Male schoolteachers are becoming extinct

People think school teachers have an easy job; short working hours and six weeks off during the summer. They don’t have to work in cubicles and can take the children outside on a sunny day. But there’s a darker side to the school system and it’s the male teachers who are suffering. JOEP DERKSEN reports.

When children go to school, they usually have reached the tender age of 4 years. Most of them are potty trained, but accidents are bound to happen. Talking to these post-toddlers about cars and women is impossible; they don’t care about those kinds of topics. For the next eight years, these kids will go to elementary school to learn how to read and write, get some basic knowledge on history, math and, with a little luck, acquire some social skills as well.

Trade union CNV Education published research last month that addressed the problem of male teachers feeling left out. More than 2.700 teachers (male and female) answered the survey and six out of ten male teachers confirmed that they sometimes feel alone between all their female colleagues. The women would like to see more male teachers as well, research shows. Stephan Kurpershoek is the only male teacher at a small elementary school in Friesland, and he tells the Telegraaf: “Although I can work very well with my colleagues, I do feel a little like an outcast. I take shorter breaks, because sometimes the conversations are only about diets and pregnancies, for weeks in a row.” Nowadays, only 15% of teachers are male, and that percentage is dwindling. Most elementary schools only have two or three male teachers on their staff. This is not a good development for school children. Children also need male teachers as a role model; somebody they can look up to.

Gert Jan Vermin is a teacher at De Noordwijkse School, and he followed his passion to start working in the education system. “I was sick and tired of the stress in the commercial business world and took the opportunity to work with children. I graduated in 2011 after having attended evening classes at the Pabo for two years.” He reflects on those years: “The everlasting ‘themed classes’ should be abolished. In those, students are divided into groups and have to endlessly discuss certain subjects and topics.” Vermin recognizes some of the complaints his male colleagues have. “I soon noticed the difference in teaching style between male and female teachers. For instance, my instructions to the children are shorter and more powerful. It is scientifically proven that boys have a shorter attention span. Also, men are more direct and strict and, even more important, can sometimes do crazy things. One time I jumped on a table during a course about walking a tightrope, pretending to do exactly that. The children thought it was hilarious and I don’t see a female colleague doing that same thing.”

Vermin does not identify with Kurpershoek’s quotes. “Of course subjects like diets and pregnancies are discussed. But it’s really not true that my female colleagues can’t talk about anything else. And when such a subject is discussed for too long, in my opinion, I make a bold and funny statement. Soon after that, the subject changes. Also, I have the fortunate working circumstance that most of my colleagues are not that prissy.” Vermin is of the opinion that the abundance of female teachers is a threat to boys. This way, they only get female role models. ”This is one of the reasons why I chose to become a teacher. This development is not good for children, and especially for the boys. But it is also good for some girls to be able to look up to a male teacher for a year or two. That’s why I want to create safe and comfortable surroundings in my class, where children can be themselves and develop themselves in an authentic and natural way, while exploring all of their talents.”

Does Vermin undertake action to let school children get in touch with so-called ‘typical male stuff’? “Once in a while, I’ll ask the children (aged 8-9, red) whether they have watched soccer on television. Also, I tend to talk longer and go more in depth about subjects like the police, the military or other ‘typically male’ professions.’ Joany Krijt, vice chairman of CNV Education, is of the opinion that the time has come to attract more men. This should start with teacher education, the Pabo. According to Krijt, Pabo classes focus too much on women. All students learn how to do arts and crafts with children, but most men prefer to explore the possibilities of fields like engineering or PE. Krijt told the Telegraaf: “Cancel the required daycare internship during the first year of the Pabo. That is one of the reasons male students leave the Pabo: men usually have more in common with older children than with toddlers.”