Vickroy: Good male role models wanted in schools

• Reprints

Allen Smith Jr., of University Park, gets high-fives from students N'Ryah Spearman, Zayne Bell, 7, and Kaylise Mines, 6, after finishing reading a book to them while volunteering as part of the Big Dogs program at Balmoral School in Crete Friday, January 6, 2012. | Brett Roseman~Sun-Times Media

Man shortage

In Illinois, fewer than 1 in 4 teachers between kindergarten and high school are men and this is declining, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

There are 785,151 male teachers in public elementary and secondary schools across the nation, compared with 2.4 million women, according to a National Education Association report.

Most states report fewer than 30 percent of all teachers are male.

Source:
www.educationnews.org

Article Extras

Updated: February 13, 2012 8:13AM

On Jan. 27, Balmoral School will be flooded with something it doesn’t see much of on a typical day: men.

Last fall, officials at the Crete kindergarten through fifth-grade school began a concerted effort to bring grown men not only into the building but into the academic process.

With 520 students, Balmoral has one male teacher and Principal RaShone Franklin, the lone male administrator.

“And there’s only one dad actively involved in the PTO,” Franklin said.

Balmoral is indicative of a statewide trend in education.

For myriad reasons, foremost of which may be salary, women educators substantially outnumber men in elementary schools in Illinois, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Franklin speculates those men who are drawn to the profession aim for high school where the salaries are higher and a teacher can specialize in a content area.

Female volunteers at Balmoral outnumber males by an even heftier margin.

“Men don’t seem inclined to come to the school for things like meetings,” he said. “They’ll volunteer, but they want a specific thing to do, at a specific time.”

They aren’t eager to set aside time or leave work early unless a real need is identified.

Balmoral hopes to provide that by pairing volunteers with specific duties. So far, 30 guys have signed up for the new Big Dogs program.

Allen Smith Jr. is among them.

“When I heard about this program I had to be a part of it,” said Smith, a professor of engineering at the College of Lake County and father of four grown daughters. He lives in University Park and now has two foster children enrolled at Balmoral.

“This is extremely important,” he said. “Young males need good role models.”

And young females need them, too, he added.

After undergoing background checks and training, the volunteers will be assigned to read to students, monitor hallway traffic and help with athletic programs.

On a recent Friday, Smith read Toni Morrison’s “The Tortoise or the Hare,” to a group of first-graders. Then he sat in on a third-grade reading group followed by another third-grade classroom discussion on the importance of setting goals.

“My father just turned 93. I’ve been blessed, I’ve always had a father around,” Smith said. “Good role models are very important. I’m glad I can give back.”

Franklin said all students deserve good role models.

It’s no secret that divorce and single-parent households are on the rise, he said.

There are a lot of kids being raised by just a mom or grandmother, Franklin said.

“We’re simply filling a void that many schools and many children struggle with: the absence of a male role model,” he said.

“Even in two-parent households, we’ll hear a lot of dads say, ‘I let Mom handle the school thing,’” he said.

Not only is it important for children to see dads participate, it’s imperative for them to understand that men value education, he said.

They’re hopeful the initiative will lead to better behavior among the male student body, Assistant Principal Ghantel Perkins said.

Last year, she said, 76 percent of student referrals were from boys.

“We’re working to turn that around,” she added, through increased education, the Big Dogs program, which kicks off officially on Jan. 27, and a new incentive program that rewards good behavior with coins that can be redeemed at the school store.

“We want our students to know that education is valued by everyone. We want them to see big, burly men reading books, carrying on conversations with youngsters and providing positive guidance,” Perkins said.

In the first-grade session, Smith first read the children’s book and then asked the students what kind of books they liked.

Seven-year-old Zayne Bell said anything with animals, while Kaylise Mines, 6, said she preferred stories that featured princesses.

While visiting Lee Ann French’s third grade class, Smith asked students why education is important. They offered various answers, ranging from it helps a person make good choices to it’ll lead to a good paying job.

Finally, a girl raised her hand and said, “Education is important because in the year 2021, we’re going to college.”