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The Marlborough Express The Ministry of
Education is failing its male teaching staff by forcing them to be too
politically correct, some teachers say. Matt Robertson, one of
only 28 male primary teachers in Marlborough, said many men were deterred
from training in the primary sector because the guidelines had become
unworkable. Mr Robertson, a teacher
at Witherlea School, said Education Ministry rules were so inflexible that
teachers were forced to ignore them for the well-being of their pupils. "The ministry
tells you that you are never to be alone with a child, but sometimes the
situation you find yourself in dictates that there is no other option.
Sometimes you just have to ignore them. They (the rules) are so PC, it's
ridiculous." Colin Wood, a former
primary teacher trainee, said the ministry rules meant the profession had
become "cold, calculated and way too PC". The situation was so
bad it had now become like teaching by numbers, he said. A report released yesterday
by the primary teachers' union, New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI),
found there were far more women teaching primary-aged children than men and
the numbers of male teachers were falling. More than 80 per cent
of primary teachers are women. The 4433 men in the profession make up 18 per
cent of primary teachers -- a drop from 22 per cent 10 years ago. Marlborough Boys'
College principal John Rodgers said while there was little evidence linking
teacher gender with student achievement, some parents had expressed concern
at the impact on boys learning when they had come from a predominantly female
teaching environment. NZEI men's caucus
spokesman Geoff Neville said yesterday scholarships for men could help tip
the gender balance. Incentives, a clearer
career path and a change in perceptions about the job could help to attract
more men into the profession, he said. However, Education
Minister Trevor Mallard said giving men preference through scholarships did
not appeal: "My key priority is to have qualified teachers. I am yet to
find a parent who would prefer their child to be taught by an inferior male
teacher rather than a better woman teacher." An Education Ministry
spokeswoman said men-only scholarships were illegal under Human Rights Law.
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