I conducted interviews with future and current teachers in different levels of education: early childhood, primary, and secondary education. I asked each of these individuals the same 6 questions to compare their responses of feminism in their field of work/study:
1. In your field of work/study, what is the male to female ratio? Are there more men or women in your field of work/study?
Brendan (Future Early Childhood Educator)
Female to Male ratio 8:1
Emma & Lillian (Future Primary Educators)
More women than men
Madison (Future Secondary Educator)
14 females and 10 males in Teacher Education class
Mary (Primary Education)
Female 75% Male 25%
Don (Secondary Education)
Females: 53 Males: 33
Brendan (Future Early Childhood Educator)
Female to Male ratio 8:1
Emma & Lillian (Future Primary Educators)
More women than men
Madison (Future Secondary Educator)
14 females and 10 males in Teacher Education class
Mary (Primary Education)
Female 75% Male 25%
Don (Secondary Education)
Females: 53 Males: 33
2. Why do you think this is? Why do you think there are more women than men/men than women?
Brendan (Future Early Childhood Educator)
I think there are more women than men in this field because of a certain stereotype that has been in play for many years. Women have been seen as the primary caretaker because of being “soothing, compassionate, caring, kind, thoughtful, and listening to the children’s needs.” Men have been known to be more strict and seem to be more intimidating then women when it comes to education.
Madison (Future Secondary Educator)
In the past, women were expected to care for the children while men were doing more "masculine" jobs and "bringing home the bacon". I believe this thought has been carried through throughout the years where women are supposed to care for the children and teach them, while men are meant to have more high end careers.
Mary (Primary Education)
The movie Mean Girls? Yeah, her punishment was participating in the math competition. And only after she saw Aaron’s face was she able to get the answer. And Tina Fey, the math teacher, was divorced, frumpy, and had to get an additional job to support herself. Culturally, we do not make science and math an easy venue for girls.
The female administrator is often haunted by the time she has to spend away from her children. Many, many qualified women choose not to pursue administrative positions because it will make them choose between their family and their job.
Don (Secondary Education)
I read some data recently that showed that as of 2012, around 94% of preschool teachers in the United States are female, 87% of primary teachers are female, 67% of middle school teachers are female, and 57% of high school teachers are female.
Brendan (Future Early Childhood Educator)
I think there are more women than men in this field because of a certain stereotype that has been in play for many years. Women have been seen as the primary caretaker because of being “soothing, compassionate, caring, kind, thoughtful, and listening to the children’s needs.” Men have been known to be more strict and seem to be more intimidating then women when it comes to education.
Madison (Future Secondary Educator)
In the past, women were expected to care for the children while men were doing more "masculine" jobs and "bringing home the bacon". I believe this thought has been carried through throughout the years where women are supposed to care for the children and teach them, while men are meant to have more high end careers.
Mary (Primary Education)
The movie Mean Girls? Yeah, her punishment was participating in the math competition. And only after she saw Aaron’s face was she able to get the answer. And Tina Fey, the math teacher, was divorced, frumpy, and had to get an additional job to support herself. Culturally, we do not make science and math an easy venue for girls.
The female administrator is often haunted by the time she has to spend away from her children. Many, many qualified women choose not to pursue administrative positions because it will make them choose between their family and their job.
Don (Secondary Education)
I read some data recently that showed that as of 2012, around 94% of preschool teachers in the United States are female, 87% of primary teachers are female, 67% of middle school teachers are female, and 57% of high school teachers are female.
3. Do you think this effects the learning environment for children/students? Why or why not?
Brendan (Future Early Childhood Educator)
It doesn’t matter what sex the teacher is, just as long as the teacher cares about the students and actually pushes them to the best of their ability and lends help when they notice the student honestly struggling, then that is what makes a good teacher.
Emma (Future Primary Educator)
Yes because if children are mainly interacting with women they will assume only women are teachers. This could be limiting.
Madison (Future Secondary Educator)
The men who are in this field want to become educators because they do care about students, they do have a certain nurturing attitude, and they do want to help the students feel like they are welcomed into their classroom. Teachers, in general, have a "want" to help; therefore, the gender of the teacher does not effect the learning environment.
Mary (Primary Education)
I think that the biggest effect on a child’s learning environment isn’t gender; the biggest impact is the asinine, ridiculous, uninformed, counter-intuitive “business model” of education. It won’t matter what teacher is in front of students if this money grab for learning continues because learning cannot continue if we have to continually train students to take tests rather than think.
Don (Secondary Education)
In my opinion it totally depends on the situation of each student. Does the student have both a mother and a father in their life? Does the student have other underlying issues with either their mother or their father?
