中國學校急招男性教師拯救男孩

FUZHOU, China — The history class began with a lesson on being manly.

中國福州――歷史課以如何表現男子氣概作爲開始。

Lin Wei, 27, one of a handful of male sixth-grade teachers at a primary school here, has made a habit of telling stories about warlords who threw witches into rivers and soldiers who outsmarted Japanese troops. “Men have special duties,” he said. “They have to be brave, protect women and take responsibility for wrongdoing.”

27歲的林偉（音）是這個小學六年級教師中屈指可數的幾位男教師之一，他上課時喜歡講一些故事，比如把巫婆投進河水的軍閥，還有智勝日本軍隊的中國軍人。“男人要有擔當，”他說。“他們要勇敢，要保護女人，要爲自己的錯誤承擔責任。”

Worried that a shortage of male teachers has produced a generation of timid, self-centered and effeminate boys, Chinese educators are working to reinforce traditional gender roles and values in the classroom.

中國教育者擔心缺乏男教師會造就一代怯懦、自我中心、娘娘腔的男孩，他們努力在課堂上鞏固傳統性別角色和價值觀。

In Zhengzhou, a city on the Yellow River, schools have asked boys to sign pledges to act like “real men.” In Shanghai, principals are trying boys-only classes with courses like martial arts, computer repair and physics. In Hangzhou, in eastern China, educators have started a summer camp called West Point Boys, complete with taekwondo classes and the motto, “We bring out the men in boys.”

在黃河邊上的鄭州，學校要求男孩子們簽署保證書，行爲舉止要像“真正的男人”。在上海，校長們在嘗試開設專門的男生班，教武術、電腦維修和物理之類課程。在中國東部的杭州，教育者開辦了名爲“西點男孩”的夏令營，開設跆拳道之類課程，還有這樣一句營訓：“我們把男孩變成男人”。

Education officials across China are aggressively recruiting male teachers, as the Chinese news media warns of a need to “salvage masculinity in schools.” The call for more male-oriented education has prompted a broader debate about gender equality and social identity at a time when the country’s leaders are seeking to make the labor market more meritocratic.

中國的新聞媒體警告，學校需要“搶救男人氣概”，與此同時，中國各地的教育官員正在積極招募男教師。在中國領導人致力於讓勞動力市場更加註重人才的時候，增加男性化教育的呼聲已經引發了一場關於性別平等和社會認同的廣泛討論。

It also reflects a general anxiety about boys in Chinese society. While boys outnumber girls as a result of the longstanding one-child policy and a cultural preference for sons, they consistently lag in academic performance. Some parents worry about their sons’ prospects in an uncertain economy, so they are putting their hopes in male role models who they believe impart lessons on assertiveness, courage and sacrifice.

這也反映了中國社會關於男孩的普遍焦慮。由於長期的計劃生育政策，以及傳統文化對男孩的偏愛，中國的男孩遠多於女孩，但他們的學業表現往往相對落後。有些父母擔心兒子們在不確定的經濟環境中的前程，於是寄希望於男性榜樣力量，認爲這些榜樣可以教會男孩勇氣、不卑不亢和犧牲精神。

The view that there is an overabundance of female teachers that has had a negative effect on boys has, perhaps predictably, led to a backlash. Parents have accused schools of propagating rigid concepts of masculinity and gender norms, and female educators have denounced efforts to attract more male teachers with lavish perks as sexist.

認爲女教師過多，對男孩產生了負面作用，這種觀點自然引起了反對。有家長指責學校宣揚關於男性作風和性別規範的僵化概念；也有女性教育者抨擊以豐厚待遇吸引更多男教師的做法，認爲這是一種性別歧視。

In Fuzhou, a city of two million, colleges and universities have come under fire for relaxing admissions requirements and offering full scholarships and teaching jobs to young men.

在福州這個人口200萬的城市，高校正在遭受抨擊，因爲它們對年輕男性放鬆了錄取標準，並給予他們全額獎學金和教學崗位。

Xue Rongfang, a student at Fujian Normal University, wondered why women should not get similar benefits to enter traditionally male fields. “If women go into architecture, shouldn’t the government give them a free education too?” she said. “Why should men get this benefit?”

