Fewer Men Teaching in Elementary Schools; Male Role Models Are Needed as More Kids Grow Up without Father at Home

Diamond, Laura, The Florida Times Union

Byline: Laura Diamond, Times-Union staff writer

At a time when more children are in need of a male role model, they are less likely to find one standing at the front of their elementary school classroom.

The percentage of men teaching elementary school is half of what it was two decades ago, according to a National Education Association report released in August. Men now account for only 9 percent of the nation's elementary school teachers.

Nationwide, men make up 35 percent of teachers in middle and high school. But that number is also down from a high of 50 percent in 1986.

Educators and researchers partly blame this decline on the teaching profession's low salary and status. The career isn't held in as high a regard as it was 20 years ago. At the same time, job opportunities have grown in …

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Publication information: Article title: Fewer Men Teaching in Elementary Schools; Male Role Models Are Needed as More Kids Grow Up without Father at Home. Contributors: Diamond, Laura - Author. Newspaper title: The Florida Times Union. Publication date: October 21, 2003. Page number: Not available. © 2007 The Florida Times-Union. COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group.

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