Brendan (Future Early Childhood Educator)
It doesn’t matter what sex the teacher is, just as long as the teacher cares about the students and actually pushes them to the best of their ability and lends help when they notice the student honestly struggling, then that is what makes a good teacher.
Emma (Future Primary Educator)
Yes because if children are mainly interacting with women they will assume only women are teachers. This could be limiting.
Madison (Future Secondary Educator)
The men who are in this field want to become educators because they do care about students, they do have a certain nurturing attitude, and they do want to help the students feel like they are welcomed into their classroom. Teachers, in general, have a "want" to help; therefore, the gender of the teacher does not effect the learning environment.
Mary (Primary Education)
I think that the biggest effect on a child’s learning environment isn’t gender; the biggest impact is the asinine, ridiculous, uninformed, counter-intuitive “business model” of education. It won’t matter what teacher is in front of students if this money grab for learning continues because learning cannot continue if we have to continually train students to take tests rather than think.
Don (Secondary Education)
In my opinion it totally depends on the situation of each student. Does the student have both a mother and a father in their life? Does the student have other underlying issues with either their mother or their father?
4. Do you think this effects the work environment for you as a professional/future professional? Why or why not?
Brendan (Future Early Childhood Educator)
Being outnumbered by females can affect the work environment, if you let it.
Mary (Primary Education)
The woman is a norm: Hollywood has made a billion movies about her.
The man is the rarity: he will be moved quickly out of the classroom into the main office, and that is not always the wisest move.
Don (Secondary Education)
True professionals, in my opinion, should be able to put gender aside while in the workplace.
Brendan (Future Early Childhood Educator)
Being outnumbered by females can affect the work environment, if you let it.
Mary (Primary Education)
The woman is a norm: Hollywood has made a billion movies about her.
The man is the rarity: he will be moved quickly out of the classroom into the main office, and that is not always the wisest move.
Don (Secondary Education)
True professionals, in my opinion, should be able to put gender aside while in the workplace.
5. I have been reading a book about women and teaching and it states that there is more concern regarding the lack of male teachers at upper primary-level because at this stage maternal qualities need to be replaced with more academic vigor. What do you think about that? Do you believe this is true? Why or why not?
Brendan (Future Early Childhood Educator)
Those teachers, male AND female, were all kind and caring, yet also strict and stern. Having female teachers didn’t make a difference whether or not we would get in trouble for failing a test or talking in class. The punishment depended on the teacher, and what they thought was best for us to learn from our mistakes
Lillian (Future Primary Educator)
I think this is bullshit because it implies that women do not have academic vigor while also saying that men cannot be maternal representatives in the classroom.
Mary (Primary Education)
I think that is biggest load of bullshit that I have ever heard. Are you kidding me???? Women cannot provide rigor??? The underlying assumption there simply fosters a point I made before. Still, even in 2015, the authors of those ridiculous articles imply that a woman, by nature, will coddle and soothe and reduce rigor to make students feel loved, protected, and safe. WTF??? I reply with a nod to Virginia Woolf’s essay re. killing the Angle of the Home: we are not weak, dear author, we are strong and the strength of women, the vision of women, the very rigor a woman will provide to her students can be as great as a man’s. What a load of crap. Seriously? An academic journal actually had the audacity to print that? What a perpetuation of damning assumptions. No wonder idiots like Donald Trump can espouse moronic view points if academia is printing dribble like that. (whoa…that clearly hit a nerve)
Caitlin (Primary Education)
As kids get older in the upper grades, the amount of nurturing they received in younger grades is replaced by more instruction and routine because they are at the age where they can handle that. You typically see male teachers in the upper grades because they aren't as nurturing and can fit the spot where rigor takes place of nurturing.
Don (Secondary Education)
To say that a male teacher is more capable of exposing students to academic rigor is ignorant. I personally know plenty of female teachers who are more than capable of incorporating rigor into their curriculum, and that is exactly what they do.
Brendan (Future Early Childhood Educator)
Those teachers, male AND female, were all kind and caring, yet also strict and stern. Having female teachers didn’t make a difference whether or not we would get in trouble for failing a test or talking in class. The punishment depended on the teacher, and what they thought was best for us to learn from our mistakes
Lillian (Future Primary Educator)
I think this is bullshit because it implies that women do not have academic vigor while also saying that men cannot be maternal representatives in the classroom.
