Does Gender Affect the Teaching Profession?

 

It is 2021, we would think that by now, gender does not affect the teaching profession but unfortunately, it still does. While trying to find an image for this blog post, I typed "teacher" into google and all the images that immediately loaded were of predominantly white and female teachers. I think the stereotype and view that teaching is a woman's profession is still in place today. Throughout my K-12 experience I have had eight male teachers and four out of the eight were athletic coaches. The coaches always went by coach in the classroom, but the female coaches were never referred to as coach in the classroom, but why? The female coaches had step into the teacher role in the classroom, but the same standard was not set for the coaches, because they thought of themselves as coaches, not teachers. There is still a significant difference in the pay of male and female teachers. Even if both genders are coaches and teachers, the males still earn more. During my senior year of high school, I was given the opportunity to visit the admin building for our school district meet all the available staff members. I cannot remember her name or her position anymore but her job position was directly below the superintendent, and since my class was all girls except for two boys, she told us a secret. She said, "They don't want us to make it, they believe that we (females) should stay in the classroom and leave administration up to the "big guys" but that we could change that by never giving up on a position we want just because of our gender." She then explained that she had wanted her current profession for two years before she was even considered for the position and she said she was even overqualified for the job and they were still hesitant because a woman had never held that position before. Since were able to speak to her in office, it was clear that she had followed the advice she had given us. In The Teacher Wars, there was a statement made that woman should be teachers because they are motherly and should take care of and educate the children. That once again emphasizes the stereotype that woman should stay home and raise the children while the men went out and did the "real" work. I have had motherly teachers, but what is wrong with fatherly teachers? I have had male teachers who cared for their class just as much as my female teachers, does that make them fatherly? I also do not agree with the idea that mothers should be forced to just be stay-at-home spouses, while their husbands get to receive an education and be a part of the workforce. Also, with how sexuality and gender and becoming more open today, I think schools should be more open-minded also. They look down on teacher who do not dress "proper" but really, they mean "girly." Then we also have teachers who do not identify with a gender and I can only imagine all the struggles they face in the teaching profession. Although, we have made advancements for teachers, we still have a long way to go.