Healthy Fear

While a world without men is not a biological possibility at the moment, this is the practical experience of many children in the U.S. The prevalence of single-parent families without fathers is fairly well known -- in 2006, close to 25% of children 18 and under lived in such a household (U.S. Census Bureau). Less widely appreciated is the mass exodus of men from the elementary and high school teaching profession: "Percentage of Male Teachers Hits 40-Year Low"

According to statistics recently released by the National Education Association (NEA), men made up just 24.4 percent of the total number of teachers in 2006. In fact, the number of male public school teachers in the U.S. has hit a record 40-year low. Arkansas, at 17.5 percent, and Mississippi, with 17.7 percent, have the lowest percentage of male teachers, while Kansas, at 33.3 percent, and Oregon, with 31.4 percent, boast the largest percentage of men leading the classroom.

Why the downward trend in male teaching? According to Bryan Nelson, founder of MenTeach, a nonprofit organization dedicated to recruiting male teachers, research suggests three key reasons for the shortage of male teachers: low status and pay, the perception that teaching is "women's work," and the fear of accusation of child abuse.

The problem isn't just the unwillingness of men, but also the reflexive suspicion of schools themselves:

"People will ask you inappropriate questions," [Bryan Nelson] said, recalling a recent e-mail he received from an aspiring male teacher who was asked during a job interview, "Why would any healthy male want to work with kids?"

If that's the attitude he has to face, why indeed?