When women rule schools, girls get a good lesson

It makes sense that more women are finally leading Kansas schools and school districts, given that women have always dominated the teaching ranks. As The Topeka Capital-Journal noted over the weekend, 37.9 percent of school principals in Kansas are women, up from 9.3 percent in 1984-85. And women represent 11 percent of superintendents, compared with 3.6 percent as recently as 1993-94. The source on this is a Kansas Association of School Boards survey, which found that women now outnumber men 292 to 236 as elementary principals. The final frontier appears to be high school principal jobs: 167 are held by men, only 21 by women. When women teachers move up into administration, they become important role models for girls in these schools — as they command higher salaries for themselves. Now, if only Kansas schools could get more men into elementary classrooms, where they have their own special value as role models for boys.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

4 Comments

  1. damoon
    Posted January 12, 2006 at 3:07 pm | Permalink

    I found that in 17 yrs of working in an hospital, the women were better managers than men. It was easier to work for a man, but women managers paid more attention to detail, got things done and everything ran a lot smoother.”If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman”.I say the more women in charge, the better. Schools and government included.Now watch me catch all kinds of flak for this one!!

  2. Allie
    Posted January 12, 2006 at 5:30 pm | Permalink

    I have nothing against Rhonda’s point, but I would like to add that boys need women in administration as much as girls, and girls need role-model male teachers as much as boys. Why? Boys need to learn to see competent women in authority so they respect their potential future bosses and women need to see dedicated honerable male elem. teachers to not falsely believe that every man only values them sexually. I wish we didn’t have to separate it into a gender binary, both genders benefit from fairness and passion at all levels of education.

  3. Ben Huie
    Posted January 12, 2006 at 6:14 pm | Permalink

    Good points Allie. And damoon, I understand that you are both a nurse and a grandma. Therefore I will NOT give you flak. I value my life too much!

    ;^)

  4. Damoon
    Posted January 13, 2006 at 11:23 am | Permalink

    Actually Ben, I must admit I have known some really competent managers, leaders, and teachers who happen to be men. Allie’s right, we need to bring down the gender barrier. There is no true equality until we quit defining people as men and women, black or white, etc. We need to just see people as people.