Where are all the male teachers?

I am not one of those "the men are here to save the day" type of women, but when I think about the 6 women who died at Sandy Hook Elementary School it brings to mind the dearth of male educators, especially at the primary level. How many men were employed at Sandy Hook as teachers? If the staff mirrors national averages then that number is about 18%. I won't insult the brave women who lost their ...lives by postulating a scenario involving a greater number of men (because who among us can go toe to toe with an assault rifle), but as a separate issue, I do think more of an effort needs to be made to get men in the classroom. It is a complex problem needing a multi-faceted solution, but it certainly won't happen as long as teachers continue to make paltry salaries. I personally know more than a few men who were educators but changed professions after a couple of years because of the salary, even though they loved their jobs and even now, still miss teaching. I don't have any solutions here, but I do see a worrying trend in which our educators are receiving the short end of the stick when the budget talks take place. For a profession that is increasingly involved (because our educators are not only teaching, but also half-raising, all but paying the rent for some kids) and increasingly dangerous, we really must really start to rethink and reprioritize our children's education and safety.

The Newton Shooting: Why a debate on school prayer is not appropriate right now

It sounds trite to say "God wasn't there during the Connecticut shooting because we took prayer out of schools." Can't we just take a moment to grieve the loss without inserting our meaningless idealogues into everything? This sentiment is self-serving and lacking in empathy to those who are dealing with an intense loss right now.

Keep this in mind: America is a place of religious freedom, so kno...w that if you are putting prayer back in schools you are not only inserting the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but also satanic gods, voodoo gods, hindu gods, sun gods and moon gods, gods of the occult, wiccan gods and goddesses, and so on and so forth. If we lived in a theocracy we could put prayer back in schools and everyone would pray to one god and the spirit behind the Christian push to reinsert prayer back in schools would be realized. However, since we live in this great democracy, an invitation to bring prayer back into our schools is not tantamount to an invitation to bring God back into our schools. Some of us might actually be appalled at what we'd find in our schools should we bring prayer back into schools, because you'd better believe that sweet baby jesus in a manger would not be the only one to get that invite.

If you are worried about God being present in our schools then make sure that your sons and daughters have God in their hearts. God can no more exist in our churches than he can in in our schools if he does not reside in us. So in the meantime, get your own family, house, and heart in order and show a little empathy... and imagine how you'd feel if your child was murdered and someone said to you, rather flippantly, "Well, we shouldn't have taken prayer out of schools..."