What is your opinion of male teaching assistants

[BobbyJones28]

I am a male teaching assistant in a primary school and I have signed up here to see opinions of this..

I have a friend (close-ish) that make jokes about it being an odd job for a guy so AIBU to keep getting fed up of it now!!!

What is other peoples opinions Male Teaching Assistants ??

[BobbyJones28]

thank you maninawomansworld haha!! i forgot i put my name as bobby for a sec (used a different name for this aha)

FreudiansSlipper i have never claimed to be a hero and no i didnt know what to expect as i only signed up today and i generally was hoping to hear from people with different opinions so i can see why they feel like that!!

[BobbyJones28]

why do you think it's a womans job FreudiansSlipper

[FreudiansSlipper]

I never said you claimed to be but the fawning on here is putting you on a pedestal simply because you are a man we have no idea how good you are at your job

but come on what did you really expect on here? you know your friend is a twat all that matters is that you are good at your job which I hope you are

[TiggyD]

Childcare shouldn't be seen as a "woman's job". Boys and girls need women and men to raise them.

[FreudiansSlipper]

well as you have read my previous post you should be able to see I was being sarcastic

[FreudiansSlipper]

of course it should not be seen as a women's job

and men who do this job should not treated with suspicion (personally do not know anyone who would but I am sure it does happen) and should also not be applauded for simply being a man it should be on how good they are at their job

[BobbyJones28]

i see your point and i am told i am very good with the kids and they all seem to respect me!! i am often told i am their favourite teacher and i honestly try my best which has proved to good as the children are improving. I am also midday supervisor so i am also asked to get involved with all different sport activity which i love doing, weirdly enough i was not a fan of that until i got this job now i love it after playing everyday

[NewtRipley]

I agree FS

[TiggyD]

It is a bit embarrassing being lauded just for being male. I'd rather be known for being a great childcare worker, but for many people it is a brave thing to do. To go into a job that will lead many into thinking you're a paedophile/gay/whatever, and men have been attacked just for doing their job.

[TiggyD]

And people seem to say similar praising things about the female engineer I know.

[thornrose]

I don't see any fawning over the OP or putting them on a pedestal on this thread. I see people praising the male TAs they have personally encountered, who have been great at their job.

There have been lots of people saying they would like more men in Primary education, no-one has directly praised the Op because no-one knows how he performs in his role, he might be crap!

[NoodleOodle]

I see what uptheanty and FreudiansSlipper are getting at. It's a bit like single dads receiving praise for coping on their own and doing such an amazing job, where a woman in the same circumstances would receive no such praise as it is just expected.

That said I think it is necessary to try to encourage a balance of men/women in caring and education settings.

As for the pedo worry and snideness from some parents, I can also see where people's concerns come from, some of the information out there teaches that predatory males of a certain type, seek out positions of trust and responsibility around children. There is no harm in being aware of this but, we must take care not to let it cloud judgement to form prejudiced views, and to either trust the getting standards of the laces we send our children, or take action to improve them, or move our children if we have concerns. Statistically, I'm sure it's true that predators in caring professions are more often male (correct me if I'm wrong). And, this has been my experience, where the person in a school that as later discovered to be male. This doesn't mean that all males in these professions should be treated suspiciously.

[PomBearWithAnOFRS]

The one male TA at my DCs primary school is just brilliant. All the children adore him, he is like a big kid himself (in a good way, not in an annoying way iykwim) and they all love him. He seems much more ready to throw himself into all the activities than all some of the other staff, and is a huge part of school life for everyone.
I think it's a good thing that he's there; it would be lovely if there were more like him, especially as there is only one male teacher in the whole school, and he teaches the oldest pupils. The TA is the only "male interaction" all the other pupils get in school, all the other staff are female. It would be nice to have more of a balance.

[mytwoblackandwhitecats]

Kew, I take your point, but I do think there is a difference between encouraging girls to go into science (for example) and stating that a girl going into science is automatically superior to a boy going into science because she is female.