Mary (Primary Education)
I think that is biggest load of bullshit that I have ever heard. Are you kidding me???? Women cannot provide rigor??? The underlying assumption there simply fosters a point I made before. Still, even in 2015, the authors of those ridiculous articles imply that a woman, by nature, will coddle and soothe and reduce rigor to make students feel loved, protected, and safe. WTF??? I reply with a nod to Virginia Woolf’s essay re. killing the Angle of the Home: we are not weak, dear author, we are strong and the strength of women, the vision of women, the very rigor a woman will provide to her students can be as great as a man’s. What a load of crap. Seriously? An academic journal actually had the audacity to print that? What a perpetuation of damning assumptions. No wonder idiots like Donald Trump can espouse moronic view points if academia is printing dribble like that. (whoa…that clearly hit a nerve)
Caitlin (Primary Education)
As kids get older in the upper grades, the amount of nurturing they received in younger grades is replaced by more instruction and routine because they are at the age where they can handle that. You typically see male teachers in the upper grades because they aren't as nurturing and can fit the spot where rigor takes place of nurturing.
Don (Secondary Education)
To say that a male teacher is more capable of exposing students to academic rigor is ignorant. I personally know plenty of female teachers who are more than capable of incorporating rigor into their curriculum, and that is exactly what they do.
6. Do you think changes need to be made in the male to female ratio of teaching professionals? Why or why not?
Brendan (Future Early Childhood Educator)
I think that more men should at least think about working with kids. Sure they will say “Oh, it’s not for me, they won’t like me, etc. etc.”, but they won’t know until they try!!! Put yourself out there and learn. Learn more about yourself, learn more about others. If a school finds a good teacher, male or female, they should hire them. It shouldn’t matter what their sex is, if they can prove to be a good educator, then they should be hired and prove what they came to do. Teach.
Emma (Future Primary Educator)
I think it will be beneficial to both students and staff to have a more equal ration or male and female teachers because it shows students that boys can become teachers too, and that not all girls grow up to be teachers or moms.
Madison (Future Secondary Educator)
Men need to stop looking at education as solely a field for women and understand we need males who are willing to make a difference in school systems.
Mary (Primary Education)
I think that we need to be careful when saying ratios need to change. The bigger question needs to be examining why there is disparity to begin with. If structure creates behavior, and if there is a large disparity, we need to then figure out why the ratio is unbalanced. Is it pay? Is it exposure? Is it that in a family of a lawyer, a nurse practitioner, a physicians assistant, and a CEO, I am known as “just a teacher”? The answer to equity cannot come in just saying “We need to hire more men.” Instead, the root of the issue needs to be corrected.
Caitlin (Primary Education)
Kids need exposure to all sorts of teachers and teaching styles.
Don (Secondary Education)
Though I think it would be great if more males got into the teaching profession, especially at the primary level, I do not think it will ever change. It is just my belief that in general, females are more nurturing and younger students respond to that quality.
Anne (Secondary Education)
I believe both men and women are capable of being great teachers, and I believe both men and women can be subpar as teachers.
Brendan (Future Early Childhood Educator)
I think that more men should at least think about working with kids. Sure they will say “Oh, it’s not for me, they won’t like me, etc. etc.”, but they won’t know until they try!!! Put yourself out there and learn. Learn more about yourself, learn more about others. If a school finds a good teacher, male or female, they should hire them. It shouldn’t matter what their sex is, if they can prove to be a good educator, then they should be hired and prove what they came to do. Teach.
Emma (Future Primary Educator)
I think it will be beneficial to both students and staff to have a more equal ration or male and female teachers because it shows students that boys can become teachers too, and that not all girls grow up to be teachers or moms.
Madison (Future Secondary Educator)
Men need to stop looking at education as solely a field for women and understand we need males who are willing to make a difference in school systems.
Mary (Primary Education)
I think that we need to be careful when saying ratios need to change. The bigger question needs to be examining why there is disparity to begin with. If structure creates behavior, and if there is a large disparity, we need to then figure out why the ratio is unbalanced. Is it pay? Is it exposure? Is it that in a family of a lawyer, a nurse practitioner, a physicians assistant, and a CEO, I am known as “just a teacher”? The answer to equity cannot come in just saying “We need to hire more men.” Instead, the root of the issue needs to be corrected.
Caitlin (Primary Education)
Kids need exposure to all sorts of teachers and teaching styles.
Don (Secondary Education)
Though I think it would be great if more males got into the teaching profession, especially at the primary level, I do not think it will ever change. It is just my belief that in general, females are more nurturing and younger students respond to that quality.
Anne (Secondary Education)
I believe both men and women are capable of being great teachers, and I believe both men and women can be subpar as teachers.