When it comes to speaking to you TEFLers who decided to pack up and jet off to start your teaching adventures abroad we always notice the same thing…
There’s never as many of us guys out there then there are ladies! So with that in mind, we’ve decided to put together some reasons why this could be and try to inspire you men in to taking the leap where some of your fellow man could not.
The Teacher Stereotype
One of the major things that comes to mind straight away is the stereotype which of course is, men aren’t meant for the classroom. Women are currently outnumbering men in the classroom and it’s having a subconscious effect on children and adults everywhere. Some men think that teaching is a job for women which is of course complete rubbish! Some of the greatest teachers in history have been men, Aristotle, Henry David Thoreau, a teacher who invented the ‘school trip’ and would you believe it – Sting, who taught English in his younger days!
Image by Kelvin 0001
Boys & Their Toys
Another common association with men which has stuck throughout history is the interest we take with toys. Men always seem to warm to things that they can play with whether its, a football, computer games, or motorbikes; we can’t cut ourselves off. Guys need to see that teaching overseas is a completely different ball game to teaching at home. The lessons can be like a game, especially when you’ve a room full of students eager to learn!
Image by ADiamondFellFromTheSky
Lacking Male Role Models
It’s important to have a male role model for children growing up, especially for young boys. Teachers in particular countries abroad get considerably more respect than in the UK so as a teacher you can influence the children in a positive way!
Just check out Jack Little who’s currently out in Mexico, he’s been working out there for over a year now and not only has he been having a blast teaching the children of Mexico, he’s also made manager of Mexico’s National Cricket team! You can check out his blog here!
Men can care about education, teaching and TEFL too!
So come on guys! Get yourself in to the big wide world and experience a new way of life… who knows what you might find!
Loading recent content...
What do you think?
Add Your Comment!
Log in to leave a comment or Create an account
I'm a female teacher in Korea. Guy to girl ration 3:1. You're just in the wrong place buddy!
Jeeeeez Paul... made me feel jealous! I'm about to walk out of i-to-i and join you in Japan! :D
Are Yoda...good teacher he is!
@Shining - hmmm not everyone is in it for the money and not every school has disrespectful kids...I may not have a big fancy car etc - but i rent a very nice NEW 2 bedroom apartment in the countryside, i have a company car, enough money to pay off debts and to live rather comfortably, enough money to travel, my kids always greet me (even outside of school) usually with a bow...oh did i forget to say that im living on the otherside of the world getting paid about 2,000pounds a month for essentially a part time job... i say part time because monday and wednesday i teach only 2 45min classes, tuesday 5 45min classes and thursday and friday about 4 50min classes which is usually games - preparation is usually about 2hours per week - the rest of the time is at my desk reading, sometimes games or on the net (like now)...so if you do the maths you'll work out my hourly rate... all this and my biggest stress is what am i going to do at the weekend OR sometimes im waiting for my schedule...i'd rather have this job than a business high powered job
Well I really wanna,,but not sure if it is a sustainable career option, esp for a non-native man (lol)
So maybe later in life, when I would have saved enough money, from working my ass-off climbing the corporate ladder...
Nice blog btw...Cheers Mate.
Hi there.
Over here in the UK, there is an undercorrent of miss-trust with male teachers. In the past ( and probably now too), there have been accusations by female students against male teachers, So, in terms of masculine teachers, this is one of the reasons why the male profession is in decline. I myself, would not want to teach in UK, the world is a huge place so I shall be off to Italy very soon.
Ciao !
Mick
Part of it has to do with perception. Men generally desire jobs that lead to either high pay or high status and respect (or a mixture of both). Growing up, I'm pretty sure most guys could never bear the thought of having to be in a classroom dealing with disrespectful kids and/or teenagers; there's hardly any money to be made in torturing yourself for a job that most guys frown on unless they are university instructors (and then it's an earned status due to being called "Professor" or "Doctor").
Thanks to media perception, people generally assume that teaching won't lead to that nice new car, ring side seats at your favorite team's game, or perks in the Executive lounge complete with spa luxuries because you made a great sales pitch or got your company to sign an important contract with a huge sponsor. No offense, but teaching isn't the road to the "good life" by any means. Generally speaking, teacher pay is moderate to sufficient--to most guys, "moderate to sufficent" just doesn't cut it. If it's not a high five-figure salary that affords luxury amenities that make people jealous or being able to pick which days you want to come to work (or what time), then it's not worth bothering with.
Like I said, perception!
Yoda was a male teacher too! :)
Are yes, boys and there toys... Living in japan is quite fun - i still have my toys... ipad, iphone, wireless charging pad, folding bike, portable internet, LED wind up lights, etc
However, here in japan elementary school is dominated by women as they are seen as the careerer - they teach the children how to be prepared for school and look after themselves away from their family... they learn how to support each other as friends and create harmony...
Junior high school is mixed
High school is mostly men - there are still stereotypes - women usually are the nurses, art teachers and music teachers whilst the men are usually the science, PE, Maths teacher...
For english teachers I would say men just win - especially for high school and junior high school
i'm not sure how it is in other countries though!
» Comments RSS