This lesson focused on gender. Questions about boy dropout rate, gender "bashing", and "girl power". This lesson was interesting to me also. Some of the articles stunned me because I've never given gender bashing much thought until this lesson. It really opened my eyes.
EDUC 2120 – Lesson 6 – Gender
Boys Dropout Article Questions
Why do boys drop out of school at a much higher rate than girls? Provide some reasons.
Boys tend to have more disciplinary issues than girls, and have a much higher rate of being expelled or suspended from school than girls. Misbehavior outside and inside of school can lead to boys dropping out of school in the future. Employment is also a reason for dropout. Boys who dropout because of employment need to do so to support families or maybe to even start a career. Holding students back a grade, especially ninth, can discourage a student causing them to drop out later. Getting poor grades or failing a class or two is also a reason why boys drop out of school. Disengagement in school is another reason of drop out. The students who refuse to wake up in the mornings, who miss school, and skip class is another reason.
What can you do, as a classroom teacher, to help reduce this high dropout rate for boys? Explain.
Really the only thing teachers could do to help reduce the high dropout rate for boys is just to try to encourage and motivate them as much as we can. I would use some ways that would make learning fun and interesting to them to make them want to come back and learn more about it.
Most elementary teachers are female. Can this cause problems in learning? Explain.
No, I do not think this causes problems in learning, why would it? Females are the only ones willing to step up to teach and take care of the younger children more than the males are willing, and that’s the problem. Males tend to want to teach or coach for middle and high school grades than elementary. I don’t think females could cause a problem with learning in elementary schools, because we’re nurturing and have more tolerance with little children than men do.
Gender “Bashing” and “Girl Power” Article Questions
Do you agree with the authors of the articles? Why or why not?
In the Gender Bashing article, I totally agree. I think that putting girls and boys against each other in games when learning could create good things and also, not so good things. The ideas that the author gives for the home and classroom environment are great things to consider. We want girls and boys to feel equal. We don’t want them to feel like the opposite sex is stupid. As a teacher, I would want all my students to get along, whoever it may be. As the author mentions, we should encourage our students/children (if we have any, I don’t.) to be well-rounded and self-confident in whatever they do, and we’re not doing it by making girls and boys play against each other, rather than playing together. I also agree with the author of Girl Power. I don’t think that putting down boys will lift up girls in any kind of way. The shirts that these teenage girls are wearing may be humorous to them, but to boys it could be offensive. Just because girls hate boys at that age (trust me, I’ve been there) doesn’t mean that they should bash them for it. Yes, they may make mistakes that happens to hurt a girl, but girls do the same things. This isn’t the way “girl power” should be brought out.
Do you think that people are “overreacting”? Why or why not?
No, I don’t think people are overreacting. I do think some boys that see these shirts couldn’t care less about it, but to others, it could be offensive. Not all guys that walk the face of the Earth are mean, rude, liars, etc. and the ones that this applies to, it may come as an offense to them. As Jarrett says in the article, why is it okay for there to be shirts like this for boys, and no one says anything about it, but if it was the same shirt but towards a girl, everyone would be all over it and would tell everything of why it would be wrong. There’s no difference in it having a boy on it, as it would have been with a girl on it. The thing is, it’s an issue and needs to be taken care of.
Would you allow your daughter (if you had a daughter) to wear this type of shirt?
If I had a daughter I would not even think about letting my daughter wear this shirt. It’s offensive to some guys, and this is not the way to show girl power. If girls are wanting to show girl power, they should show it in a type of way that won’t offend someone else.
What are your general feelings towards “message” apparel?
Well it really depends on what it says and if it’s going to offend someone or not. I think that if it’s nothing that’s going to offend someone, it’s okay. It’s a different story when there’s profanity and other types of offensive things, and that’s when I don’t think it’s okay.
“Gender” Article Questions
In your schooling, have you ever experienced first-hand (or observed) gender discrimination by a teacher? Describe, but do not list any names.
I can’t recall a moment where I have experienced or observed gender discrimination from a teacher that I have had in my middle/high school career.
According to the article, who benefits the most from conventional teaching strategies – boys or girls? Why is this?
The article says that boys benefit most from conventional teaching strategies than girls. Boys academic scores rise when using competitive teaching and whole classroom discussions, whereas, girls are more into the cooperative activities.
What will YOU do to eliminate gender inequities in YOUR classroom? Describe.
I think the best way to eliminate gender inequities in a classroom is to have boy/girl pairs. That way the girls and the boys aren’t all separated throughout the classroom. I believe that boys and girls should be friends and should experience all of their schooling together. I would ask questions to boys and girls, not just one gender. I would also use all types of learning strategies, this way each student will get taught the way they learn best.
Summary
This lesson was interesting to me, as are all the others. I feel like it’s important for future teachers to know all of this stuff before coming teachers in the classroom. We need to know how to handle the situations that are put towards us involving gender against gender. The articles Gender Bashing and Girl Power were very interesting to me. I think that boys and girls should learn to work together as a team, rather than against one another.
Research Question
What are some great ideas/activities that elementary school teachers could use to get boys and girls to connect with one another?
Reference(s): http://www.kidactivities.net/category/Connecting-Kids-to-Kids-Building-Program-Community.aspx
Research Analysis
Activities that teachers use in their classroom shouldn’t be mandatory. Students should have the choice whether they want to participate in an activity or not, but try to encourage them to. Most of these activities are great for all ages.
An activity that would work really well when trying to get your students to connect with one another is called the Beach Ball Toss. You get two beach balls and write simple questions on them, such as ‘What’s your favorite ice cream?’ The student who tossed the ball to another gets to choose a finger (thumb, pointer finger, etc.). Whichever question that that finger is closest to, the student who caught the ball needs to read that question and answer it to all of the students. The process repeats with each student. This is a great way to get to know one another in the classroom.
Another great activity is called the Friendship Tower. This is when the teacher divides the class into four or five students for each group. Each group will be given construction paper and tape. The students will have to try to build the tallest tower without talking. After a certain amount of time, all the groups will be given a time to discuss whether the activity was easy or difficult and will explain why.
An activity called Feelings is a great activity for the younger ages. Children who are in Pre-K and Kindergarten have just started learning about their feelings, like happy, sad, and angry. In this activity, students are given magazines and are asked to find faces that represent feelings, like happy, sad, and angry, etc. The students will be given safety scissors so they can cut out their faces that they choose. After everyone is done, a collage will be made of all the faces. Then, in a group, the teacher will tell his/her students to make the expression they would of certain situations. For example, “how would you feel if you lost your favorite toy?” The students will most likely act like they are crying, or become angry. The teacher will keep providing situations until they feel it is enough.
Research Summary
I enjoyed reading about these activities. There are many more activities on the website that I chose these three from if you want to check it out. I think it’s important for teachers to use activities and fun games for students to connect with their classmates. Doing this will easily lighten up the nervousness (if there is any) and students can make friends in a fun way. Not only can these activities be used for an icebreaker, but teachers could also tweak the activities in a way that students could learn. Teachers could take their materials and put them into a game, such as these, and it would be a fun way for the students to learn.