Planting Seeds for the Future: Why We Need Latino Men in the Classroom

26Jul
by Alma Renteria

When asking students about their dreams and desires, more often than not, male students make it clear that they are not attracted to the profession of teaching. While there are many stigmas and misconceptions associated to the field of teaching – that teachers are poorly paid and it is mostly a woman’s job — there is more to the issue of our young men lacking interest in teaching.

The problem is a lack of representation. When students do not experience having teachers who look like them, it is difficult to imagine themselves in their shoes. As Brayan Reyes, a student from San Marcos High School shared, up until he was enrolled in an academy that focused on nurturing future teachers, he had never even seen a male educator. Unfortunately, he is not the only one with this narrative. “National statistics show 87 percent of classroom teachers are Anglo women, and 7 percent are Latino. Of that 7 percent, only 2 percent are male.”

So how do we solve this issue if there is a clear need for more Latino male representation in the classroom? CSU San Marcos is taking steps towards addressing this teacher demographics gap. With the development of “Encuentros Teacher Academy,” CSU San Marcos hopes to pave a way of inspiring more Latino boys to go into teaching. Learn more about their program here and let’s be creative about how we can help inspire more men to become the role models for our next generation of young boys.

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Alma Renteria

Alma-Delia Renteria is a proud product of Lynwood schools. After graduating UC Riverside, with a B.A. in English and a year earlier than anticipated, she decided to commit her “gap year” to City Year. After City Year Los Angeles, Alma went on to purse a teaching career with Teach For America Los Angeles. Upon joining TFA, Alma began her education career as a middle school teacher. It was while teaching that she realized the need to do her part to help serve the community she grew up in and decided to run for office, getting elected to the Lynwood School Board at only 23 years old. Alma completed her first Master’s degree in Urban Education at Loyola Marymount University and a 2nd Masters in Educational Leadership along with her Admin Credential at Concordia University. She was appointed by the Speaker to the Instructional Quality Commission and re-elected to the Lynwood School Board in 2018. She currently serves as the Principal at a local elementary school in Pico Rivera, where she hopes to demonstrate that magic is possible when thee right people are given opportunities to lead.

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