Just out of interest - do any of your dc have a male infant school teacher?

[TinyGang]

I've often wondered why aren't there many men teachers for very young children?

Ds1 may have one next year, depending on what class he is in. That would be year 2.

My ds only had one in his last year and all the kids LOVED him.He was a brilliant teacher and I was really glad he had that experience tbh

The first male teacher I had was at junior school but he stands out in my memory as fantastic.

My dd1 has a male teacher in reception .
He is very nice ,shame he is leaving in september.

DD1's teacher last year was male , he teachers year 3. He's the only male teacher in the school and like noddyholder's ds's teacher, all the kids adore him. He's got so much enthusiasm and has two primary age children of his own so can really relate to the kids.

He decided not to have a class this year and be a "floating" teacher so dd still has him for science once a week which I'm really pleased about.

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In boys prep schools you get them but usually only after year 3. My ex husband moved from secondary to primary. Lots of children like having male teachers. My boys say the ones they have are "very strict" but I'm not sure that's true.

no, none of the schools we looked at had male infant teachers. dh asked the heads at each school about this and got the same response from all of them - they didnt get many applications from male infant teachers but when the had employed them in the past the had been an excellent addition and they all personally would have like to see more male primary teahers.

My school (SN) has one in the infant class (Maternity cover though, and they had one to cover last time too)

we've got seperate infant and juniors - non n infancts, but quite a few in juniors - about 1 per youra group maybe? there are 3 classes per year group.

I think it's great to have male teachers land so does DS

I dont know but is a shame. My son had a young teacher called Mr White and loved him to bits.

No men at all in DDs school its is such a shame, i think they can make such a difference especially when many of the children have no male role models at home.
I clearly remember my first male teacher Mr Fitzpatrick, he was fab!!!

We have some in our school (3), but generally they are very few and far between. It is such a shame, some of our boys could really use a good male role model. I really try not to, but I am aware that the lessons I teach tend to be a bit more 'girl' orientated, simply because that is the way that my mind works, and both my children happen to be girls!
When I was doing my teacher training, one of the men I spoke to on the course said that he was keen to do primary, but was put off simply because of child protection issues - which is sad, really. On a course of about 200, only about 20 were male.

DD1 had a lovely male support teacher last year when she was 2. He 'floated' round the first 3 classes (1,2 and 3 yo) all day. Have to admit i felt a bit when i knew a man was changing DDs nappies but also to give the thought time iyswim....

No male class teachers in infants but several in juniors, and the specialist teachers for music & PE for the whole school are both male.
Ds had a fantastic cool male nursery nurse, Green Day t-shirts and piercings, he was like a lovely big brother to them all
Ds' male teacher (Yr 3) this year is a loon but very effective indeed. He combines firmness with a really zany sense of humour and girls and boys alike adore him.

I've always assumed it's the relatively low pay and status that early years teaching carries with it that puts men off let alone the whole hysteria about paedophiles.
ds had a wonderful playschool keyworker who was really marvellous in loads of ways. He was a profound role model for the boys and a very different from the women teachers.
My only reservation is that he had favourites and was very slightly messianic in his self-belief. ds was very beloved for awhile and was over time increasingly ignored.
I found this hard because ds worshipped him.

I know of a few round here (none in my kids' school sadly )
DS1 had a male student in Yr 1 and he was very popular. Thank goodness there are some at the junior school at least.

My old boss (who admittedly was a right-wing f*er) used to say he would never let either of his two DDs be taught by a male primary teacher (presumably because they couldn't be trusted not to molest them, wtf?), so maybe that sort of attitude (if it prevails among Daily Mail readers) is to blame for the shortage?

Only in Year 6. School in neighbouring village has Year 4 teacher and Year 1 TA.

When ds2 when into Junior Infants ( reception class in Ireland) he had a male teacher. Ds2 was never shy so I was surprised when he hung back before being introduced to the teacher. When I asked him why afterwards he said "I didn't think it was going to be a man!" He got on well with him though!

Hmmm, it is odd TinyGang.

When I was in primary school, we only had male teachers for Year 6. There were two classes for each year group.

When we were in the lower years, the male teachers would come into our classrooms sometimes to ask something of our teacher (to borrow resources or whatever). They'd always stop and make jokes with the children in the class. We used to really look forward to Mr Jones and Mr Watlin popping in

Thanks for the replies. It's nice to hear of some around but they sound very rare.

I think it's a shame. A good male teacher can be such a positive thing and a good early role model/influence for boys and girls.

I have no criticism of the wonderful female teachers my children have had to date. They've all brought something new to the classroom, but it would be nice for the boys to have a few more men about from an earlier age. A bit more balance.

I have a ds and there's no denying that boys are often wired up differently in the way they think to girls. Boys traits of being noisier, more physical and hands-on and competitive are not ones that seem to be greatly encouraged.

What a huge shame if men are being put off for fear of being viewed suspiciously.

Not yet but may have next year. There are 5 or 6 male teachers in DS's school. (Private international school)

I had a male infant teacher, he was great. Now hes a headteacher of another school. Nice guy.

Some years ago , when I was a governor at a primary school, we hired a man to be head of early years. He was excellent in every way - but we had a petition from "concerned parents" asking for him to be removed. One said that the governors wouldn't let their own small children be taught by him - so I enjoyed pointing out that my dd was actually in his class. Three years later when he moved on to higher things, parents were asking him to reconsider leaving. He was a real asset but I hated the way he was initially received.

Junior school but not infant