福建師範大學的學生薛榮芳（音）不明白，爲什麼女性進入傳統上屬於男性的領域時，不能得到類似的優惠待遇。“如果女性進入建築領域，政府也會給她們免費教育嗎？”她問。“男性爲什麼能得到這種優惠？”

In some schools, teachers said the large number of female educators, especially in lower grades, had a positive influence on students.

在一些學校，老師們說，衆多女性教育者對學生們有着正面影響，特別是在低年級。

“We have a more intuitive sense of children’s needs,” said Li Yue, 36, a kindergarten teacher in Fuzhou. “It isn’t the responsibility of schools to teach boys to be boys. It’s the responsibility of parents.”

“我們對孩子們的需求有更本能的察覺，”36歲的李月（音）說，她是福州的一位幼兒園教師。“教育男孩要像男孩的樣子，這並不是學校的責任，這是家長的責任。”

Chinese education officials, for the most part, appear to disagree. While men are scarce among the ranks of public schoolteachers worldwide, including in the United States, the gender imbalance is especially pronounced in China, where women occupy four out of five teaching positions in urban areas, according to a 2012 study by Beijing Normal University. China has 15 million schoolteachers and about 270 million students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

中國的教育官員多數時候似乎並不贊同。全世界公立學校教師的行列中都缺乏男性，包括在美國。但這種性別不平衡在中國格外突出，根據北京師範大學2012年的一項研究，在城市地區，每五個教師崗位，有四個是由女性擔任。從幼兒園到高中三年級階段，中國有1500萬名教師，2.7億名學生。

In some districts, school officials have pressured local officials to intervene, saying students are underperforming because they lack male role models. Boys consistently trail girls on college entrance exams, and disparities in academic achievement emerge as early as third grade, according to a 2012 study by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

在某些地區，學校領導者呼籲地方官員介入，把學生表現不佳歸咎於缺乏男性榜樣。在高考中，男孩的成績往往落後於女孩，根據上海社會科學院2012年的一項研究，男女生從小學三年級開始，就出現學習成績的差異。

In recent years, education officials in Fujian, Guangxi and Jiangsu have created incentives for male teachers, arguing that men bring an energetic style that appeals to boys.

近年來，福建、廣西與江蘇的教育官員開始採取措施，爲男性教師創造激勵機制，並稱男性帶來一種活力充沛的風格，對男孩們很有吸引力。

Still, it is not clear that children derive academic benefits from studying with teachers of the same sex. A 2008 study of 9,000 11-year-olds in Britain found no tie between male teachers and higher academic performance among boys.

然而，跟隨同性別老師學習是否能夠提高兒童的學習成績，這一點並不清楚。2008年，英國在9000名11歲的孩子當中展開研究，沒有發現男教師授課與男生取得更佳學習成績之間存在關聯。

Shanghai No. 8 Senior High School began an all-boys program for 60 students in 2012 with the goal of “reviving the masculinity” of its male students.

2012年，上海八中高中部爲60名學生開設了男生班，目的是在男學生們當中“恢復男子氣概”。

Zhou Jiahao, 18, a senior at the school, said he did not think China faced a masculinity crisis in its classrooms. But he said boys felt more confident when they took classes together. The school offers courses in etiquette, coding and wilderness survival, among others.

該校高中生，18歲的周家豪（音）說，他不覺得中國學校面臨男子氣概缺失的危機。但他說，男孩子們在一起上課時會感覺更自信。學校還爲他們額外開設禮儀、編程和野外生存課程。

“In classes with female students, we might not dare speak out,” he said. “When it’s just boys, we feel much freer.”

“和女生們一起上課時，我們可能不敢有話直說，”他說。“但如果班上都是男孩，我們就覺得自由多了。”

Sun Yunxiao, a researcher at the China Youth and Children Research Center and the author of a book on education titled “Save the Boys,” said Chinese students were increasingly distant from male role models, including their fathers.

中國青少年研究中心研究員孫雲曉是教育類書籍《拯救男孩》的作者，他說中國學生與男性榜樣角色愈來愈疏遠，包括他們的父親。

“Children need both female teachers and male teachers for their development,” Mr. Sun said.

“孩子們在成長道路上既需要女性教師，也需要男性教師，”孫雲曉說。

A major obstacle to luring more men into teaching are the modest wages paid to educators in China (as elsewhere in the world).

