If you have ever wondered why there aren’t more male teachers in schools, especially at the lower elementary levels, one TikToker thinks she has the answer.
Caro Claire Burke (@caroclaireburkeee), host of the podcast Diaboical Lies, which, for the record, has a fascinating episode on capitalism that just might blow your entire mind, released a TikTok explaining her theories on why there are so few male kindergarten teachers.
And the underlying reason, she maintains, is the same one that is leading so many male students to struggle in their education — the lack of value that society places on men who are open with their emotions.
In her TikTok video, Burke bemoaned the fact that society is wringing their hands about how boys are “falling behind” and lacking male role models at school while completely missing the point that those two problems are intrinsically combined.
“What I find, just like, endlessly funny about this conversation is the way that people will talk about needing more male teachers as role models in these educational systems, without understanding that, like, the reason why there aren’t more male teachers is the reason why boys are falling behind, the same root problem,” she says in the video.
“You can’t solve one without solving another,” she concludes.
Why aren't There More Male Teachers?
Still, others, including Burke herself in a follow-up TikTok, pointed out that the stereotypes that appear to hold both male students and prospective male students back are one and the same: the patriarchy.
“This is a problem that patriarchy created,” summed up user @poopygrill221. “It pushes the idea that men can’t be nurturing or emotionally expressive… Your critique is completely valid, but it doesn’t dismiss the fact that patriarchy is the problem here.”
