How does gender affect the teaching profession?
How does the gender roll affect the teaching profession? Horace Mann played a huge role in this area, along with Catherine Beecher. During this time, education was not a priority for women. Women had to learn domestic trades so they could become good house wives. Mann and Beecher did not agree with this and they would define “public education as America’s new more gentle church and female teachers as the ministers of American morality. (Goldstein, 2014) She also believed that the “home and school were intertwined and could nurture the next generation.” (Goldstein, 2014) I believe that this is true as well, but I also feel it is important to have a strong male figure in your life because not everybody has a father figure in their life. She states in her “Essay on the Education of Female Teachers” “It is her hand that first stamps impressions on the immortal spirit that must remain forever.” Historian Redding Sugg dibbed this the “mother-teaching ideal”, “the notion that teaching and mothering were the same job done in different settings.” (Goldstein, 2014) It may seem old fashion, but I agree with this too, however, a male figure is just as important in a child’s life and can make a positive impact on a child’s life. Since women could not enroll in colleges or study the same subjects, she believed that teaching was the one profession in which a woman could gain, “influence, respectability and independence.” (Goldstein, 2014) Since women did not have the same educational opportunities as men, she established the Hartford Female Seminary and gave girls the opportunity to learn subjects that they normally would not have received (i.e. Latin, Greek, chemistry, modern languages, and moral and political philosophy.) (Goldstein, 2014) I believe that without Beecher fighting to make sure that women had equal learning opportunities, women would not have the proper education to be the best educator that they can be. Not only did they believe that women were best suited for the job, but they also believed that women should be hired because they were cheaper to pay than men and to save the state money. (Goldstein, 2014)
This was a huge problem for feminist teacher Susan B. Anthony. She disagreed with Beecher and Mann completely, and thought that women should be paid equally to men. This became worse when her former principle, who she worked for and respected, left the school and a 19 year old male (who was younger than her at the time) was replaced and known for his fondness of corporal punishment. (Goldstein, 2014) This was the last straw for Susan and she became involved in the women’s rights movement. (Goldstein, 2014) As a result of lack of equal pay and rights as men, there were many great teachers who left and there was/is a teacher shortage of wonderful teachers. Susan took her concerns to the NY State Teachers’ Association and spoke in front of a room full of men addressing the issues about how women were not treated as equals and they should be paid the same as men. I had many coworkers who were teachers in the past who left because there was something or someone that they did not agree with. They either retired, quit, or relocated to another school because they did not agree with what was happening. This is incredibly sad to me because we lost so many good teachers because they did not want to speak up and explain what was wrong so they could try to fix the problem so it would not continue. (Goldstein, 2014) I believe that without Susan’s bravery and determination to make sure that women were paid the same way, women would not have the same rights and financial opportunities as men as we do now.
Due to all the help of these people, the education system has come a long way, but still needs work. I believe that if we all work together, speak up, and address our concerns, we can make a better learning environment for the kids and working environment for teachers. Yes, we still have gender equality issues in the work force, but I believe that no matter what gender you are, it is how well the person performs their job that matters. I also believe that it is extremely important for everybody to have equal pay. If you are not qualified, then you should not have that job.
Goldstein, D. (2014). The Teacher Wars: A History of America’s Most Embattled Profession. New York, NY: Doubleday.
Hannah Jones
Hannah Jones 
Hi Hannah, Your blog this week is outstanding in presenting many female historical figures that have shaped the teaching profession. I enjoyed reading your own personal beliefs of males and females teaching in the classroom. As much as I can relate to the teaching- is -mothering motto, I also understand that it is vital for a male role to be present in the teaching environment. . Males can also be just as nurturing, however the delivery of the male nurturer may look different. Both males and females are genetically wired differently in they way their brain processes different material. The equality between males and females are vital in the public education system and both sexes are equally needed in the classrooms.
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Tiffany,
Thank you for the kind words. I really appreciate it. I do not believe that I made it clear in my blog that male and females are wired differently and that they provide different types of nurturing that I believe everybody needs, especially for children. I think that it is important part of education to have both genders to teach our youth. It is sad that the teaching profession is dominated by women, especially on the elementary level. We have all these stereotypes about males teaching small children. I believe that if you are male and you want to teach elementary, then you should. I believe that they would have a lot of appropriate things to offer children that could help them positively affect their educational career. Thanks again for your comment.
