China’s Schools Want To Mold ‘Real Men’
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.
In Zhengzhou, a city on the Yellow River, schools have asked boys to sign pledges to act like “real men.” In Shanghai, principals are trying boys- only classes with courses like martial arts, computer repair and physics. In Hangzhou, in eastern China, educators have started a summer camp called West Point Boys, complete with taekwondo classes and the motto, “We bring out the men in boys.”
Education officials across China are aggressively recruiting male teachers, as the Chinese news media warns of a need to “salvage masculinity in schools.” The call for more male- oriented education has prompted a broader debate about gender equality and social identity at a time when the country’s leaders are seeking to make the labor market more meritocratic.
It also reflects a general anxiety about boys in Chinese society. While boys outnumber girls as a result of the longstanding one- child policy and a cultural preference for sons, they consistently lag in academic performance. Some parents worry about their sons’ prospects in an uncertain economy, so they are putting their hopes in male role models who they believe impart lessons on assertiveness, courage and sacrifice.
Opposition has arisen. Li Yue, 36, a kindergarten teacher in Fuzhou, said: “It isn’t the responsibility of schools to teach boys to be boys. It’s the responsibility of parents.”
Women occupy four out of five teaching positions in urban areas, according to a 2012 study by Beijing Normal University. China has 15 million schoolteachers and about 270 million students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
Shanghai Number 8 Senior High School began an all-boys program for 60 students in 2012 with the goal of “reviving the masculinity” of its male students.
Zhou Jiahao, 18, a senior, 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.”
Sun Yunxiao, a researcher at the China Youth and Children Re-
Male teachers are seen as a solution to timid boys.
search Center and the author of a book on education titled “Save the Boys,” said Chinese students were increasingly distant from male role models, including their fathers.
“Children need both female teachers and male teachers for their development,” Mr. Sun said.
In Fujian Province, education officials hope to recruit thousands of male teachers a year, particularly for preschools, where the shortage is most severe.
Fujian Normal University admitted its first class of male student teachers under the tuition- free program last fall.
Jiang Weiwen, 19, a first-year student at the university, said many of his friends and relatives were confused when he said he wanted a career in teaching.
“They asked, ‘Why would a man want to be a teacher?’ ” he said. “They think men should be ambitious, and that it’s so stable and bland to be a teacher.”