I know we're all focused on the vote today, but I can't not respond to Mona's piece , which hits a very deep chord with me. I've seen the disparity between boys and girls and school in my own family. TBH I have a very low opinion of public school in the US. Little girls often are doing well enough - because they love pleasing the very …
I know we're all focused on the vote today, but I can't not respond to Mona's piece , which hits a very deep chord with me. I've seen the disparity between boys and girls and school in my own family. TBH I have a very low opinion of public school in the US. Little girls often are doing well enough - because they love pleasing the very nice, sweet, sticker-giving-out teachers. Little boys - not so much. My little son had a thriving mind from the start. Get him going on video games, bugs, spiders, frogs, cheetahs, etc and he was off. But got pretty much shut down at school - bored, lazy, just not into it, except for recess.
My third grade grand-girl ( who I homeschooled during Covid - huge shout out to Sal at Khan Academy for providing us with math curriculum that put her above grade level ),loved her very sweet, nice, cuddly lady second grade teacher. But her love for Ms Sweet Teacher and all the cute stickers handed out did not translate to enthusiastic, hard working learning. Now, in third grade, she has a male teacher. What a difference. I now see her putting her head down, with focused attention on what she's doing, learning how to learn, not just how to please the teacher. She recounts in great detail the plot and characters of the book Mr Teacher is reading aloud. He has activated her mind and her pride in learning.
It's my (very unpopular ) opinion that American public education needs a complete retooling. From the start of the day til the end. And please, yes, let's get more men teaching the early grades. Let's design curriculum that ignites little boys and little girls. Minds are terrible things to waste don't you know.
Real men don't teach little children unless they're after something or gay. /s Not very macho you know - or rather what our distorted culture thinks is macho. Way back into witch-hunts against child care workers (the McMartin case), the hatred and attacks were most vehement against the male caregivers.
I have a relative-in-law who's gay and teaches early grades. He strikes me as someone who would be a great teacher, and I wouldn't suspect his motives any more than those of the male teachers I had.
So sad :( I can't but help feel that these types of hysterias proliferate because the reality is so much less comforting. Most sexual abuse takes place in kid's own homes. It's dads, stepdads, uncles, grandpas, older cousins, mom's new boyfriends. Isn't it more comforting to blame it on a Satanic cult?
I was also psyched to her weigh in on the "red-shirting boys" phenomenon. Also my son's daycare has a mostly female staff, with one young man on the teaching staff. All the kids adore him, and I'm so sad that men aren't encouraged to go into early education more often. It's clear that he plays an important role as role model, in addition to being an excellent teacher.
I have two grandsons and yes, this worries me. The dark money going into demonizing teachers and public schools also worries me. Following the money, I believe for-profit charter schools (or the sneaky not-for-profit which contracts with for-profit) will be the future. Our public money will be again (again and again) for private gain.
I know we're all focused on the vote today, but I can't not respond to Mona's piece , which hits a very deep chord with me. I've seen the disparity between boys and girls and school in my own family. TBH I have a very low opinion of public school in the US. Little girls often are doing well enough - because they love pleasing the very nice, sweet, sticker-giving-out teachers. Little boys - not so much. My little son had a thriving mind from the start. Get him going on video games, bugs, spiders, frogs, cheetahs, etc and he was off. But got pretty much shut down at school - bored, lazy, just not into it, except for recess.
My third grade grand-girl ( who I homeschooled during Covid - huge shout out to Sal at Khan Academy for providing us with math curriculum that put her above grade level ),loved her very sweet, nice, cuddly lady second grade teacher. But her love for Ms Sweet Teacher and all the cute stickers handed out did not translate to enthusiastic, hard working learning. Now, in third grade, she has a male teacher. What a difference. I now see her putting her head down, with focused attention on what she's doing, learning how to learn, not just how to please the teacher. She recounts in great detail the plot and characters of the book Mr Teacher is reading aloud. He has activated her mind and her pride in learning.
It's my (very unpopular ) opinion that American public education needs a complete retooling. From the start of the day til the end. And please, yes, let's get more men teaching the early grades. Let's design curriculum that ignites little boys and little girls. Minds are terrible things to waste don't you know.
Real men don't teach little children unless they're after something or gay. /s Not very macho you know - or rather what our distorted culture thinks is macho. Way back into witch-hunts against child care workers (the McMartin case), the hatred and attacks were most vehement against the male caregivers.
I have a relative-in-law who's gay and teaches early grades. He strikes me as someone who would be a great teacher, and I wouldn't suspect his motives any more than those of the male teachers I had.
So sad :( I can't but help feel that these types of hysterias proliferate because the reality is so much less comforting. Most sexual abuse takes place in kid's own homes. It's dads, stepdads, uncles, grandpas, older cousins, mom's new boyfriends. Isn't it more comforting to blame it on a Satanic cult?
I was also psyched to her weigh in on the "red-shirting boys" phenomenon. Also my son's daycare has a mostly female staff, with one young man on the teaching staff. All the kids adore him, and I'm so sad that men aren't encouraged to go into early education more often. It's clear that he plays an important role as role model, in addition to being an excellent teacher.
I have two grandsons and yes, this worries me. The dark money going into demonizing teachers and public schools also worries me. Following the money, I believe for-profit charter schools (or the sneaky not-for-profit which contracts with for-profit) will be the future. Our public money will be again (again and again) for private gain.