Although there are plenty of desks in Pete Villa鈥檚 4th grade classroom, his 16 students are sitting in pairs on the linoleum floor. Each pair is equipped with a marble, a ruler, and a piece of carpeting. Propping their rulers against books, the students roll their marbles down the rulers and onto the carpet pieces, to see how a change in incline affects velocity and distance.
鈥淒oes everybody have everything they need?鈥 Villa asks.
A warm May breeze blows through the classroom at Cumberland Head Elementary School in Plattsburgh, New York. Part of the Beekmantown district, Cumberland Head serves 500-plus kids in a rural area in the state鈥檚 northeastern corner. Villa鈥檚 brightly colored room is cluttered with projects that have been accumulating since the beginning of the school year. Signs hanging near the blackboard read 鈥淵OU are responsible for your own actions!鈥 and 鈥淎ttitude is a little thing that makes a BIG difference.鈥
As the students work on their science project, the 41-year-old teacher bounces like a teenager from pair to pair. 鈥淥K, guys,鈥 he says, 鈥渞emember when you record your measurements, we鈥檙e talking centimeters here. Do you remember how we record centimeters?鈥
Sixteen confused faces stare at Villa. Finally one boy tentatively raises his hand and says, 鈥淐m?鈥
Villa smiles. 鈥淵es,鈥 he says, chuckling, 鈥渃m is kind of right, but not what I鈥檓 asking. How do you write the numbers? Fractions?鈥
Three hands shoot up. 鈥淣o鈥攄ecimals,鈥 says a girl with short blond hair.
鈥淒ecimals! Good job!鈥 the teacher says, beaming. 鈥淥K, y鈥檃ll are ready to roll!鈥
Dressed in khakis and a navy button-down shirt, Villa could easily be mistaken for a corporate middle manager. But his tie, adorned with colorful handprints, and his hiking boots give him away. This is Villa鈥檚 18th year as a 4th grade teacher, and, according to the bespectacled, dark-haired educator, it鈥檚 far from his last.
鈥淭o be honest,鈥 he says, 鈥渨hen I went for my first teaching job, I took what I could get. What鈥檚 cool about 4th [grade] is that it鈥檚 just the beginning of intermediate information鈥攎ath and science as subjects鈥攁nd it鈥檚 so great to see the beginning of that. I enjoy coming to work every day. I love it.鈥
But Villa is in the minority鈥攁 shrinking minority. Only 9 percent of the country鈥檚 elementary school teachers are male, according to the National Education Association鈥檚 2003 report Status of the American Public School Teacher. Although the NEA鈥檚 statistics were drawn from the 2000-01 school year, they鈥檙e still considered definitive by those keeping tabs on men, who, according to the report, amounted to just 21 percent of all teachers. The report covers a 40-year span, and the midway mark, 1981, seems to have been a renaissance year for males, who accounted for 33 percent of all teachers and 18 percent of elementary school educators.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know,鈥 Villa says, trying to explain why today鈥檚 numbers are so low. 鈥淚 think maybe, at first, when men look at elementary ed, some might think it鈥檚 girly, like men aren鈥檛 supposed to have feelings or something.鈥
Or maybe the media鈥檚 to blame. 鈥淥n TV,鈥 he explains, 鈥測ou don鈥檛 really see men in elementary education. You see Wall Street types ... making a lot of money. My [college] roommate was like that, and now he鈥檚 in the middle of his sixth corporate takeover and doesn鈥檛 know where he鈥檚 going to get his next meal.鈥
Roommate experiences aside, money remains the primary stumbling block for many would-be teachers, according to Tom Blanford, associate director of the NEA鈥檚 teacher quality department. 鈥淚n professions that are traditionally female, salaries are designed for employees to take significant time off from the work force, not employees who are full-time and in it for the long haul,鈥 explains Blanford, who taught high school for 15 years. 鈥淎dd that [teaching is] seen as a predominantly female profession, and it鈥檚 hard to break the mold.鈥
This mind-set is reinforced by contradictory messages about men鈥檚 roles. They鈥檙e 鈥渟upposed to be strong and financially powerful, but at the same time be nurturing as fathers,鈥 says Bryan Nelson, the founder of MenTeach, a nonprofit that seeks ways to recruit male teachers. He also teaches early education classes at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, Minnesota. 鈥淪ociety,鈥 Nelson says, 鈥渟ends a very strong message that there is something wrong with a man who wants to be associated with something so female, like caring for children.鈥
Efforts to increase the number of male teachers are gathering steam, however. For several years now, Clemson University鈥檚 Call Me Mister program, for example, has been directing African American men toward education studies in college. And NEA members are now asking that the male-shortage problem be considered a priority. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have our marching orders yet, but we can see it coming,鈥 says Blanford.
