men in that role - far too many women generally for my liking. In his school that are two male teachers (I think) and one male sports teacher - not nearly enough in a three form entry school.