Hannah Jones
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Hannah,
I am a firm believer that mothering and teaching go hand in hand. I believe this because I’ve always felt alot more understood by female teachers than I have from male teachers growing up. All it takes is for one person to speak up for issues to become noticed so it isnt impossible to make changes in education in todays world. Now most of our schools are females, I’m seeing less and less males being educators. Do you think less males want to become educators because of how they may be viewed in today’s world? (Since many males are the bread winners in families)..
Awesome blog you had incredible information tied to our course,
Madison Frazier
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Madison,
Thank you for your reply. I am sorry to hear that you so not have a lot of positive male teachers when you were in school. I feel that the same genders relate more to each other. I believe that there are a lot of men who would be great leaders for children and a positive role model. Also, that stereotyping is one reason that males do not become teachers and because teachers do not get paid as much as other occupations and that males want to “properly” provide for their family. I feel that it is sad that this could be a factor of males not wanting to become teachers. I also feel that it is vice versa for women, I feel that women have stereotypes about the field they go into and how much they get paid. I think that our society has determined that women should have certain motherly jobs and that they should get paid less than males to make sure that males feel that they are the bread winners. I feel that you should choose whatever job you want no matter what your gender is. I also feel that teachers do not get paid as much as they should, but I do believe that gender should not affect how much you get paid. Payment should only be determined by your level of education, what job you have, and if you are qualified for the job; not gender. Thanks again for your comment. I really appreciate it.
Hannah Jones
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I would just love to tell you I loved your blog, and I was so happy to read it. I loved how you spoke about genders, which is always a very heavy topic to me. I believe that we as human beings should be employed. on our skills and intelligence! It should NOT be biased on my gender. Thank you so much for saying this. I appreciate your blog!
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Selena,
Thank you so much for your kind words, I really appreciate it. I believe that women should not be punished just because we are women. I believe that people should be paid equally when they are working and if a women chooses to leave work in order to take care of their family and they choose to go back to work, they should be welcomed back with open arms. This goes for men too, I do not believe that people should be punished just because they make a choice to take care of their family. The only thing that should affect a person’s salary is their level of education, the job that they have, and if they are qualified for the job. We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. Thanks again for you comment.
Hannah Jones
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Hi Hannah i love how you have referenced beecher in your blog, ii agree with you when you say that “without Beecher fighting to make sure that women had equal learning opportunities, women would not have the proper education to be the best educator that they can be’. without education women would not have the appropriate tools to help them succeed in being a better educator ,the better the education the better the likelihood the teacher will make a difference on the next generation .i like how you incorporated stories from Susan B anothony experiences to point out how privileged we are now a days in this era thanks to the suffragist who strived for women’s equality i also agree with you when you say everybody should have equal pay ,if you work hard for something then i think it should be fair you get treated them same. love your post!!!!!!
-Sarah.Eltiar
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Sarah,
Thank you so much for kind words. I really appreciate it. I am thankful that we had such strong women in history to make changes for women. It is scary to think of what it would be like for women if we did not have women like Catherine and Susan to make changes for women. We still have a long way to go for gender equality, but definitely not as bad as it could be. It is comforting to know that we have choices and freedom as women, yet it is upsetting that women and men have these stereotypes and roles that we “have to fulfill.” Hopefully one day, very soon, we will be able to break all of these gender inequalities and stereotypes and finally be able to make our own choices and not have to go by society dictates. Thanks again for your comment.
Hannah Jones
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Hi Hannah Sorry to respond late,thanks for your comment, its the struggles that these women went through that we must take in account ,now we have freedom and choices and we should use our granted freedom to be positive role models for all students.
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Hannah
I loved reading your post because you talked about the historical figures that helped shape our education system. I also completely agree with you when you talked about having equal pay. If you and your male coworker have the same job and are both know what they are doing then both should have equal pay.
Great Post!
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