Friday, February 12, 2016

Wanted in China: More Male Teachers, to Make Boys Men

A NYtimes article "Wanted in China: More Male Teachers, to Make Boys Men
By JAVIER C. HERNÁNDEZFEB. 6, 2016"

starts like that:

"FUZHOU, China — The history class began with a lesson on being manly.

Lin Wei, 27, one of a handful of male sixth-grade teachers at a primary school here, has made a habit of telling stories about warlords who threw witches into rivers and soldiers who outsmarted Japanese troops. “Men have special duties,” he said. “They have to be brave, protect women and take responsibility for wrongdoing.”

Worried that a shortage of male teachers has produced a generation of timid, self-centered and effeminate boys, Chinese educators are working to reinforce traditional gender roles and values in the classroom.

and then there is

"Zhou Jiahao, 18, a senior at the school, said he did not think China faced a masculinity crisis in its classrooms. But he said boys felt more confident when they took classes together. The school offers courses in etiquette, coding and wilderness survival, among others.

“In classes with female students, we might not dare speak out,” he said. “When it’s just boys, we feel much freer.”"

This of course is not exactly what we seem to see in studies in US colleges, see my older blogpost on Women don't speak up! here

Thanks to David Yang

No comments:

Post a Comment