Gender Equity

As a former 1^st and 2^nd grade teacher, I do not feel that the problem of gender bias has been overblown because even young students in my classroom would have specific biases about the role of women and men in the home.  I observe the opportunities for math and science in our school district, and I see more male representation than female representation in our Investigative Math classes as well as science teams.  Is this because boys are receiving more encouragement that girls to participate in the math and science teams?  In my district, I believe my role as the curriculum director is to make sure there are equitable choices for boys and girls in all curriculum areas.  Professional development and resources need to be available for teachers to  attend as well as have resources to help teach gender equality. 

This becomes harder as students grow up.  It is much easier to establish gender equality in the younger grades, but many times student’s views can be shaped by their home life.  Teachers in the younger grades should encourage and find reading materials that appeal to the interests of boys because girls tend to do better in reading at the younger ages.   Teachers can do this by locating high interest reading materials for boys.  As students mature, girls and boys can be pressured by peers to conform to roles that they see in their family or that they see portrayed in the media.  Educators need to have knowledge about gender equality and have tools to help promote it in the classroom.   

     I agree with this statement from the link provided with these week’s lesson.  “The myth that the schools shortchange girls is dangerously wrong because it has diverted policy attention from the group at genuine educational risk---African-American boys. This is the group that scores lowest on virtually every educational measure. This is the group where an enormous gap does exist between males and females. But the African American gender gap favors females, who are pulling far ahead of males in college graduation rates and in obtaining professional degrees”  (http://www.menweb.org/kleinful.html).  Along with gender biases, educators need to make sure that their own ethnic biases do not create an inequality in their classroom environment.

Gender bias in the Country Boys was not an issue because the story is told from the point of view of Chris and Cody.  However, I believe if the documentary included struggles of girls growing up in Appalachia the focus would be on teen pregnancy and how the girls took care of their families.  The documentary would not focus on girls graduating or going to college.  Is that right or wrong?  I think too many times girls facing the same struggles as Chris and Cody are expected to take care of their family and are often depended on to provide child care for younger brothers and sisters. 

Not only are there gender biases in classrooms, but what about the gender biases that exist for female administrators in a school district?  How can an administrator find tools to help her deal with the gender biases in a district that have former coaches as administrators?  Yes, gender biases still exist in classrooms and they still exist in educational administration.