LEICESTER, United Kingdom – A British government minister’s call for more male teachers in schools referenced a Catholic school as an example.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson on Thursday made a stir speaking about the Netflix television show Adolescence, which is about a 13-year-old schoolboy arrested for the murder of a girl in his school.
The television series focuses on the use of social media and bullying in schools, and how the lack of male role models is affecting boys today.
“It’s clear the behaviour of boys, their influences, and the young men they become, is a defining issue of our time,” Phillipson said at a news conference on Thursday.
“We need to raise a generation of boys with the strength to reject that hatred – curiosity, compassion, kindness, resilience, hope, respect,” she said.
The education secretary spoke about the issue at the Festival of Childhood in London, and brought up her visit to the Cardinal Heenan School in Liverpool.
She made a special reference to Jack Backhouse, a former student of the school who is now the assistant headteacher.
“He said he’d been given every opportunity to succeed at that school. So he became a teacher to pass that on to the next generation of kids in his community,” Phillipson said.
“He understood the power of his job – it’s about unleashing the power in all of our children. That’s why my job is the best job in government – because I get to work with and empower you, the young people here today and across the country,” she said.
“From those earliest years, those babies leaving hospital, the nurseries, the childcare, through school, and then on into college, university and beyond,” she continued.
“It’s my job, it’s the job of childminders, teachers, support staff, lecturers and leaders, together with your parents and carers, to shape your journey, to guide you on, to spur you, to give you every opportunity to succeed. That is what you deserve,” Phillipson added.
She also addressed the special problem facing young boys, and the importance male teachers can play.
“With toxic online influences on the rise, our boys need strong, positive male role models to look up to. At home, of course, and at school too,” she said.
“Schools can’t solve these problems alone, and responsibility starts at home with parents. But only one in four of the teachers in our schools are men. Just one in seven in nursery and primary,” she said.
“And since 2010 the number of teachers in our schools has increased by 28,000 – but just 533 of those are men. That’s extraordinary. So I want more male teachers – teaching, guiding, leading the boys in their classrooms,” Phillipson explained.
In the United Kingdom, most religious schools are state supported, unlike in the United States. Phillipson’s visit to the Catholic school in Liverpool was appreciated by the staff.
“We were delighted to host the Secretary of State at Cardinal Heenan the other day, and it’s an honour for her to mention Mr. Backhouse as a role model for young lads in this way, him being a former student there,” said Joan McCarthy, Director of Education for the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
“We have a history of growing our own teaching talent in Liverpool and in Catholic schools across the country, and what better example to set young learners than someone who’s grown up in the Catholic education ethos?” McCarthy told Crux.
Follow Charles Collins on X: @CharlesinRome
