The first perspective focuses on the education of teachers and how it has influenced their behavior. One shortcoming of the textbooks used to educate teachers is that there is little information shared on gender equity and issues, which leads to further gender inequity (K. Zittleman & Sadker, 2002). In fact, many textbooks look at the gender roles and the typical behaviors expected to be seen by the genders in the classroom (Titus, 1993; K. Zittleman & Sadker, 2002). Even when the textbooks list stereotypes to refute them, they are still placing the ideas in the heads of future teachers of what to expect from students. Consequently, the way many educational textbook authors talk about gender make it seem like a different but equal phenomenon. …show more content…
Smith, about what I was learning in class I told her about how I just learned that teachers tend to pay more attention to their male students then their female students and tend to discipline them more. Ms. Smith seemed to have an epiphany that she had been unknowingly been doing this for her twenty-eight years of teaching without even knowing. By unknowingly do this, certified teachers create a cycle by then teaching that gender bias interactions are the norm to student-teachers that they may mentor (Michael Younger, Molly Warrington, & Jacquetta Williams, 1999). Although there has been some improvements in the incorporation of gender and historical contributions made by women, there is still many textbooks that say very little or nothing on the matter (McCune & Matthews, 1975). This alone shows that women are less important than men, and that men should get more attention (Sadlker & Zittleman, 2016; Titus, 1993). Additionally, the classroom management styles and techniques taught to education students help to add to the gender bias interaction issue (McCune & Matthews, 1975; Sadlker & Zittleman, 2016). The teacher education perspective is just one of many perspectives that try to explain the gender bias interaction social
In the article Who is a Teacher, the author made a factual claim about two correlated theories; that students are permitted too much influence over their instructors, and that influence affects female professors to a greater degree than their male counterparts. The article was written from the perspective of the author’s experience as a female professor at the University of Georgia as well as the accounts of her colleagues. The article listed numerous examples of inappropriate behavior, which would not be tolerated in many other circumstances.
“Men are from Mars, women are from Venus” as the famous saying of John Gray goes. It is believed men and women are nothing alike in almost every aspect. In Deborah Tannen’s essay “Gender in the classroom: Teacher’s Classroom Strategies Should Recognize that Men and Women Use Language Differently” she focused on how men and women differ when it comes to communicating, with emphasis on how it effects to how men and women behave in the classroom.
This article, “Why Are Textbooks So Expensive?” by Henry Roediger reveals the truth of why textbooks are so pricey. He shows how textbooks prices are costly not because of inflation, corporate textbook companies, and frequent revisions, but because of the sale of used textbooks. The article is elaborating on why used textbooks are the real culprit as well. One main point that is highlighted is that used textbooks are resold for many years. The initial selling of the textbook is the only time the author will make a profit, but the bookstore will make a profit every time they resell a used book. It is essential for the author to raise the price to compensate for the loss of money when dealing with used textbooks.
The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara is a story of a (disobedient) little girl and her group of kids who were bundled up one summer day to go with Miss Moore to a toy store. Sylvia and her cousin Sugar are with Fat Butt, Rosie Giraffe, Mercedes, Q. T., Junebug, and Flyboy, not their real names but nicknames given to them by Sylvia. The names came from their most obvious feature, Fat Butt for his liking for food, Mercedes for her fancy tastes, Q. T., is the youngest, and Rosie Giraffe is always ready to kick asses. One may guess Sugar is for her being the exact opposite of sourly Sylvia.
Sadker, Myra, David Sadker, and Susan Klein. "The Issue of Gender in Elementary and Secondary Education." Review of Research in Education 17 (1991): 269. JSTOR. Web. 14 Mar. 2012.
Gender differences in education is something of a common topic among educational studies since intensification in the 1970’s (Breakwell, 2003, p. 437). Gender differences among the subjects taught in school has been found to be somewhat more of a social construct rather than a concept that has any kind of scientific explanation because of the idea of gender differences being taken and changed into the idea of a gender stereotype in most parts of education (Crilly, 2013, p. 1).
Feminization is the shift of gender roles in a society, group or organization towards the feminine. Not only did the shift of feminization among teachers change how society perceived women, but how they perceived themselves. This shift towards women in schooling is seen because women by nature are more nurturing and maternal as well as high moral character. Teachers were seen to be role models of upright living. (Levin et al) Looking at the physiological differences between men and women, many reformers were concerned about the women’s ability to maintain order and discipline within a classroom. Men were known to be taller, stronger and would even flirt or defy their authority. During this time period many teachers were not even fifteen years old and teaching. (Levin et al) Even though women were becoming more educated than ever before, many people mocked women 's true intellectual ability. Women were only paid one-third that of men and most states put in testing requirements for teachers. (Goldstein, 36) This led to the one clear downside of feminization, that because of sexism, the political class would never respect a workforce dominated by
American schools are facing a huge dilemma: boys and girls are statistically doing different in school, with girls having the upper hand. For example, in some states, boys have the average of an entire letter grade below girls according to the article “Gender-Friendly Schools.” The article adds that roughly 70% of the D’s and F’s in school grades are given to boys and more than half of the A’s are given to girls. With evidence of a gender difference in learning, scientists and educators are looking for the source, namely nature or nurture, and if the learning difference is gender based or individual orientated. Based on the evidence surrounding learning, suggestions are given to teachers to ensure that all students are able to learn.
