Male Teachers at Primary Level

[Cb21]

Hi Folks,

I am just enquiring and interested in Public opinion on this matter. I am a guy who is currently looking at doing my PGCE and QTS in September. As a guy I am wondering what your opinions are of having male teachers in the classroom. Do you have experience of such? Do you have male primary teachers in your DD'S school?
Most of what I have read from such related articles is from many years ago and I'm just looking for an upto date and current opinion. I would appreciate all views positive and negative (as I know there may be some) but I want a rounded view of public opinion. Thanks a lot.

Yep, three male teachers at dd2's primary. She's had two of them.

School I work at has two male teachers in the school and one in the attached nursery. He's very popular. Absolutely go for it. There is definitely room for more male teachers in primary schools.

Our primary school is 2 form entry and has about 5 male teachers and a couple of male teaching assistants. Headteacher and deputy head are both male. Ks1 and ks2 phase leaders are female. other local school has none!

Dd had 3 male teachers while she was there, and ds1 had 2 I think. Ds2 has had 3 so far (likely to be it, since the current year 6 teachers are women).

I think it’s refreshing to have a mix. Fundamentally it’s about personality and capability rather than sex, but just as I think co-ed is good, I think that it’s a positive thing to have male and female teachers at primary level.

@drspouse, but it’s not the case that children only see that at school. A large percentage will come from 2 parent families. Others still will see it in extended family. Others from sports clubs etc. Very few children will not have any exposure to men in a caring capacity.

I had one male teacher in primary. He was the best teacher I ever had though out my entire time in school.

I can't decide if it was the Male factor, doing projects on birds and learning about salmon. Or the fact he read to the class every day, he may be took a term to read the books, Charlottes Web, James and Giant peach, Charlie and Chocolate factory.
Verging on 35 years on, I'd love to thank him if I ever had a chance to.

Also 25% of primary teachers in the UK are men. Yet just under 40% of primary heads are men. They can’t all be better that the job than their female colleagues.

Primary schools definitely need more good male role models

This !

@TheReef, but why not just good role models?

Also, it’s contradictory. There’s this push to ensure we’re showing men in what’s considered a ‘caring profession’ yet at the same time, governors will 9/10, all others things being equal, want to promote the man to the Headship over the woman. 2 senior equally qualified internal teachers going for the job and they will instinctively feel more comfortable giving it to the man as if him being ‘leader’ makes more sense. I have seen and heard this myself.

Very few children will not have any exposure to men in a caring capacity
And yet, here we are on Mumsnet with many, many women complaining that their partners are not caring. Funny that.

Yes, but statistically there’s more women on MN who are not in that position.

My son made the most progress with male teachers. I think it was simply he liked the male influence

It's important not because male teachers necessarily do anything different but because it means children know that men can wipe bottoms, give cuddles

Teachers don't do those things - nursery nurses do. I don't see men queueing up to be early years educators on minimum wage.

The fawning over male teachers on this thread is nauseating.

The fawning over male teachers on this thread is nauseating.
Agreed.

Firstly, I would discount what a few people have said about getting preferential treatment as a male. IMO it’s nonsense

Thank goodness a man has arrived to tell the women who are speaking from a professional perspective that they are talking "nonsense".

I don’t know that many, if any, male primary teachers are wiping bums.

Well quite, @BeaStoic. See my stats on class teacher Vs HT above.

My DD is in Year 3 and two of her teachers so far have been male. Both teachers are very popular with students and parents alike. I think it's good to have a mixture of male and female teachers.

My DD has a male NQT this year and the class absolutely adore him and are thriving in the change from the female teachers they have had so far who have all been very soft motherly types. He's made a great impression on the parents too. My younger DD has a male nursery teacher as well which I love. There aren't enough male role models in early education for young children and I think it's very important. Go for it definitely!

The male primary teachers I know are treated like celebrities by the parents and given plenty of responsibility within school. However they all happen to be really good teachers too - perhaps a self selecting group as more likely to go into it as a vocation?

Check out Raising Boys by Steve Biddulph. Not specifically about male teachers but a lot of thoughtful stuff about the importance of good male role models at different ages.

Of course the OP should go for it if it’s the career he wants. But he shouldn’t go for it more because he’s a man. And if he was worried that parents would feel uncomfortable about a man working with primary age children then this thread should do more than reassure him that that is far from the way things are.

Funny how we don't hear parents evangelising about what wonderful role models female teachers are in primary.

Funny how we don't hear parents evangelising about what wonderful role models female teachers are in primary.

Of course they are also wonderful role models but 1, this is a thread about male primary teachers and 2, female primary school teachers aren't in short supply. It's surely important for primary schools to offer role models of both sexes.

Not so many male teachers in our school (maybe 30%), but about half of the TAs are male. Its great, loads of different role models

I've never in all my years in on MN heard female teachers being praised as role models.

@BeaStoic
Firstly, we have no idea which posters are speaking from a "professional" perspective and which aren't - most posters have not mentioned it.
Secondly,even if some staff believe that men/attractive people/X race people etc are hired more easily, that doesn't make it so. Strong claims require strong evidence - you've provided none. The default position is surely that head teachers will hire teachers based on their ability to enhance the performance and reputation of their school/Ofsted rather than their genitals/physical appearance. This goes for most organisations.