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I have encountered women who feel that male teachers are more likely to get promotions and boys with behaviour difficulties respond better to men.
As a girl, I would welcome more men in the teaching profession. Its good for boys to have positive male role models, escpecially if their dads arent about.
Working with lots of women can get very bitchy and gossipy. It is nice to have a man to shake up the dynamics!
sid1913I'm starting my PGCE in September and this is a bit of an issue for me. I've found the staff rooms to be incredibly tedious and filled with women munching humus discussing Weight Watchers points and which swimming stroke is best for a flatter stomach. I think I'll do the majority of my marking during lunch
Hahahahahaa!!
*gets popcorn, sits back, waits for the onslaught*
Whereas whenever I go in the staffroom they're talking about sex (that's how it seems, it's enough to make a woman blush) 30% of the staff are male, which I suppose might be unusual in primary. I don't really notice to be honest. I see the teachers as indiviual people.
I'm quite a laddish woman and some of the female teachers are more laddish than any man I know.
I wouldn't modify your behaviour with regards to hugging pupils. I don't see any problem with that kind of contact at all, and if a parent ever questioned why I was comforting their upset (for example) son or daughter, my only response would be to ask why they thought I should have left them sobbing in a corner.
I think hugging pupils is WEIRD! Am I a big prude?! A friendly ruffle of the hair or a pat on the arm is enough for me. The DH at my school (female) actually creeps me out with the kids - she sits them on her knee and rocks them like babies (Y3-Y6), holds their hands all the time, kind of massages them lol and tells them, 'I love you'!
Personally, as a primary teacher, I wish I were a man. I do think that's an advantage in having authority over the children. That's not bitter bitching or trying to do men down and say they're not really as good or anything. I think men should exploit this and really go for it!
We have a few men on our staff (including a couple in support roles, which I think is interesting). This definitely does help to tip staffroom chat away from domestic tedium and makes things more lighthearted.
LilybettI think hugging pupils is WEIRD! Am I a big prude?! A friendly ruffle of the hair or a pat on the arm is enough for me. The DH at my school (female) actually creeps me out with the kids - she sits them on her knee and rocks them like babies (Y3-Y6), holds their hands all the time, kind of massages them lol and tells them, 'I love you'!
Well, I was thinking mainly of the little ones when it comes to hugging =P I've had up to year three, early year four wanting a cuddle now and then.
My point is really that safe and normal physical contact is something that should be encouraged. Teaching our kids that any and all contact with adults is wrong is not doing them any favours. "No touch" policies should be discouraged, in my opinion.
We don't have any male teachers unfortunately. We did have a male DH once but he was emasculated in short order by the HT.Our kids cry out for a bit of male attention so it was an awful shame to see him go. I find talking about other people's kids, childbirth and food VERY boring, and prefer smut any day of the week.
Does the touching policy (haha how bad does that sound?) just vary from school-to-school then? I remember doing work exp., aged 14, in a Reception class and the (female) DH once THUNDERED at me: 'Get that child off your knee!!!' That probably scarred me a bit hehe. I remember that prior to that, pretty much ANY problem could be solved instantly with, 'Would you like a hug?'
And it's important for children to be comfortable with physical contact, I suppose. What if nobody hugs them or anything at home?
Triiicky!
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy talking about many things. However, it is the constant diet talk which starts to get on my nerves. Or when I go to eat something and am told by five different women what fat/sugar/salt/cals content it has.
I often feel like saying - I am at least two stone lighter than you so I am probably not going to take your diet advice. Cheers.
I also cannot stand the 'man flu' comments anytime I say I have a bad back/headache/feeling tired. They always come out even though I have missed one day in three and a half years at the school. Not one of the women who don't suffer from 'man flu' has a better sick record, but no, I still hear about it.
nick909*gets popcorn, sits back, waits for the onslaught*
Ha! Literally made me laugh out loud!
LilybettDoes the touching policy (haha how bad does that sound?) just vary from school-to-school then? I remember doing work exp., aged 14, in a Reception class and the (female) DH once THUNDERED at me: 'Get that child off your knee!!!' That probably scarred me a bit hehe. I remember that prior to that, pretty much ANY problem could be solved instantly with, 'Would you like a hug?'And it's important for children to be comfortable with physical contact, I suppose. What if nobody hugs them or anything at home?Triiicky!
It will vary from school to school, and even from pupil to pupil. Some teachers also have their own "no touch" policies.
Almost the first thing the Assistant Head said to me on my first school placement was to "not hold the little girls hands in the playground" etc. Specifically girls, not boys. Got my back up a little, that did. I was in year six, though, so none of them particularly wanted to hold my hand anyway =P
It's not tricky as far as I'm concerned, though. If they need a squeeze, or a ruffle as you said earlier, then that's what I'll give them (under the proviso that I know they'll accept that kind of contact from me; some kids simply never would).
as a supply in primary i dont find any problems.if i dont like the conversation in the staffroom i dont listen or wander off..actually i discretely remove myself if issues become personal. Other wise being older most woman just accept me or are curious as to why i havent left teaching when i could.Wouldnt mind a bit off fuss occasionally though......but as i tend to return to the same schools most of the time they just accept me as staff.
You sound incredibly arrogant - I'm sure they would much rather be without you.
(edit) is that the onslaught you were waiting for?
MilgodHowever, it is the constant diet talk which starts to get on my nerves. Or when I go to eat something and am told by five different women what fat/sugar/salt/cals content it has. I often feel like saying - I am at least two stone lighter than you so I am probably not going to take your diet advice. Cheers.
However, it is the constant diet talk which starts to get on my nerves. Or when I go to eat something and am told by five different women what fat/sugar/salt/cals content it has.
I have to say it isn't so much the sex of the staff that makes the staffroom a good or bad place to be. Personality counts for much more.
InkyPsid1913I'm starting my PGCE in September and this is a bit of an issue for me. I've found the staff rooms to be incredibly tedious and filled with women munching humus discussing Weight Watchers points and which swimming stroke is best for a flatter stomach. I think I'll do the majority of my marking during lunch You sound incredibly arrogant - I'm sure they would much rather be without you.
didn't sound particularly arrogant to me.
in my experience, some staff rooms are like this. In others you have to fight through the boxes of chocolates, doughnuts etc.
In my final placement school (A Boy's school) there was a special fridge in the staffroom, sticked with cans of beer. You could take one and pop the required amount in a tin! I never partook but neither did I see a teacher in tears in that staff room, unlike many that i have worked in since!
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