...nder balance in the classroom. Specifically, as the number of women in the class increased, students perceived the professor to engage in less probing of students for responses. Classroom climate influences the quality of the education a student experiences as well as how they evaluate their professors. The micro-inequalities identified in the classroom seem to emerge from both student and faculty behaviors—both of which create and maintain the classroom climate. Stu- dents and faculty arrive in the classroom with a lifetime of experiences of learning and “doing” gender. The social norms and expectations of women and men play out in the microcosm of the classroom. Over time, the classroom may have evolved from a chilly one for women to a more complex and implicit system of messages and cues regarding gender that influence the learning experience for college students
Commeyras et al. (1997) stated that teachers generally agreed the there is a need for implementing gender-fair strategies, yet feel uncomfortable actively addressing gender issues in their classrooms. They are often unsure how much authority they should exert in determining the content and direction of students' talk during classroom discussions. Singh (1997) states
While teachers may not intend to marginalize girls, they often unconsciously give male students more frequent and focused attention. Not only does this extra attention lead to improved academic performance, but it can also influence girls to be more passive and quiet as their schooling goes on (Sadker, 1999). This extra attention is most often done through non-verbal behaviour. As these behaviours are under less conscious control, they are thus subject to less self-monitoring and accountability (LaFrance, 1985). The most common of these unconscious behaviours is not calling on girls to answer questions (Sadker & Sadker, 1994). While this cannot be entirely blamed on the teachers – boys are often more visible when the put up their hands by holding them higher and vocalizing “Me! Me!” whereas girls tend to hold their arms bent at the elbow and be quiet – it is important to be aware of this unintentional bias and the effect it can have on female students. Teachers also tend to offer male students more encouragement than female students. They give them more positive feedback and make more helpful slips, which involve providing information to the answer in the question (LaFrance, 1985). There are also many types of subtle gender discrimination built into the curriculum. When analyzing lesson plans, women are rarely represented in powerful roles
Same sex classes make it possible for teachers to cater to student needs in a more efficient way. In general boys benefit from hands on learning, but girls benefit from calm discussions (Mullins 3). Girls tend to doubt themselves while boys think they can do anything. Boys need to be brought down from the clouds while girls need to be dug out of a hole (Mullins 3). David Chadwell says, "Structure and connection are two key concepts when examining gender in the classroom. All students certainly need both, but it seems that teachers need to consider the issue of structure more with boys and the issue of connection more with girls" (7), and Kristen Stanberry’s research has shown, "Some research indicates that girls learn better when classroom temperature is warm, while boys perform better in cooler classrooms. If that's true, then the temperature in a single-sex classroom could be set to optimize the learning of either male or female students" (1). These observations further support the idea that same sex classrooms can cater to student’s...
In the classroom, experience and gender can causes to a lower self-efficacy for girls, in particular in those subjects (Science, Math, and Sport)which seem to be more appropriated for boys. To some extend, my high school Science teacher do showed some bias, such as tend to pick boys to answer their questions, and particularly give praise to male students of their outstanding academic performance. The situation implies the unspoken belief of boys do better than girls and the domination of boys in some “boys” subjects. No wondering, as a girl student, I had a worse classroom experience which might somehow lower my performance on tests and school works. Besides, the school offers various choices of class and Extracurrular activities in cater for the idea of sexism. It is the fact that most boys show relatively more interests in attending Science, Math, and Sports sort of classes; while girls tend to choose writing and reading based classes, for instance, History, Social Studies, and Home Economics. The choice of class and students’ preference demonstrates the idea of masculinity and feminism, traditional sex differences, and pro-males biases (females characters have usually been seen as secondary role and insignificant).
...appy. With the difference in gender, both a male and female teachers' exposure to society's youth is critical, and male teachers are just as important as females in the educational field.
Opinion: It is not always an easy task to keep a gender-fair classroom, but it is vital to the success of students, the community, and to myself as the teacher. I know that I have a difficult road ahead of me, eventhough I don’t consider myself to be a bias person. I do feel like each of these ideas will help me on my journey, and most importantly I am aware that there is still much to learn. I will continue reading and professional development in gender equality. (Pg121) I will also suggest gender bias workshops to my school. I think this subject is especially important in Georgia, and throughout the South, where our traditions are so steeped in sexism. Regardless of how to teachers perceive their classrooms, I believe everyone could use help in this area. We owe it to our students to create the best learning environment possible for them.