How Does Gender Affect the Teaching Profession?
In America, there is an overwhelming majority of female teachers. This absolutely has an effect on the profession of being an educator. Career fields that are dominated by women are not taken as seriously and are underappreciated. Another example of this would be nurses versus doctors. In our society, nursing is often viewed as a feminine field while being a doctor is a more masculine job. Because of this, I often see people taking doctors more seriously than nurses or male doctors more seriously than female doctors. You can see the devalued work clearly with the salary that teachers receive. The work that goes into being a teacher is not easy, but it is viewed as an easy job.
In the picture above, you can see the rules for teachers in 1915. While this may seem ludicrous now, some of the rules are still things that are expected from teachers. Teachers are expected to dress and act modestly. It is frowned upon if we post anything on social media that involves things like partying, drinking, etc. Your life outside of school almost has to remain secret, which does not help teachers connect to their students. The dress code is strict for teachers, and, in some schools, we are not even allowed to wear jeans. We are not allowed to wear shorts, which pushes female teachers to opt for dresses and skirts during the hotter weather. While it is not a rule that we must wear dresses, the dress code does subtly push female teachers to dress "feminine".
Hey Cayenne, thanks for sharing. I enjoyed reading your post! I totally agree that the majority gender in the teaching profession are females. I look around my classes now that they are more connected to my teaching degree and they are either all girls or there's only roughly around 2-4 male students. I also found that list interesting; it's very restrictive and controlling over a woman's body and actions. Especially the ones that say about not having men company, being married, being home at a certain time, and dying your hair. How do you feel about the dress code? I am kind of in the middle; not too strict but also not too free. I remember in middle school I had a teacher who would dress in tight dresses and skirts or just too revealing. I remember always hearing my male peers talk about her in a way they shouldn't.
ReplyDeleteHi Jenn!
DeleteThank you for your comment. I have also noticed the lack of male students in my classes at TXST. The most male students I have in one class is 3.
I also agree with your thoughts on the dress code! I had the same experience in middle school, actually. My 8th grade English teacher always wore very short dresses and the boys were always making inappropriate comments. While I think that the boys should be taught to not say things like that, I also think that teachers should dress professionally. The one thing I do not agree with in modern day dress codes is the rule (at some schools) that teachers cannot wear jeans. I feel that you can look professional in jeans as long as they are not ripped.
Hi Cayenne, I am so glad you shared that photo to show that some of those rules still stand today. Now, if it were a male teacher, he would not have those rules pushed onto him. I also agree with a comment made above about there being only women in our classes here at Texas State. I have seen only 3 males in my classes and I am currently a junior.
ReplyDeleteHi Cayenne! I enjoyed reading your blog post! I also agree with you! There are so many female teachers and I feel many people do not take this profession seriously and respect it even. For example, in my college classes here at TXST there are very few male students in my classes. Of course there are some people who do but I feel that most people do not respect teacher as much as they should be respected. I love the photo you included in your post!
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