"Regardless of their beliefs in the matter of equality versus equity, teachers' levels of comfort in actively dealing with gender issues in their classrooms greatly influence their decisions about what strategies they will be willing to use. In a recent survey of 1519 K-12 teachers' positions on gender issues in literacy education, Commeyras et al. (1997) found that 86% of the teachers reported feeling most comfortable (i) monitoring equal participation by males and females in discussions, and (ii) including in the curriculum men and women's works that are generally considered non-mainstream. Most teachers did not feel comfortable having class discussions on the use of sexist language and the portrayal of males and females in a non-traditional school texts, or asking boys and girls to identify with characters of their own sex. It is possible that they perceived these options as potentially controversial, while the other scenarios did not seem as likely to lead to divisive discussions."
I read this in Gender Issues in the Language Arts Classroom. I don't know if articles like this strike my interest because I use to worked on cars for years, or if because I often talk to people who seem afraid to step outside of "traditional" or expected roles (by society standards). I think this is something teachers should encourage and be willing to discuss openly- not shy away from discussing.
I think the worst thing a teacher (male or female) can do is to ignore the issues of sexism in society. Often times, they are reflect through texts that we use in our classrooms and that are part of district or state curriculum. Thank you for bringing this topic up! Teachers should encourage students to think outside the box of traditional gender roles. Why can't a boy read and enjoy "Little Women" while a girl sees herself in Holden Caufield, the angsty teen boy in "The Catcher in the Rye"? Teachers can encourage their students to read literature challenging society's gender constructs.
ReplyDeleteVery, very true. I know at 12 years old I found my soul mate in Ponyboy Curtis- I've never felt a connection with a literary character like I did him in The Outsiders. It's sad to think so many people limit themselves to what society thinks is appropriate for them- and sad to think more teachers or parents don't step in and say IT'S OKAY
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