Saturday was International Men’s Day, though you might have missed it (the UN prefers to mark the 19th as World Toilet Day). Besides, amid reports of violence against women, police neglect or loathsome banter and even the prime minister expressing fears for his daughters on the street, many will have had no urge to celebrate men.
Yet one who did, the Conservative MP for Mansfield, Ben Bradley, held a debate at Westminster Hall. One point he made struck home: the increasing lack of male teachers in schools affects all our children’s futures and the whole culture of the nation. Women are great in the teaching profession but men are not dispensable. They are rare in primary and nursery schools (85 per cent female teaching staff).
