How Does Gender Affect the Teaching Profession?
Gender is a substantial and serious issue in today's society. Gender has been a problem before as well but in our generation now it is more of a genuine topic than ever. Some gender topic examples are gender roles, gender identity, etc.
Gender roles in society means how we're expected to act, speak, dress, groom, and conduct ourselves based upon our assigned sex. For example, girls and women are generally expected to dress in typically feminine ways and be polite, accommodating, and nurturing. Men are generally expected to be strong, aggressive, and bold. Every society and ethnic group can have different gender role expectations. For example, pink was said to be a feminine color, while blue was more masculine! Thinking back to when I was in elementary school, I remember in physical education class (PE) the PE coaches would sometimes separate us "boys on one side, girls on the other" where boys would do activities with the boys and girls would stay with the girls. As well as, boys playing football or basketball, while girls would play just dance. Being a young child I didn't think anything wrong of it. Now, my eyes have been opened so much and I realize all of the things wrong with that. Even in elementary school I only had women as teachers, I had one man and he was the physical education class teacher, which (at least I think) says something that ties my whole point of gender roles together. Exaggerated gender stereotypes can also affect any type of relationship between two people.
It is so extremely important for teachers to be knowledgeable on gender awareness. As teachers, we are responsible to help students/children we mentor grow and develop into adults. So, we have to be open boys and girls choices in learning and development, help them explore who they are as a human and support them in that. Teachers, as well as others, could directly influence gender knowledge by providing boys and girls with different learning opportunities.
Elli, I really appreciated the comments you made in your blog this week, especially about how exaggerated gender stereotypes can affect relationships between individuals. I think it's also important to consider how damaging the emphasis on gender roles can be for anyone's mental health. If you have to live up to a certain standard and you don't necessarily fit the box, it becomes exhausting trying to blend in. Earlier in the semester, I was able to read "George" by Alex Gino for our book assignment. The story is about a transgender girl in fourth grade who struggles because everyone thinks she is a boy. The emphasis on gender throughout the story is painful for George because, even though she feels like a girl, she has to go with the boys because she was physically born a boy and looked like one too. It really made me consider how some students would struggle with being separated by gender. Just how you shared about being split up in gym, this could be a traumatic moment for a child who either feels they are a different gender or doesn't fit with any gender at all.
ReplyDeleteLuckily, I think our concept of gender is changing and as we enter our future classroom, we will have the opportunity to close those gender gaps, to deemphasize their importance, and to create a safe space for all students regardless of gender.