What they鈥檙e already up againstis the perfect societal storm. In 2002, after surveying members of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, MenTeach confirmed what many believe are the primary reasons men stay away from teaching: low wages, a feminine stereotype, and fear of being accused of abuse. Says Nelson, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just one factor鈥攊t鈥檚 a combination.鈥
鈥業f teachers were paid a hundred thousand dollars, we鈥檇 see more men in teaching,鈥 says Bryan Nelson of MenTeach. 鈥楾he unfortunate reality is that in many parts of our society, people feel that if a man isn鈥檛 bringing home the bacon, what use is he?鈥
New York鈥檚 Clinton County, home of Cumberland Head Elementary, is sandwiched between Adirondack Park and the Canadian border. The small towns and rural surroundings make it easy to lead a relatively simple life. But even in a place where a dollar goes far, raising a family requires a decent salary. Bob Harris, a 52-year-old math teacher who鈥檚 nearing retirement at Beekmantown Middle School, believes that for men, money is the biggest issue when considering teaching.
鈥淭his world is so competitive, and it鈥檚 not glamorous to say you鈥檙e a teacher,鈥 he says. 鈥淏ut mainly, it鈥檚 the economics. The beginning salary in my school is $33,500, [and] it tops out in the mid-60s, and that鈥檚 after 30 years of teaching. I have a cousin whose two sons are pharmacists and started their first jobs at $62,000. So you can see the dilemma.鈥
To be sure, educators鈥 salaries are relatively low. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, they range, on average, from $45,670 for elementary school to $48,420 for high school. Preschool teachers fare even worse, averaging $23,940 a year.
While teacher salaries have been rising steadily鈥攂y roughly 3 percent annually, according to the American Federation of Teachers鈥攖he costs of health care and housing have by far outpaced those gains. Health insurance costs have increased 13 percent each year, the AFT notes. According to the National Association of Realtors, the median home price is roughly $218,000 and, by year鈥檚 end, will have increased by 10.5 percent since 2004.
鈥淚f teachers were paid a hundred thousand dollars, we鈥檇 see more men in teaching,鈥 says Nelson. 鈥淭he unfortunate reality is that in many parts of our society, people feel that if a man isn鈥檛 bringing home the bacon, what use is he?鈥
Single men, however, may not feel the same pressure. Mark McFadden, a 38-year-old high school English teacher in Burlington, Vermont, says his salary fits his lifestyle. Add in the vacation time, and teaching is the perfect job. 鈥淣owadays teachers can make $50,000 to $60,000 per year, and to some people, that鈥檚 pretty respectable,鈥 says McFadden, a 10-year veteran. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 single, and I can see how the pay would become a problem if I were trying to raise a family.鈥
McFadden also admits that pay isn鈥檛 the only issue. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think this country values its teachers,鈥 he explains. 鈥淚f you mix in the male ego, some men don鈥檛 see it as a noble pursuit. Personally, I can鈥檛 think of anything more important, but in our society, money means appreciation, and it would be hard to attract men who want to be appreciated.鈥
Appreciation isn鈥檛 a problem for Pete Villa at the moment. His 4th graders are playing one of their favorite games: spelling bowling. They鈥檝e been paired up once again, and each pair has been given dice and a list of words. If a team spells a word correctly, it gets to roll for points, and the team with the most points wins. But the game has rules.
鈥淭wo minutes left鈥攈ey!鈥 Villa says after seeing a pair of dice skitter halfway across the classroom floor.
鈥淣o, no鈥擨 was just putting it back!鈥 pleads a boy, quickly retrieving his dice.
