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Don't know if you're being sarcastic. Advocating for more diverse teachers doesn't seem insane to me. I am male and think that my school experience was bettered

by nooron 9y ago

Don't know if you're being sarcastic. Advocating for more diverse teachers doesn't seem insane to me. I am male and think that my school experience was bettered by having a larger than normal number of male teachers. We should probably pay teachers more to encourage more high performers of both genders. I suspect paying better would attract more men as well.

grandmczeb 9y ago
> Advocating for more diverse teachers doesn't seem insane to me. Agreed. I am male as well and while my school did not have many male teachers, I definitely benefited from the few male teachers that did exist. > We should probably pay teachers more to encourage more high performers of both genders. I suspect paying better would attract more men as well. At the (public) schools I went to, teacher pay was solely determined by credentials and seniority. Anecdotally, men seem to be more attracted to positions where compensation is determined through performance and risk. If that's true, perhaps changing teacher pay to be more reflective of performance would increase the number of men.
- sudosteph 9y ago
  I actually don't think it's a performance thing. If we're going with anecdotes here, the few people I know who went into teaching (3 women, 1 man): 1.) Did it because they found the work extremely meaningful 2.) Were already used to living in poverty and accepted that it would continue as a professional. 3.) Knew that any future family/kids would be dependent on having a spouse that earned more than them. I've talked to some men who considered that path, but a few told me they wouldn't pursue it because they'll need to be the breadwinner if they want a family some day, and they can't do that comfortably (without a second job) on a teacher's paycheck. Sorta makes sense though, the men who are most talented and interested in working with children are also most likely to want children of their own. And unfortunately societal pressures do still tell men that they are responsible for providing economically, and that doing so is critical to being attractive as a partner. Hopefully that will change going forward. I know far more partnerships where a woman makes more money among my peer group than my parents know among theirs.

by nooron 9y ago

grandmczeb 9y ago

> Advocating for more diverse teachers doesn't seem insane to me. Agreed. I am male as well and while my school did not have many male teachers, I definitely benefited from the few male teachers that did exist. > We should probably pay teachers more to encourage more high performers of both genders. I suspect paying better would attract more men as well. At the (public) schools I went to, teacher pay was solely determined by credentials and seniority. Anecdotally, men seem to be more attracted to positions where compensation is determined through performance and risk. If that's true, perhaps changing teacher pay to be more reflective of performance would increase the number of men.

sudosteph 9y ago
I actually don't think it's a performance thing. If we're going with anecdotes here, the few people I know who went into teaching (3 women, 1 man): 1.) Did it because they found the work extremely meaningful 2.) Were already used to living in poverty and accepted that it would continue as a professional. 3.) Knew that any future family/kids would be dependent on having a spouse that earned more than them. I've talked to some men who considered that path, but a few told me they wouldn't pursue it because they'll need to be the breadwinner if they want a family some day, and they can't do that comfortably (without a second job) on a teacher's paycheck. Sorta makes sense though, the men who are most talented and interested in working with children are also most likely to want children of their own. And unfortunately societal pressures do still tell men that they are responsible for providing economically, and that doing so is critical to being attractive as a partner. Hopefully that will change going forward. I know far more partnerships where a woman makes more money among my peer group than my parents know among theirs.