Come Back, Mr. Chips

Educators are taking new approaches to address the shortage. This summer, Indiana University offered a seminal course on men and education. In July, the Pennsylvania state legislature appropriated $1 million to create a statewide version of Call Me MISTER, a recruitment program that began at Clemson University aimed at attracting African-American men. The Borough of Manhattan Community College now runs a mentorship program to help male teachers-in-training find jobs. Roy Fox, an education specialist at the University of Missouri-Columbia, is expanding MEET, or Men for Excellence in Elementary Teaching, a group that gathers on a monthly basis to discuss research and serve as a sounding board to deal with one another's male-specific teaching problems.

Bryan Nelson, the founder of Men Teach.org, says the absence of men in America's classrooms deprives kids. Children need good teachers, male and female, says Nelson. With support from the community, that's exactly what men like Josh Holt hope to be.

© 2007