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The Marlborough Express
September 24, 2003
Political correctness gone mad
Editorial
If a young child falls in the playground, it is
expected that the teacher on duty will pick him up, comfort him and tend to
any cuts or bruises. Not so if you are a male primary school teacher. Giving
a child a cuddle is not encouraged for fear of being accused of child abuse.
Now that fear is turning men off primary school teaching, and schools have an
increasing gender imbalance.
The primary teachers' union, NZEI, is highlighting the issue in a report
released this week, and there is good reason why parents, schools and the
Ministry of Education should take notice. Children, particularly boys, need
male role models. Some children have few of these, they are brought up in
single parent families, often by their mother. They then go to school and are
taught by women. There is nothing wrong with that, and teachers must be
judged on their teaching quality not their gender. However, society is mixed
and it would be preferable for the teaching profession to reflect that.
Primary school teaching has for a long time attracted plenty of women. The
problem now is the trend of fewer male teachers is increasing - between 1992
and 2001 the number of women primary teachers increased by 13 percent while
the number of male teachers fell by nine percent. The issues causing that
decrease need addressing. Men are saying the Education Ministry's guidelines
for personal contact with children are one reason for deterring them. Ever
since cases like the allegations of child abuse against Christchurch creche worker Peter Ellis,
male teachers have had a cloud of suspicion hanging over them. It shows the
politically correct world has overreacted. While children must be protected,
this smacks of overprotection. It is a sad day when an upset child cannot
receive an innocent hug for comfort.
The ministry needs to relax the rules a little because it is sending the
wrong signals, that men are not wanted in the primary teaching profession.
Teaching used to be a respected profession for men. While secondary teaching
continues to attract men, and the male and female teacher numbers are more
even in colleges, more is going to have to be done if men are to be
encouraged to primary teaching as a career.
It has been suggested that teacher scholarships for men could be an
incentive. Education Minister Trevor Mallard has rejected that, saying his
priority is to have qualified teachers. However, there have been plenty of
affirmative action programmes for women, notably the "girls can do
anything" campaign; now it is time to encourage the boys. Men-only
scholarships are illegal under human rights legislation, however the ministry
is allowed to discriminate in favour of a group that is considered
disadvantaged such as Maori. Clearly male primary teachers are feeling
discriminated against, and they don't seem to be getting a good deal.
Continue to do nothing on this issue and our primary schools won't have male
teachers. That's not an ideal way for our society to operate. The ministry
needs to look at better ways to make the job an attractive career for men, as
well as women.
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