ICYMI: On Civic Cipher, Kelly Talks About Why America Needs More Male Teachers and Mentors, and What He’s Doing About It

"I think all successful men should be looking for opportunities to help young men."

"My goal is to get this legislation passed. This will have a positive impact on people's lives."

In case you missed it, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly joined the Civic Cipher podcast with Ramses Ja and Q. Ward to talk about the positive impact of getting more men into teaching and mentorship roles. Kelly discussed his recently introduced two-bill package-the Educators for America Act and the Building Community in America Act-which will help young men step up and serve their communities.

Listen to the full conversation here. See key excerpts below:

On the dramatic decline in male teachers and mentors in the US…

"The numbers have gone down dramatically. Decades ago, it was about thirty-five percent of teachers were men. Today, that number is twenty-three percent. In some places, it's even lower than that. And it's the same for mentors. Programs like AmeriCorps and the Boys and Girls Club do not have enough men mentoring men. The list is really low for young men and boys that are looking for mentors.

"So, we're trying to solve those two problems. So, in one case, what we're doing is paid training for teachers who are men, and in the other, it prioritizes searching for male mentors to get them into programs like AmeriCorps."

On why young men are struggling today…

"Young men are really struggling. They spend much more time on their phone. They often don't think they have opportunity. They don't have opportunities for relationships like they used to because of social media. Social media has changed that landscape.

"We've seen it over decades, and it took a while to see what the impact was. And the impact isn't great. Young men need to have men in their lives."

On successful men setting the example and helping young men…

"I think all successful men should be looking for opportunities to help young men. This didn't happen overnight and won't be fixed overnight. My goal is to get this legislation passed. This will have a positive impact on people's lives."

On the importance of investing in young people's education…

"We want young people to be able to grow up and be successful and contribute in society. Have a job, a career, be productive, be able to have a family, have an economic situation where they can raise a family.

"The best money we spend as a nation-after spending twenty-five years in the United States Navy and working at NASA for fifteen years-the best money we spend in this country is spending it on education. That's my view because you get it back. You get it back with the future success of young people."