One thing I love about American elementary
schools (and in my own upbringing with American ideals) is parent volunteers.
The number of parent volunteers who lead book clubs in class with their child,
who come on field trips to chaperone with their child, and who prepare and play
and sing with their child at talent shows, never fails to make me smile.
Parent-volunteering always moves me because it
is such an obvious expression of love that is often taken for granted by the
child – which is not necessarily a bad thing. Studies give numbers that
devastate families with the absence of one parent. Patterns unravel that show
the mere presence of a father figure at home, who, let alone, is active in the
elementary school, yields immeasurable fruits to the holistic development of
their child. The wholesome development of a child is so important in this day
and age that in its prevalent absence I have wondered: to what degree can this
role be replaced by a teacher… or to phrase it better, how influential can a
teacher be in a child’s development – and furthermore, how influential can a
male teacher be in a child’s development?
While, no, I do not believe a father’s role (and
interaction with his spouse or family) can be replaced by a male teacher, I can
see a lot of merit – for just the right kid – in affirming and approving a
child in his or her development. Reflecting, I find it interesting that I would
want to be an elementary school teacher when, in fact, 3 of my 6 elementary
school teachers were male, and 5 of my 6 upper high school teachers were male.
On the surface, it has been hard to
distinguish children reactions to both myself and my female cooperating teacher,
and attributing these interactions to male or female teacher differences. Yet I
remember a conversation with another male teacher saying that in his experience
with parents, male teachers are harder to warm up to but easier to trust (once
earned) throughout the school year; and that on the contrary, female teachers
are easier to warm up to but often have a challenge in maintaining such a
degree of trust throughout the year. Additionally, male teachers tend to be
more playful with students and frequently establish a different relationship or
rapport with their students. Those words have stuck through my head during student-teaching,
and I have found myself almost wanting the generalizations to come true for the
sake of knowing that I was a good male (student-)teacher; that I was able to
offer what male teachers have to give to their students. Still, while I could
not discern the interactions that were attributable to either teaching style
and philosophy or male-female teaching, I remain confident in the effort that I
made this semester in my student relationships, and in the fact that with
experience in teaching and exposure to children, I will be able to develop my
own male- and philosophy-unique beliefs to be as fruitful and influential a
teacher as I can be.