鈥淚t takes some degree either of social ignorance or of personal courage for a man to enter teaching at the elementary school level,鈥� wrote education professor George I. Brown in a 1960 Phi Delta Kappan article about recruiting more men to the teaching profession. For a man to teach 鈥渋s to spit in the face of a strong societal stereotype.鈥�
More than 60 years later, these assertions may seem vastly outdated. But females continue to outnumber males in K-12 classrooms by about 3 to 1, and stereotyping persists.
鈥淲hen I started teaching I was thought of as a lumbering football coach,鈥� said Nick Schloeder, a 5th grade teacher at the all-boys Gilman School in Baltimore, Md., and offensive line coach for Johns Hopkins University鈥檚 football team. 鈥淭hey see a big male teacher. They don鈥檛 see him as being sensitive, well-read, thoughtful.鈥�
Like many male elementary teachers around the nation, 28-year veteran teacher Schloeder has just one or two male colleagues鈥攁 dynamic he says hasn鈥檛 changed much over the years. It also seems to reflect nationwide numbers. Males made up 25 percent of all K-12 teachers during the 1999-2000 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics; in 2017-18, that number was 24 percent.
Nevertheless, countless males鈥攗ndeterred by stereotypes or minority status鈥攖hrive at the head of K-12 classrooms. We caught up with some of them to find out why they entered the profession, what it鈥檚 like to be a minority in the profession, and what they think could be done to inspire more men to join their ranks.
On becoming a teacher
Of the male teachers interviewed for this article, each found the profession via a different path: a career change, inspiring childhood role models, Peace Corps, Teach For America. Few male teachers, it seems, grow up wanting to be a teacher. For some, it was the last thing on their mind.
鈥淲hen I was going through K-12 education, there鈥檚 no way on the face of the earth that I would say that I would want to be a teacher. My K-12 education was like me serving time,鈥� said Kenneth Smith, a 20-year veteran teacher of Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Md. Smith, who describes his formative education as devoid of intellectual stimulation, says he strives to connect with his students and teach them to think critically.
Smith began looking for a new professional direction when his first job as a research assistant in the Brooklyn district attorney鈥檚 office proved, quite simply, boring. 鈥淚 hated what I was doing, sitting behind a computer all day,鈥� Smith said.
Volunteering for Manhattan-based , a program that supports high school dropouts, sparked an interest in teaching for Smith. From there, he enrolled in the inaugural class of a program at Howard University that facilitated the path for Black men to become certified teachers by offering tuition-free coursework and teacher certification. 鈥淚 was in a cohort with a solid group of Black men,鈥� recalled Smith, who received the teacher of the year award for his district from the Washington Post in 2018.
That Howard program has since ended, but similar initiatives have followed, including Howard University鈥檚 Teacher Residency Program, which focuses on attracting Black males and is partially funded by the U.S. Department of Education, according to the school鈥檚 Dean of Education Dawn Williams.
On being in the minority
That comradery eluded Smith when he started teaching. Attending a large conference for educators in the late 1990s as a new teacher, he became acutely aware of his minority status. 鈥淚 remember walking through the halls and realizing that I didn鈥檛 see one Black face, let alone one Black male face,鈥� Smith said.
It wasn鈥檛 until years later that Smith began to build a network of male teachers of color by becoming an active member of , a program started by educators within the Montgomery County, Md., school system to increase and retain male educators of color.
Smith鈥檚 early experience reflects the reality of Black male teachers in this country, who make up only 2 percent of the nation鈥檚 teachers, according to the . Those low numbers persist despite showing the positive impact that just a single Black male teacher can have on a young student鈥檚 life.
Bernard Alexander, a second-year teacher, can relate. 鈥淚 have kids tell me, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e my first male teacher, you鈥檙e my first Black male teacher,鈥欌�� said Alexander, who teaches 8th grade English/language arts at Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice Middle School in Hartford, Conn. 鈥淚t鈥檚 never lost on me the impact I can make, especially as a Black male. Kids do need that role model,鈥� Alexander said.
High school biology teacher Bryan Meeker was struck by the gender divide during his student teaching stint, as the only male on a four-person team. 鈥淚 had some work I had to do, not only to show I had value, but to get to a place where we could collaborate better,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t can be isolating.鈥�
Meeker had a far different experience while teaching during a Peace Corp assignment in Sierra Leone.
鈥淓ducators are valued in a different way there. The highest paid person in the village was the [male] principal of the high school,鈥� said Meeker, now employed at Major Hector P. Garcia M.D., a charter high school in Chicago.
Expectation to move into administration
With the exception of Alexander, in his second year teaching, every teacher interviewed for this article said they鈥檝e been asked repeatedly if and when they plan to become administrators.
Although 70 percent of all K-12 educators are women, more than 85 percent of public school superintendents are male, according to , the School Superintendents Association. But male teachers who鈥檝e embraced their profession aren鈥檛 necessarily interested in becoming administrators, even if it means more clout, money, and esteem鈥攖raits traditionally ascribed to male professionals.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen what they [i.e., administrators] do. I have very little interest sitting in an office crunching budget numbers,鈥� said Meeker. 鈥淚 would struggle going to school every day and not interacting with students.鈥�
Fifth grade teacher Schloeder, who said he鈥檚 been asked 鈥渁bout a hundred times鈥� when he鈥檚 going to become an administrator, concurs.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an incredible responsibility to foster that educational experience,鈥� he said of his role as an elementary school teacher.
Recruiting, retaining more male teachers
Sharing with male adults how meaningful teaching is could help attract more males to the profession, many say. 鈥淭here are people out there who are smart and are looking for [professional] fulfillment,鈥� said Schloeder.
Others note the value of piquing males鈥� interest in teaching while they鈥檙e young. The BOND Project鈥檚 boys鈥� leadership program, aimed at males of color from 4th grade through high school, is an example. 鈥淲e develop relationships, try to be the model of what teaching is,鈥� said Smith, who鈥檚 actively engaged in the initiative.
Simply being a constant and passionate male presence in the classroom could also be enough to interest boys in following the footsteps of their male teachers.
鈥淚 would say it鈥檚 the most rewarding job you can have,鈥� Schloeder said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know of many professions where you get such daily gratification.鈥�
