Photo by Tra Nguyen on Unsplash
Male students being disrespectful to female teachers, while being more respectful to male teachers isn't a new thing, unfortunately. I am currently working in an all-boys' school and I've heard a few of the female teachers making this point.
I certainly heard it at my previous school too.
Man/boy relationships are easier and less complicated, it seems to me. As I've said to a few people, I went to an all-boys' school, and I've previously taught in an all-boys' school. So, I know the territory.
Before a boy accepts an invitation to engage in scholastic activity, he takes a measure of the person extending the invitation. To engage, to attend closely, to work hard, to try - these commitments are not easily won (Reichert and Hawley in Reaching Boys Teaching Boys).
I don't want to overthink it and I know I'm potentially on thin ice here - but males knowing the territory certainly helps, so it's easier for males to get that initial acceptance, I think.
I wish it didn't matter whether you're a female or a male teacher, but it does.
