Numbers of male teachers continues decline

According to the NYTimes, "Men made up one-third of the teaching force in the 1960's, 70's and 80's. Their numbers slid through the 90's and hit 21 percent, a low point, in 2001." When I look at the faculty of schools, I see that nearly everyone got their degrees and certification in the 70's or the 90's. Very few teachers teaching today started in the 80's. Part of this was the relative teacher glut of the 80's. What I think these statistics hide is the fact that an even larger decline has taken place in the number of male teachers entering the profession in the 90s'. Counting practicing teachers still includes male teachers who started teaching in the 70's. What I want to see

The article also said, "Six in 10 teachers said they would choose teaching again if they could go back to their college days and start over." Again, consider this in light of another statistic that, "About one-third quit during their first three years, and almost half leave within five years," according to this CNN item. Is the 4 in 10 who would not choose to teach again the new teachers who are still about to leave?

The NEA puts a more positive spin on these statistics, and provides some more from the base report, as well as linking to that report as a pdf.