I saw a young male teacher today teaching his class of mid-primary kids. Not a headteacher taking a class. Not a ’student’ teacher getting experience of the younger age-group. Just a teacher, doing his job.
What a shame that must be a remarkable sight in many schools. I’ve just looked at reports which imply that male teachers may not make a big positive difference. Depends how you measure it. I’d have hoped that it was of benefit for children of both sexes to interact safely and positively with adult men as well as women. I guess that the male primary school teacher may be such a rare bird that it’s hard to draw any absolute conclusions from their work.
Lots of serious research has been done on teachers, pupils and gender influences - I’m not wanting to pontificate on this. Just my personal opinion: I’d like my kids to feel it was comfortable and unremarkable to see men and women taking on a whole range of roles. And I’d like to lose that feeling that society undervalues learning in the pre-school and primary years.
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