Ireland has experienced a huge drop-off in the number of male teachers at the primary level. {I don't have the statistics, but I would guess there has been a similar drop at the secondary level.}
Fine Gael says this is a problem because boys need male role models at school. They're right, but it's an even bigger problem than that. The role models angle is only aspect to it. Men just teach and handle classes differently. They're better at relating to boys, understanding what makes them tick, knowing how to keep them under control (vital!) and generally educating them.
I believe that a big part of the problem boys now experience in school is the excessive feminization of education.
I went to a mixed sex school and had only one male teacher before I entered junior high. He was my 6th grade teacher and my favorite from all my school years. And, based on what I heard at my 20th high school reunion, that opinion was shared by all the boys who were in that class with me. What made him so good was that after years of women teachers we had one who would talk to us about sports, who would play ball with us in the yard, who knew how to control us and how to separate a fight. He didn't have the same 'pets' nor did he put great emphasis on those things that boys simply cannot do - like use good penmanship. His examples in class, whether teaching math or history or English, were simply more 'male'.
All of that was important, crucial to some. One guy I talked to told me that if not for Mr. Sherman, he might have just kept drifting down because he was never able to stay out of trouble before 6th grade. Many women teachers simply don't know how to handle smart-mouthed boys. Some do, I think my wife is one of them, but even she says that sometimes the boys just need to be yelled at by a man.