阻撓更多男性進入教育行業的一大障礙是中國教師菲薄的薪資（和世界上其他地方相同）。

In 2013, the average salary of a teacher at a public school was about $17,000, according to government statistics. While Chinese law dictates that teacher pay should not fall below the salaries of other public servants, enforcement has been inconsistent, and some seek out higher-paying positions in other fields.

2013年，根據政府統計數字，公立學校教師的平均年薪是1.7萬美元。中國法律規定，教師薪資不得低於其他公務員的薪資，但這項法律的執行情況並不穩定，有些教師爲了較高的薪水就跳槽去了其他領域。

In Fujian Province, education officials hope to recruit thousands of male teachers a year, particularly for preschools, where the shortage is most severe.

在福建省，教育官員希望每年能聘請數千名男教師，特別是針對幼兒園和學前班這些男教師最短缺問題最嚴重的地方。

Of the million or so kindergarten teachers and instructional aides across China, about 60,000, or 6 percent, are male, government statistics show. Retention of male teachers is a serious challenge in China, and many male educators complain that they are lonely and disrespected.

根據政府統計數據，中國有約100萬名幼兒園教師或教學助理，其中只有6萬名是男性，佔6%。在中國，留住男性教師是一個巨大的挑戰，很多男性教育者抱怨自己感到孤獨和不受尊敬。

Fujian Normal University admitted its first class of male student teachers under the tuition-free program last fall. Each day, they study for up to 12 hours under the guidance of female professors, who coach them in reading body language and showing empathy. Because they are expected to be in high demand, they are required to gain certification in a number of subjects, including English, math and science.

福建師範大學去年秋天開設了第一個免學費男生師範班。他們每天學習長達12個小時，由女性教授輔導他們解讀肢體語言和表達共情心。對於這些男生的需求預計將會很高，因此他們必須獲得大量證書，包括英語、數學和科學。

Wang Ningde, 19, said he hoped to teach Chinese in an elementary school. But he said he was concerned about a perception in some schools that male teachers were untrustworthy.

19歲的王寧德（音）說，他希望將來去小學教語文，但他也說，他擔心有些學校裏存在這樣一種看法，認爲男教師不可信任。

“If we have only women as teachers,” he said, “we will still have many problems.”

“如果只有女老師，”他說，“仍然會有不少問題。”

Jiang Weiwen, 19, a first-year student at the university, said many of his friends and relatives were confused when he said he wanted a career in teaching.

福建師範大學19歲的大一學生蔣偉文（音）說，他的很多親戚和朋友聽說他想從事教師職業，都表示很不理解。

“They asked, ‘Why would a man want to be a teacher?’ ” he said. “They think men should be ambitious, and that it’s so stable and bland to be a teacher.”

“他們問，‘你一個男人爲什麼要當老師？’”他說。“他們覺得男人應該更有野心，教師這個職位太穩定，太平淡了。”

Even on campus, the students are mocked for their career choice, Mr. Jiang said, and some are stereotyped as gay or effeminate.

即便在大學裏，這些男生們也會因爲自己的職業選擇遭受嘲笑，蔣偉文說，有些人用同性戀和“娘娘腔”之類刻板印象看待他們。

Mr. Lin, in his classroom in Fuzhou, said he felt a responsibility to teach his students “to be brave.” In his history lessons, he speaks about the physical effort by the men who built the Great Wall. And in a nod to chivalry, he prods boys to apologize to girls when they get into fights.

福州的林老師在教室裏接受採訪時說，自己覺得有責任教導學生們“勇敢起來”。在他的歷史課上，他講授男人們爲了修建長城付出的辛勤勞動。爲了宣揚騎士精神，在班上的男女生髮生衝突時，他也敦促男生們向女生道歉。

Each year, he recounts the story of the Five Heroes of Langya Mountain, a tale meant to underscore the importance of sacrifice. In the story, a group of soldiers lures the Japanese Army up a mountain during World War II, giving the Chinese Army time to regroup. The soldiers on the mountain, rather than be killed by the Japanese when they reach the top, jump from the side, shouting, “Long live the Communist Party” as they fall.

每一年，他都會給學生們講“狼牙山五壯士”的故事，它的主題是犧牲的重要意義。故事講述“二戰”時期，一小羣中國軍人爲了給中國軍隊爭取到重新集結的時間，引誘日本部隊登上高山。來到山頂，他們不願被日本軍隊殺死，而是高喊着“中國共產黨萬歲”，跳下了山崖。