The Editor, Sir:

Having read the article, 'Male teachers needed to mentor boys', I am compelled to ask two simple questions: Where did the male teachers go? How do we get them back?

The problem is cultural. Teaching, despite its decline in prominence is still a respected profession. It is not, however, a profession that pays the bills. From as far back as my primary school days (mid '80s) I noticed that experienced teachers fell into two basic categories:

1. Those who simply couldn't get a higher-paying job. Usually because they are not good teachers, didn't complete teachers' college, or had an obviously inadequate work attitude.

2. Those who are competent teachers and could easily get a higher-paying job but choose to teach for the love of the children or the classroom.

Clue

Within that simplistic assessment is the first clue to the disappearing male teachers. Jamaica's culture allows for a female to live on more than she earns without any loss of social standing. For instance, my Common Entrance teacher was married to the owner of a supermarket, making her income irrelevant to her family's lifestyle. She just really loved us kids and put her heart and head into teaching, occasionally supplying additional equipment and teaching aids at her own expense.

If that lady was in a position which forced her to pay all her own expenses, chances are, she would have left what she loved and gone off to manage a mid-size business or run a department for a large company, leaving the school weaker for her absence.

Thanks to our cultural norms, that is the position our male teachers find themselves in. In simple terms, a man cannot live on more than he earns and any profession that falls below that minimum 'living wage' will not be seriously considered.

I am, etc.,

KEVIN FORGE

kevinforge@gmail.com