As a student in high school, I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to participate in an education program called Virginia Teachers For Tomorrow (VTFT) for my Junior and Senior year. This community college level course was for young scholars aspiring to become a teacher, a coach, or a mentor. The class consisted of lessons and lectures teaching presentational skills, lesson planning, organizational tools, and featured a 6 month internship with a local elementary or middle school classroom with a welcoming host teacher.
Throughout the internship, there are many opportunities to speak with individuals who have been in the field of education for an extended period of time. Being able to pick their brains and better understand the true climate of our educational system was a much more insightful experience than I could have imagined. While talking with these individuals, I had so many trends and issues brought to my attention that I had overlooked my entire educational career.
One point that was frequently pointed out to me was the lack of male representation and involvement in the world of education for all ages. I was told several times by multiple teachers inside of different schools that they were very thankful to have another male presence in the classroom, especially for the young boys. At one single day event, I was volunteering at a lower-class elementary school when a teacher approached me. She shared there was only one male teacher inside of their school and 60% of the students were living in households without a father figure and how much it meant to have another male in the building.
This issue quickly became very apparent to me as I was also in the strong minority when it came to these educational courses. This lack of representation of male guidance can have lasting effects on an individual for their lifetime. Receiving a balance of guidance is important for all individuals at a young age and for some individuals they never receive that because of their environment.
This issue is not to be blamed on any one gender or group of people, as it is a social pattern we have normalized throughout history which has led to the state we are in now. In western society women have frequently been labeled the school teachers and grow up having many female teachers. This societal environment has pushed women into this field and does so starting at a young age. Young male students have the opposite atmosphere around them. Growing up very few people are exposed to educational settings with a surplus of male teachers or figures. Teaching isn’t a profession advertised to men frequently and when they don’t have anyone in their to identify with that, it shapes their impression on the field.
As a society, we have to attempt to install a balance of representation in the field of education. Our teachers are who educate, socialize, and discipline the next generation and have the ability to shape their opinions on a wide range of topics. By providing our youth with different individuals from different backgrounds possessing different ideologies, we are giving students a more diverse education and broader learning experience. I have witnessed first hand the gender imbalance inside of the world of education and I believe it is an issue that should be getting more attention.
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