Games are a big part of Villa鈥檚 MO. He says he鈥檚 like a kid himself, and he sees a difference in how quickly students learn when they鈥檙e having fun. 鈥淚鈥檓 always on the lookout to find ways to make it fun but can鈥檛 always do it because we have so much material to cover,鈥 he explains, keeping an eye out for stray dice. 鈥淭here鈥檚 just a lot of work to be done each day.鈥
As with most teachers, strategizing doesn鈥檛 stop for Villa when he leaves school grounds. His work follows him home, to the grocery store, and even on vacations with his family鈥攈is wife, Katy, and their two elementary-age boys. But this diligence is balanced by job satisfaction. 鈥淚 definitely feel appreciated by the people I work with and the kids I teach,鈥 Villa says. 鈥淎nd the parents appreciate me, too鈥攖hat is, until their taxes are raised.鈥
A sense of humor is one of the many traits fellow 4th grade teacher Kathy Miller admires in Villa. 鈥淗e鈥檚 great,鈥 she says. 鈥淗e has a really nice rapport with the kids and really connects with them鈥攅specially the boys, which is ... a nice change of pace.鈥
Barrett Waling, a 5th grader who had Villa last year, remembers enjoying his first experience having a male teacher. 鈥淗e was funny,鈥 Barrett says. 鈥淗e had 鈥榳hat if鈥 sessions where we could just ask questions instead of wasting time. He was rumored to be the funny teacher who you wanted to get.鈥
It鈥檚 recess time for Villa鈥檚 class. Anxious to enjoy the spring air, 13 students fidget near the door until their teacher gives them the go-ahead. Three remain behind, correcting homework from the day before. One by one, Villa checks their work and sets each student free. The last, a pretty blond girl named Asia, stays in the room with Villa for several minutes before handing in her paper.
鈥淟et鈥檚 see here. No, no鈥攖he 鈥楤鈥 has to go like this,鈥 Villa says, showing the girl what he means. 鈥淕o write 鈥榖eautiful鈥 the right way, and you can head out.鈥
鈥淟ike this?鈥 Asia asks several moments later.
鈥淵es! B-e-a-u-tiful!鈥 says Villa. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e free鈥攇o play!鈥
Before the last word is out of his mouth, Asia is out the door.
As innocent as this scene is, the public perception of male educators in particular has been sorely tested by headlines that seem ubiquitous: 鈥淭eacher Accused of Sex Abuse鈥 and 鈥淢usic Teacher Charged with Sex Assault of Pupil,鈥 for example. And in Educator Sexual Misconduct, an analysis of several sex abuse studies that Hofstra University professor Charol Shakeshaft did for the U.S. Department of Education in 2004, she concludes that 鈥渕ore than 4.5 million students are subject to sexual misconduct by an employee of a school sometime between kindergarten and 12th grade.鈥 Both men and women are perpetrators, but it鈥檚 more likely to be men; in the studies Shakeshaft reviewed, males accounted for 57.2 percent to 96 percent of cases.
Even though the vast majority of teachers behave appropriately, the headlines and studies have resulted in a rising tide of suspicion, which has many male faculty members holding back emotionally. 鈥淲hen it comes to touching and hugging,鈥 says Mark Ginsberg, NAEYC executive director, 鈥渋t is more sanctioned with female teachers and it causes men to be more reserved. Right or wrong, men fall under a different magnification.鈥
Bob Harris believes that the public鈥檚 perception of male teachers has changed drastically during the past three decades. 鈥淵ou have to be very careful,鈥 he says. 鈥淲hen I first started teaching, you could go to a student鈥檚 house for tutoring, and even if the student鈥檚 parents weren鈥檛 there, you could go on in, tutor, leave, and fear no consequences. Today you wouldn鈥檛 even think of going in the home. The first thing you have to do is call to see if an adult is there.鈥
McFadden concurs, saying that while it鈥檚 important he shows his students that he cares, what鈥檚 considered appropriate behavior is a moving target. 鈥淚 do have to watch my back,鈥 he adds. 鈥淭he way I show affection is to go to as many out-of-the-classroom, school-sponsored activities as I can. I want the students to see that I鈥檓 there for them. But I would not give a student a ride home.鈥
Behavioral conduct, to a large degree, is scripted these days. In New York, for example, where prospective teaching employees statewide are fingerprinted and undergo an extensive background check, there are strict rules about reporting sexual abuse and stiff penalties for failing to do so. Nationally, organizations like the NAEYC advise early childhood educators to establish a parental presence by adopting 鈥減olicies and practices that promote close partnerships with families.鈥 Clemson鈥檚 Call Me Mister program emphasizes the importance of being a role model and tells its teacher trainees not to place themselves in compromising positions with students.
