|
Prior to the era of state welfare that guaranteed monthly
checks to single teenaged mothers, the majority of school-aged children were from two-parent families while a few children
lived with a widowed or divorced parent. In recent years, much research has been undertaken into the developmental and behavioural
problems of fatherless children who live in mother-only homes, including children of divorce. State welfare policy has indirectly
caused the population of fatherless children to escalate and now account for over half of the enrollment in the public system,
even in Ontario. An experiment begun over a decade ago in New York City involved male teachers being assigned to teach
mainly fatherless kindergarten children from mother-only homes. They were kept with the same group of students for several
consecutive years. By the time male students from these classes reached their teen years, none of them had gravitated into
gangs. Most of their fatherless peers also from mother-only homes but taught exclusively by women had joined gangs. Several
in this group had dropped out of school and become involved with drugs, had run-ins with police, had social adjustment problems.
Some of their peers had anger management problems while others were socially mal-adjusted and were prone to violence.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Fatherless girls
from mother-only homes who had been taught by male-only teachers since kindergarten showed greater social adeptness and had
far fewer teen pregnancies than their peers who had been exclusively taught by women. However, Ontario provincial educational
authorities favour female over male teachers, allocating over 80% of places in teacher training programs to women. A few grade
level and junior high schools in Ontario have actually had an all-female academic staff and a male janitor. Courtesy of affirmative
action, political pressure and laws requiring equality in hiring, feminists in Ontario could herald a victory a few years
ago after an all-boys private school in Ontario hired a female teacher to teach an all-boys class. At the time, female political
activists deemed it desirable that boys from well-to-do homes be presented with the feminine perspective and feminine viewpoint.
A former student, who attended the same school during his youth and had been taught by an all-male staff, visited his alma
mater to interview some of the new generation who were taught by women. His impressions were that several boys exhibited
effeminate qualities and seemed confused about their sense of masculinity. Without political intrusion in private schools,
the all-boys school may still have had an all-male teaching staff.
|
|
|
|
|
|
