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chinasyndrome

Joined: 17 Mar 2003 Posts: 673 Location: In the clutches of the Red Dragon. Erm...China
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2003 3:10 pm Post subject: Women are better teachers than men |
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Dyak wrote:
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I did an activity the other day where students had to choose someone from four candidates to fill an imaginary teaching job at the school; surprisingly (or maybe not) all groups chose a female candidate. When I asked why they stated (quite matter of factly) that 'women were better teachers than men' (Please don't start that thread... no, I dare you... ).
The candidates were (intentionally) quite lame though, so I asked the students to come up with one of their own (subconsciously create their ideal teacher).
Unsurprisingly (by now), all groups chose attractive, well-qualified, experienced, 30ish women... though one group (albeit guys only) put forward a former Miss World, educated at Oxford, best-selling writer (a book about teaching) and physically fit 'candidate'...
Try it! |
Here 'tis. Enjoy!  |
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dyak

Joined: 25 Jun 2003 Posts: 630
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2003 3:38 pm Post subject: |
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Ok... but I take no responsibility for this...  |
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leeroy
Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 777 Location: London UK
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2003 3:40 pm Post subject: |
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Hmm, I've heard students say this too.
Perhaps it's because women tend to be more 'caring'? |
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denise

Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2003 3:49 pm Post subject: |
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I guess I'm happy that I've got at least one thing going for me!!
d |
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Capergirl

Joined: 02 Feb 2003 Posts: 1232 Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2003 5:50 pm Post subject: |
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All (four) of the ESL teachers where I work are female. Our boss is also female. One of the students asked me last week why there are no male teachers in our department. I just shrugged and said, "Women are smarter." He said, "Yes, that's true."  |
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fat_chris
Joined: 10 Sep 2003 Posts: 3198 Location: Beijing
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2003 6:51 pm Post subject: |
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Shonai Ben
Joined: 15 Feb 2003 Posts: 617
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2003 6:57 pm Post subject: |
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Capergirl:That is too funny.BTW,I am glad to see your old avatar is back. |
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dmb

Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2003 7:37 pm Post subject: |
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sex has nothing to do with being a good teacher. I have seen good female and male teachers. |
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dduck

Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Posts: 422 Location: In the middle
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2003 7:39 pm Post subject: |
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Shonai Ben wrote: |
Capergirl:That is too funny.BTW,I am glad to see your old avatar is back. |
In the UK, girls do better in most subjects than boys. There's often a debate about how can we get boys to catch up. I think castration might do the trick.
In Mexico, I surprised by how many apparently intelligent males only seem to be able to discuss having sex with the nearest cutsie-pie (my words, not theirs!). Women, on the other hand, often like to ask "Why aren't you married yet?", but they are capable of talking about other things!
Apropo, Capergirl's avatar. I still love it, but the puffin was beginning to grow on me
Iain |
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Gordon

Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2003 10:36 pm Post subject: |
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We all know that no sex is better than the other (male/female I mean ), but there are certainly more women in the teaching field and ESL/EFL is no exception.
Why?
I may hazard a guess and say one of the reasons is the money. There isn't much money in EFL and a lot of men want to make more to support their family. What do you think or is this a new thread? |
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lajzar
Joined: 09 Feb 2003 Posts: 647 Location: Saitama-ken, Japan
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2003 11:44 pm Post subject: |
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I may hazard a guess and say one of the reasons is the money... |
Hmm, actually, I am saving more money each month now than I used to earn before I entered teaching
Not that I'm in it for the money, no sir. I genuinely enjoy the work. Getting paid to do this is just an added bonus for me  |
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Buck Turgidson

Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Posts: 96
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Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2003 12:19 am Post subject: |
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It is possible to earn a comfortable living in this profession. It is just that being an English teacher does not have the "psycho bucks" as a friend of mine put it. Consider farming. There are some farmers who are quite wealthy, but that does not change the unflattering image many people have of farmers. Probably men avoid the ESL/EFL profession because of the lack of status. |
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Capergirl

Joined: 02 Feb 2003 Posts: 1232 Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
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Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2003 12:51 am Post subject: |
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OK, slightly more serious than the last post...
I think the main reason there are so many female teachers is that teaching has long been accepted as a "woman's job". Although we are more PC nowadays (in "Western" countries), when it comes to certain professions, there is still a fairly wide gender gap. For example, there are more female nurses than male, and there are more male police officers than female. Gradually, the gap is narrowing, but it will take another generation (or two, or three) for that gap to be so narrow it is not noticeable.
Interesting footnote: When I was teaching in Taiwan, my students (ages 11-12) had to answer some questions about their families as part of their homework assignment. One of the questions in their workbooks was, "What do your parents want you to be when you grow up?" All of the girls responded that their parents wanted them to be teachers. All of the boys (except one) responded that their parents wanted them to be doctors. The one standout had very open-minded parents. "They want me to be whatever I want to be", he said.
And so it begins...  |
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Wolf

Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 1245 Location: Middle Earth
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Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2003 1:44 am Post subject: |
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Gordon wrote: |
We all know that no sex is better than the other (male/female I mean ), but there are certainly more women in the teaching field and ESL/EFL is no exception.
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I'd love to see the figures on number of migrant ESL teachers living in east Asia, because I would have put money on more of them being men. That's just one area of the world, though.
I'm the only male FE. A lot of the Chinese English teachers at my uni are women. A lot of the students in my department (more than 70%) are women. Ironcially, all the monitors in my classes are guys, and our dean is a man (vice dean is a woman though.)
I've been told that, in my university anyway, the male/female imbalance swings the other way in most other subjects.
Many of my students are going to go on to get jobs as teachers (in this province I just don't see a lot of jobs requiring English.) I've asked why so many of my students are female. Everyone thinks that women learn foreign langugaes better. My opinion is that in my classes the guys make up a disproportionate number of the slackers, so it's hard to tell.
Working in Japan, I saw crap teachers of all genders and nationalities. I also saw great teachers of all genders and nationalities. Including Japanese. (In China I never se my co - workers teach.)
Is this a "girls are bad at math but good at being nurses and teachers" thing? Bases on my life experience, I doubt that girls are bad at math and boys are bad at foreign language teaching or learning.
The bit about teaching being "womans' work" might have something to do with imbalances "back home."
Gordon: Why would women be exempt from earning enough to support their family? I knew a lot of female ESL teachers - including single parents - who were worried about just that. |
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shmooj

Joined: 11 Sep 2003 Posts: 1758 Location: Seoul, ROK
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Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2003 4:48 am Post subject: |
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Gordon wrote: |
no sex is better than the other |
I'm not sure you wanted to state your sexual preferences on this forum Gordon but I'm curious, just what is the other?
As for this topic, am I right in saying that the majority of adult students at private language schools in Japan would be female. This would obviously make for a preference for students to have female teachers.
What about in general ed? Are there predominantly more females than males and who teaches better? |
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