
Name: Donnell Hicks
Topic: The Need for More Male Teachers in the School System
For centuries, the teaching profession has been predominantly made up of women in the classroom. More than likely, women teachers are needed to give a decent education to the children preparing them for real life. On the other hand, there is an immense call for more male teachers in the public school system. There are mixed feelings from most people who think men should or shouldn’t teach in the classroom being around small innocent children. One example: a male teaching in the classroom filled with children will raise suspicious doubt amongst both administrative officials and the children’s parents. In any case, if a child can learn the same subjects with a female teacher, why can’t a child learn the same subject with a positive male role model in the classroom? - a person whom the child can look up to and make a change in his/her life? To most people, a male teacher in the classroom is viewed such as a predator or even worse a pedophile preying upon small innocent children. Truth be told, that’s not even the case since male teachers want to make a difference.
On the contrary, most people very much agree that the teaching profession should become more male dominated. It is believed having more male teachers in the classroom will help and influence the children and can have a major impact on their lives in the long run.
I remember in 2007, when I was in college studying to become an elementary school teacher. My professor had everyone in the classroom to go out and do volunteer work in a public school. He wanted us to spend time with the teacher and with the students to get a feel of how to be a teacher in the classroom amongst the students. For me personally, it was an array of mixed views as soon as I stepped foot into the doors of Lorah Park Elementary. There were mixed feelings of hate, joy, and anxiety from everyone in the administration office given the fact I was a young black man coming to spend a few hours with small children. The principal had a spiteful attitude towards me when I told her I was coming to volunteer and write a report to get the knowledge of being a teacher because I was in college studying to become an elementary school teacher. The venom I received from the principal was very heartbreaking to say the least, because I wasn’t at the school to harm any child; I just loved helping children
I didn’t know how the female teacher in the classroom I sat in would accept me and I had doubts of how the children would adapt to me. As the days and weeks progressed, I became a teacher for a day, teaching the third graders Math, English, and Science. I received awesome reviews from other female teachers including the female teacher who I was around all the time. My point is, I was so delighted to know I had made a tremendous difference in those children lives because they adapted to me without hesitation wanting me to return back to their classroom or better yet, stay with them, although I couldn’t. From my experience, I found out that students in the classroom are more attentive and willing to learn more with a male teacher in their presence rather than a female teacher. There really is a high demand for male teachers in the public school system.