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.

At my dcs school there is 1 male teacher he started in year 4 and now teaches year 6 and there is a male TA in year 3. I see it as a positive and primary education would benefit from more male teachers.
The male teacher at our school is a positive influence on some of the more difficult pupils.

It's great for the children to have both men and women teachers in schools

I work jn HR in a mat and we would love more (good) primary male teachers. Most of our schools don't have any and those that do only ever have 1.

For our gender pay gap figures though what we really need is more male TAs 😂

I'm not really fussed about the sex of a teacher as long as they are good at their job. I hope I wouldn't fawn over a teacher because he's Male. But we have 2 DSs so I'm all in favour of positive Male role models. (DH is a nurse and our DSs are not yet rigid in there gender ideas).

My only primary experience of a male teacher as a student was in year 6 and he was a horrible bully. He ruled with physical force, shouting and slamming a hockey puck on his desk. A girl in my class, school refused that year because if him. But that was about a bad individual not his sex.

DS1 is in reception and likes the male SEN TA who works with a specific boy because "he plays the best games and will chase you at playtime". No sophisticated analysis there I'm afraid.

In my 20 years of teaching I’ve trained and worked with several male trainees and teachers. Some of them have been truly awful, no idea about what the job entails, lazy and entitled. Because some of them actually believe their own hype and think they should have special privileges. Without exception they have been coached, nurtured and helped along by older, more experienced female colleagues because male teachers just do get more support and generally accept this as their due.
Only one of them has been truly excellent. Our assistant head is male and is very good. He would be embarrassed to be fawned over. Our parents usually just use him as a threat. Let’s not forget that primary teaching is seen as a female profession because of the holidays fitting in with childcare and the fact that it’s relatively poorly paid and really fucking hard work.
What a slap in the face for all female teachers to see men being drooled over like this. It’s very telling.

Elbeagle
Would you have preferred to have been taught 100 years ago?

Why and when did teaching switch so far into female ? It's a tragedy that men seem to have grown beyond teaching nowadays or is that due to the female growth of equality in the work place?

How did the profession switch from mostly male to mostly female in a relatively short space of time generationally speaking. 2-3 at most.

dungtwicebother why have you directed that post at me?

Do you not understand what I was saying? You referred to yourself as being ‘meh’ about maths because you’re a ‘typical girl’. Then talked about needing equality. We are never going to have equality if people like you perpetuate myths like maths being for men.

My boy is in year 3 and he has male teacher.
Teacher is brilliant and I think he is the best teacher we've had so far. Also at the moment my boy has male student who temporary does some work. My son said: I really really like him and I will be very sad when he leaves us.

Personally I wish we had more male teachers.
I wish you best of luck!

^*"Would you have preferred to have been taught 100 years ago?

Why and when did teaching switch so far into female ? It's a tragedy that men seem to have grown beyond teaching nowadays or is that due to the female growth of equality in the work place?"*^

100 years ago the majority of primary school teachers were unmarried women (they had to leave the profession when they married) Few men worked as teachers because the pay was poor.
So in answer to your question, the switch in recent years has been more men entering the profession ...

Fed up and purple daisies, Drspouse is correct in England the law states that in EYFS, which includes reception -

3.27. Each child must be assigned a key person. Their role is to help ensure that every child’s care is tailored to meet their individual needs (in accordance with paragraph 1.10), to help the child become familiar with the setting, offer a settled relationship for the child and build a relationship with their parents

We had lots of male teachers at my primary school in the early 2000s. One of my close friends is a male primary teacher. It's not a female profession. Teachers are there to teach - it shouldn't matter what gender they are.

Without exception they have been coached, nurtured and helped along by older, more experienced female colleagues because male teachers just do get more support and generally accept this as their due

Thank god someone came along to say this!! It is 100% true!! They expect it and they get it. Women are constantly picking up after them, relieving them of the boring admin tasks of the job (‘because men aren’t great at that’) and generally saving them from the consequences of their own crapness. It’s so irksome.

Thank god someone came along to say this!! It is 100% true!!

I'm sure it is true in plenty of cases. It is absolutely not true 'without exception.'

I am a former male primary teacher and I had a real tough time in the profession. The thinking is behind secondary as, quite frankly, the academic level of many primary teachers (I worked with) just isn't that strong. There is more of a propensity to treat young children like babies than to build them into the strong, academic minds that they can be. I have worked in state, independent and faith school settings.

^^Prime example of a typical male primary teacher's patronising thinking, ime.

Thank you for demonstrating it so succinctly!

What an arsehole.

Are you now a secondary school teacher then EPJ23.

I’ve done both and there is no difference in academic ability, only preference for children’s stage of life. There are good and bad teachers in both primary and secondary.

I’ve got excellent qualifications and if I had a pound for every time I was told I’m “wasted” in primary, I wouldn’t have to go to work. The main difference between the two jobs is the total lack of respect for the skill needed to teach at primary level compared with secondary.

My DD had a male teacher for her first year of primary. He was great, very chilled, great at making learning fun. Nothing to do with him being a man, just a great teacher.

Good luck with your application.

And Feenie, you're the prime example of the type of teacher that exists in primary schools. Instead of focusing on turning the children into geniuses (which lots of them can be) you're more interested in turning it into a defensive gender war. Please note that in my first post, I didn't mention the gender of the poor teachers because I experienced poor teachers of both genders! I also came across excellent teachers of both genders! The best headteacher I had was a female - she just took no-nonsense from anyone and had the highest expectations for ALL of the children she taught.

You’ve totally missed the point of the thread EPJ23.

This about male and female teachers. If you want to moan about how thick and crap primary school teachers are, start your own thread.

Okay, well in line with the thread - there should be more male primary teachers. There should be more strong, alpha type male primary teachers because (in particular) in the most challenging environments, they can thrive. I say this as a boy who loved those teachers at school, and a man who became one of those teachers - children of both genders NEED it and they also like it.

Just as I believe we need more females in male-dominated jobs (geo engineers, electricians, etc) I would like to see more male primary school teachers - especially in the younger years. There are only 2 in my child’s large school, and unfortunately they seem to be regarded as a bit of an oddity/warily.

There needs to be more male teachers in primary and even more so in early years. We need good male role models in schools

There should be more strong, alpha type male primary teachers because (in particular) in the most challenging environments, they can thrive.

Alpha males meaning what? Not everyone has to be a shouty, “I’m the boss” type to be an effective teacher. Challenging all the kids is really important and for me, that’s all about creating a safe, positive atmosphere where trying your best is celebrated. That doesn’t need an alpha male/female teacher.