Teaching As A Career Option - 1877 Words

Introduction In 2013, roughly one-in-four public school classrooms was led by a male teacher. That meant that, despite pupils of these schools reflecting the same demographics our society is made up of, the majority of the adults interacting with them on a day-to-day basis were women. Young men and boys working on their educations were limited in the amount of male role models they had to look up to, which aided in the discouragement men faced while considering education as a career option. Other hindrances included pay rates, validity of the career status, and stereotypes that went along with male teachers. As society progresses and education evolves, our need for more male teachers has only gotten larger, as the rates of men choosing†¦show more content†¦Because a female teacher could be hired for a third of the price of a male one, education reformers cleverly marketed teaching as a position only suited for women (Johnson 2008, p.4) Eventually, this ideal formed much of what was the p opular opinion of the general public. According to the National Education Association’s â€Å"Ranking Estimates,† male teachers only occupied 23.8% of public school educators in the United States (2015). This average was slightly higher than the average of 2013 (23.7%). Education changed from a profession only for men to a field that is mostly comprised of women. Reasons Men Do Not Become Teachers When surveyed, future educators were asked what prevented them from pursuing elementary education as a career. Of all the men surveyed, four common problems made them hesitant to pursue education. These four problems were salary, contact with children, status, and stereotypes of having a job in a predominantly female field (Patrick, 2009, p.7). Salary As An Impediment to Prospective Male Teachers One reason men were reluctant to go into the education field is because of the associated pay. Education required long, tireless work that was not adequately compensate. The 2014 salary for a teacher was anywhere from $40,023 to $76,409 with consideration that states with higher costs of living, like New York and Massachusetts, gave teachers a higher salary (National