Villa says of the stigma that male teachers must bear, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a reality of the job, just like a truck driver鈥檚 reality is that cars may come across your path and you might crash. ... [But] if you鈥檙e doing things right, you shouldn鈥檛 have to worry about it. So I don鈥檛.鈥
The same can鈥檛 be said for Steve Weber, a teacher who met MenTeach鈥檚 Nelson during a seminar and has a cautionary tale to share. Fifteen years ago, Weber says, when he was 38 and working as a preschool teacher in Minnesota, he was removed from class after the mother of a 5-year-old blind girl accused him of abusing her daughter. According to Weber, the mother later admitted to a school administrator and a social worker that her boyfriend was the abuser. She鈥檇 been afraid the man would leave her if she told the truth.
鈥淗onestly, I was pissed!鈥 Weber recalls. 鈥淚 knew I hadn鈥檛 done anything, and I made it painfully clear. At the time, I didn鈥檛 realize the severity of what was happening. I thought, 鈥楾his is all nonsense, and I needn鈥檛 worry.鈥 That would certainly not be the case now.鈥
In the early 1980s, Pete Villa was a typical high school guy trying to decide on a career. During summers, he worked at camps and coached Little League, so he wasn鈥檛 surprised, after taking a career assessment test in college, that one recommendation was teaching. Villa graduated with a certificate in K-6 education, and 18 school calendars later, he鈥檚 a dedicated elementary school teacher, while Katy, his wife of 15 years, works in the male-dominated field of electrical engineering.
鈥淵eah, we鈥檙e kind of in reversed roles, I guess,鈥 says Villa, shrugging. 鈥淢y wife definitely makes a higher salary than I do, but I couldn鈥檛 care less鈥攁s long as we鈥檙e bringing in cash from somewhere.鈥
As comfortable as Villa feels, he鈥檚 also aware that, for many students, he is the first male teacher they鈥檝e encountered. So at the beginning of each school year, he expects some hesitation. But Barrett Waling鈥檚 mother, Ann, says she was 鈥渞eally glad鈥 when she found out Villa would be her son鈥檚 4th grade teacher. 鈥淵ou never know how women are going to react to boys in the classroom,鈥 she explains. 鈥淚 find that because men have been boys, they鈥檙e a lot better with the boy temperament.鈥
Among educators, though, that sentiment isn鈥檛 always shared. When participants in the MenTeach/NAEYC study were asked whether they agree with the statement 鈥淚t is important that men work with children in early childhood education,鈥 63 percent indicated they strongly agreed. But when separated by gender, 鈥渢here was a significant difference between women鈥檚 and men鈥檚 responses,鈥 according to the report鈥攚ith 82 percent of the men strongly agreeing versus 62 percent of the women. One female in her 50s went so far as to write, 鈥淚 think it is a job more appropriate for women,鈥 while another in her 30s said, 鈥淎 woman is more nurturing and more apt to have experience by being a mother.鈥
鈥淭here is still this mythology that women are the nurturers and that men are the breadwinners,鈥 says the NAEYC鈥檚 Ginsberg. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not simple to break because it鈥檚 systemic.鈥
So why teach little kids at all? Many men say the reason is they feel needed in the classroom more than ever.
鈥淚 see a lot of single-parent families where there aren鈥檛 any fathers,鈥 explains Villa. 鈥淲hat happens a lot of the time is that there are children who don鈥檛 have a male influence in their lives. I think they look to me for that.鈥
He may be right. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 43 percent of today鈥檚 first marriages will end in divorce within 15 years, and the U.S. Census Bureau reports that 82 percent of single-parent households are headed by women.
It was a combination of these all-too-common situations for many students in South Carolina鈥檚 public schools that sparked the inception of Call Me Mister. Established at Clemson in 1997, the program is aimed at recruiting, certifying, and eventually finding employment in elementary schools for 200 African American males. To recruit candidates, the admissions staff goes to high schools, churches, and other community centers, where they meet with young men. They then invite those who show an interest in education to apply to one of the nine South Carolina colleges participating in Call Me Mister. Once a recruit is established as an early education major and shows that he鈥檚 able to maintain a minimum 2.7 GPA, he鈥檚 given tuition assistance, academic tutoring, and constant mentoring.
