The Specific Model Of Masculinity In Education

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1. The general category of masculinity I want to examine is… I want to study masculinity within education, specifically focusing on public elementary education. Within this topic there are a few different areas I want to address; all culminate to the general consensus that the needs of students are generalized and students are suffering from assumptions based on biological, and other perceptual differences (as they relate to academic performance), as well as an environment that does not foster male education.

2. The specific model of masculinity (i.e. primary source) within that general category is…

The main sources of data I am planning on using are data regarding academic performance in gender, but also looking at a variety of student …show more content…

All of the trends in education I am addressing are related to perceived roles within gender that have been reinforced by society and how they shape the landscape of education. This shaping especially taking place in processes and what expectations children receive, how they interact with education and vice versa (how education interacts with male children).

3. This model of masculinity can be recognized as problematic (i.e. harmful for the person living it, those living around it, and young men looking up to it) because…

Commonly accepted is the idea that girls are more successful in lingual and artistic subjects, and that boys are more successful in S.T.E.M programming (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), within these stereotypes there has been a push for more S.T.E.M educational programming specifically for girls to encourage less of a gender gap. We do not see this push for arts programming with boys, and the assumption remains. With this comes a gap in expectation and does not benefit male students trying to receive well-rounded …show more content…

Over time labels of failure come from both the institutions that are perpetuating these gendered ideals, as well as a formed identity based on failure coming from the individuals experiencing this. The current structure of education is riddled with assumptions of difference, both biological and perceptual, and is not made for the education of boys. We are not providing skills, we are providing labels and identities that may very well hinder positive self-image, as well as academic performance. 4. It is evident that this model of masculinity encourages identification because…

Children in the United States spend approximately 1,100 hours a year in the classroom, over the course of their lifetime that adds up to a year and half of their lives. With the trends that mentioned above, boys are forced into a small box of expectations. With what expectations that do exist, they are very low expectations and are completely centered on the strict adherence to a polarized gender ideal all add characteristics that come with it.

The push for identification is not as obvious as telling a child to “be a man”, but over time creates self-fulfilling

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