In other words, I think we need good teachers, and I think there are many men who would make good teachers who should not be put off or discouraged from becoming a teacher because of their gender, but by the same token I am concerned by the nature of many of these posts which seem to assume a man, any man, is excellent to have in a primary school, whether in a supportive role or as a teacher, and I don't think that is true at all!

[Kittymautz]

My friend's husband is an NQT, teaching primary reception class and nursery. The children adore him.

I think it's lovely and great that the children have a male role model in the class.

[thornrose]

I am concerned by the nature of many of these posts which seem to assume a man, any man, is excellent to have in a primary school most people have posted about specific men they have encountered rather than 'a man, any man'.

[mytwoblackandwhitecats]

Yes, but those posts have often been followed by stating wistfully that they wish there could be more men, which, as a female teacher, I do feel somewhat belittled by to be honest, given that I can't change my gender! (Well technically I could, but obviously not appropriate here!)

[thornrose]

I'm a female TA and I don't feel remotely belittled by acknowledging that more men in Primary education would be a positive thing. It doesn't undermine my role, I can just see that some children would benefit from more males around the school.

[LumieresForMe]

Come on. People are reacting to a man doing a 'woman's job' in the same way they were to woman doing a 'man's job' 20 years ago. It's all 'whoa, that's fantastic. We need more of that!'
And interestingly, some people are reacting the same way than 20 years ago by saying 'Bug how do you know he us any good at it?' Or 'ButI feel I under attack as I can't be a man. Where does it leave me?'

Maybe it's time to fully acknowledge that men are women are able to do the same thing wo feeling undermined. That both can bring different things.
So YES it is great to see a man as a teacher/TA/nursery teacher just because they are men and they are the ones showing the way to change. And no of course, not all of then will be the best but then can you say that because a teacher is a woman is will be best? No.

So let's enjoy the fact things are changing and becoming more equal. And let's start looking at people as person instead of looking at them as man/woman first.

[LumieresForMe]

And it's important to remember too that these men will be given much less leeway and will be expected to be very good. Because unlike their female counterparts, they are more likely to get strong criticism if they are only half good.
Eg re following all the safeguarding rules, what would happen to a man if he isn't absolutely spot on with that?

My dc had some issue with faecal I continence when he was little. The teacher needed to take her to have a shower as it was really bad. They did it and then rung me to let me know. Imagine if it had been a make teacher. How much outcry would it have caused? My dc male teacher followed her in the shower!!! in reality I was absolutely delighted by their reaction btw. But I think they were quite worried about how I would take things

[Kewcumber]

My experience of men who have become TA's are that they really really want to do the job and are aware of some people raising an eyebrow at them, they have tended therefore to be particularly keen and engaged. The fact that all the male TA's I know are recently finished at Uni students are are in their first jobs and therefore super keen doesn't hurt either.

All the female TA's I know are older mum's.

There is a different dynamic which comes from those two different life stages and inevitably people if that's their experience too with think male TA's are energetic and fun because that's their only experience of them.

A bit like women in the board room, I'll know we have true equality when we have more mediocre women in the boardroom and likewise TA's - I'll know that there is true equality in school when there are more mediocre male TA's around.

At the moment only the keen ones do it and therefore peoples experience of male TA's is coloured by that.

[LumieresForMe]

Kew that's true too!

[Uptheanty]

FFS

So now, not only are male TA's better educated and super keen at their jobs, it is actually harder for them to do the job because they're male, so they're more hardworking as well?



What a bunch of crap on this thread.

[casparthecat]

As long as you are doing a great job, I couldn't care which gender you are.

The same applies to female engineers and male florists.

Someone will always have an opinion about anything and everything you do. Don't waste energy trying to explain yourself.

[TinyTear]

no issue and i quite like the idea. my DD 2.5yo has always had a male nursery worker around her which is great.