Active recruitment began in 2001, and thus far, 125 students have enrolled and 15 graduates have made their ways to classrooms鈥攋ust a drop in the bucket, according to Call Me Mister鈥檚 director, Roy Jones. 鈥淲hen the program started, one of the most striking statistics ... was the fact that there are 14,655 African American men in South Carolina鈥檚 prison system [and] fewer than 200 in elementary education,鈥 he says. 鈥淐hildren are struggling because of the lack of male presence in homes and classrooms.鈥
Established at Clemson University, Call Me Mister is aimed at recruiting, certifying, and placing 200 African American males in elementary schools. So far, 125 students have enrolled and 15 graduates have made their ways to classrooms.
The Call Me Mister model has not gone unnoticed. Although MenTeach鈥檚 Nelson has been speaking at education colleges and sponsoring workshops for male educators since the late 1970s, he鈥檚 now stepping up his focus on recruitment鈥攑articularly at the college level. Teacher training, he says, needs to be more 鈥渕ale-friendly,鈥 with education majors receiving one-on-one mentoring, immediate exposure to classrooms, and perhaps a stipend.
To help achieve these goals, MenTeach has joined with a coalition of universities, libraries, school systems, and teacher associations to apply for a $7 million federal grant. If the U.S. Department of Education awards the grant (an answer is due in the fall), Nelson plans to implement development programs鈥攕haring some of the same goals as Call Me Mister鈥攁t various Minnesota college campuses. 鈥淥ur focus will be recruiting underrepresented men, then taking those men who have different levels of education and experience in teaching and move them to their next level of training,鈥 Nelson says.
His aim, in other words, is to offer something that most education schools don鈥檛. But some are looking closely at their core programs to see whether they can make men feel more welcome. Victoria Chou, dean of the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, for example, says UIC鈥檚 attempts at male-friendliness 鈥渁ren鈥檛 anything to brag about at this point.鈥 Only 20 percent of its students are male, and she鈥檚 heard rumblings from the faculty about needed changes.
鈥淭here are some here who would really like to see more of a social-justice orientation to our programs,鈥 Chou explains. By attracting the types of students and faculty who are willing, perhaps even eager, to 鈥渨alk the walk鈥 in the needier school districts, she says, programs like UIC鈥檚 would be able to attract not only dedicated future teachers but probably more men, too.
鈥淩ight now, students are placed in 鈥榮afe鈥 schools for student teaching, and we should put them where teachers are really needed,鈥 she adds. 鈥淲hen you have a clear mission, you will not be gender-bound as much because there is a focus.鈥
As 鈥渟afe鈥 as a school like Cumberland Head Elementary seems, Villa would argue that he is needed there鈥攊f only to demonstrate that men can teach younger children just as well as women while reaping the same rewards.
鈥淚 really want a Ski-Doo,鈥 says a brown-haired boy in Villa鈥檚 4th grade class, sitting among a circle of six kids on the floor. 鈥淏ut I can only ride it in the winter.鈥
鈥淚 wonder if you should just get an [all-terrain vehicle]?鈥 a boy wearing a red T-shirt responds.
鈥淵eah, but then I鈥檇 always have to buy gas,鈥 the first boy says, exasperated.
Believe it or not, these students, who鈥檝e broken into two groups, are discussing the book Shiloh鈥擯hyllis Reynolds Naylor鈥檚 story of a boy who befriends an abused neighborhood dog. While this group鈥檚 conversation seems to have wandered, the kids are following instructions; in discussing turns in the plot, they鈥檙e finding parallel problems in their own lives and coming up with possible solutions.
鈥淥K, you guys. You know the rules,鈥 Villa says, standing between the groups. 鈥淵our sentences have to start with either 鈥業 like鈥 or 鈥業 wonder.鈥 No making fun, and keep it nice.鈥
They continue their discussions, and Villa wanders back and forth鈥攋oining in, listening, debating. The teacher likes to keep things loose, especially at the end of the school year, when his students are able to tackle assignments independently. Getting to that point is difficult, he says, but the end result is worth it.
鈥淭his is a really good exercise for them,鈥 he adds, watching his students. 鈥淭hey take problems from the book, apply it to their lives, and sit down and have a discussion. They鈥檙e thinking, they鈥檙e interactive. It kind of feeds on itself.鈥
Now, with 15 minutes to go before lunch, the 4th graders return to their seats to finish reading the last few pages of Shiloh. Silence descends on the classroom.
鈥淟isten to that,鈥 Villa whispers, basking in the concerted effort. 鈥淵ou could hear a pin drop. Just what it should sound like when you are finishing a really good book.鈥
