Zachary Jackson thinks a lot about what his students will learn from him in class. For some first-year students in Atlanta, it's more than just actual academic classes. They are also practicing how to be men.
For Jackson, the question of how to model masculinity was a constant obsession with his thoughts.
He has been working with children since 2018 through Wings for Kids, a nonprofit that operates after-school programs in Georgia and South Carolina. He taught music based on his music production experience. And since the beginning of this school year, he has been teaching first grade at Fulton County Schools in north Georgia.
“I think the reason I still work with children is because of their hearts. “It’s so pure.” Jackson said.
He wants to instill drive in his students. “I have this crazy drive to succeed myself,” he said, adding that he encourages his students to excel through basketball tournaments and clubs.
Jackson made a special effort to ensure that the boys were “less selfish” as they learned to care for others and be there for each other. This may rely on chivalrous thinking, such as having a boy pick up a folder when a girl drops it. But a big part of it is the pursuit of excellence, and Jackson believes this should be implemented especially for boys.
So far, Jackson says, the school seems grateful to know that students love him. Still, as a relatively new teacher, Jackson sometimes worries that he's pushing his students too hard, he says. But he reassures himself that he is one of the few who “try hard” for them.
This approach sounds old-fashioned, emphasizing social piety. That is not the style that all male teachers model to demonstrate masculinity to young boys. But it's a sign that at least more men are starting to pay attention to the fact that many boys are not doing well in school, even though there are few men, especially men of color, teaching younger grades in American schools.
Let's hear it for the boys.
Recently, as women's educational performance has improved, men's achievements have not been able to keep up. The low rate of men going to college has also drawn attention to their struggles.
But it's not just academically important that men can barely tread water. The world of education feels more feminine than ever. According to the Governor's Office of Student Achievement, the most recent data released in 2021, 79.5% of Jackson's Georgia teachers were women, but there were slightly more men among the incoming teachers. This is consistent with national figures, with approximately 23% of teachers in the 2020-2021 school year being male.
It may even be surprising to find a man who wants to teach.
David Thomas says he was surprised by how many men were interested in creating a program that could lead young people into careers in early childhood development. Thomas is Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Community Engagement at Community College of Philadelphia, where he connects K-12 students to college opportunities, helping them earn associate degrees or industry certifications and secure jobs as paraprofessionals.
These days, Thomas says, it's rare to see young men, especially those from communities of color, interested in teaching young children. But he recently helped three high school students get jobs at KenCrest West Philadelphia Early Learning Center, a before- and after-school care program. .
Teaching as a career can sometimes be difficult. Part of the problem, Thomas says, is that teaching doesn't always seem like a viable career. Many of the families he works with perceive careers in education as underpaid, undervalued and disrespectful, and it is difficult to convince students to enter the profession, especially when they have to take out student loans to obtain an education degree and have no family wealth. . he says
But there is an additional problem.
Many of these students have had traumatic experiences in under-resourced schools, Thomas says. A disproportionate number of boys of color are categorized early in school as having behavioral or emotional difficulties in addition to behaving in developmentally appropriate ways, he added.
Some families are continuing bad experiences at the same school for generations. This may make families more reluctant to force their children, especially young men, to pursue education. “Why would they want to go back there?” Thomas asks.
All this leads men to look for jobs elsewhere.
They often value learning, but don't see much value in the traditional K-12 education system, Thomas says. So they're not even considering it, he says. Getting more men into education may require showing them that becoming a teacher can help prevent what they experienced from happening to others, he added.
Rethinking Masculinity
However, some argue that different perceptions are excluding some groups of men from the field of early education.
When the national conversation about gender moves beyond the dichotomy of femininity and masculinity or focuses on the “toxicity” of masculinity, it can feel inappropriate to bring gender to the fore. Caregiving, once widely considered ‘women’s work’ and historically ignored by unpaid or even enslaved women, continues to be swayed by gender stereotypes. One ironic result is that men are still perceived as less capable caregivers than women, keeping her field decidedly female.
What does this mean for early childhood education?
Curtis Valentine, one of the founders of Real Men Teach, a campaign to help schools recruit and retain men, says there are too few black men in early childhood education. educator.
Valentine estimates that the group partners with dozens of schools across the country to provide opportunities for primarily black male educators and highlights the work of prominent educators, especially in early childhood education. The project grew out of Valentine's own sense that male educators are undervalued and that, because they are a relatively small minority, they can fall prey to other people's predictions of what it means to be a teacher and a man.
Overall, this work highlighted his belief that far more men would want to become teachers if they didn't feel they had to sacrifice themselves in the process.
“One thing I fear is that we are recruiting men into these spaces. And in some cases, colleagues, especially women, are unconsciously protecting outdated views of what masculinity is,” Vantine says. It can prolong the caricature rather than giving men the opportunity to express themselves in the classroom through the way they wear their hair, their nails, their clothes, their appearance, etc.
Particularly for men and gender non-conforming students, Vantine says that inviting the whole person into education requires giving them the space to be their authentic selves. This will also benefit businesses and students, he added.
social graces
As a teacher in Fulton County, one of Jackson's duties is to ensure that her students are socially sophisticated. That's something his father impressed on him. Jackson said that growing up, his father did not allow him to use slang. So he makes sure his students understand these social nuances as well.
“You can’t say, ‘What?’ “When the teacher calls your name.”
“It’s not ‘yes, yes’ or ‘no.’ ‘No, sir’ or ‘yes, ma’am.’”
Jackson exercises his influence every day.
“I feel attached to young boys,” he says. “I have a lot of eyes looking at me. In particular, there are many young people who look up to me. I must set an example. And I need to show them the way so they can do the same if they were in my shoes.”
Will this ultimately lead students in the right direction?
Jackson always thinks. This is how he helps raise his students to be polite, considerate, and selfless.
Finally, he adds: “Isn’t that person what the world needs?”