EDUC 2120 Lesson 6

In lesson 6, I learned about gender equality. In the beggining of the lesson I answered questions about boys dropping out of school. I found that article to be very interesting. After this I read a couple more articles on gender, I was kind of surprised at some of the things in them. In my research I learned that men usually get jobs over women and why that is.

Boys Dropout Article questions

Why do boys drop out of school at a much higher rate than girls? Provide some reasons.
- The number one reason boys drop out of school is because of disciplinary problems. Other boys drop to so that they can financially support their family. Some drop out because they are held back for not meeting course requirements. Some also drop out just because they have too many absentees.

What can you do, as a classroom teacher, to help reduce this high dropout rate for boys? Explain.
- As a classroom teacher I believe I can help to keep boys in school. I believe it is important to gives boys a sense of need and/or want. I believe it is very important that every boy feel like they really need an education. From teaching small boys at church I’ve learned that if you give them a reason to keep going they will give it all they’ve got.

Most elementary teachers are female. Can this cause problems in learning? Explain.
- Sometimes I feel like a lot of boys in elementary school are looking for that male role model. I had a friend that use to teach elementary school, he was a man, and a large portion of the male students would flock to him and to this day some still treat him as a father figure. A lot of young kids these days are being raised in single mother homes and because of this they lack that male figure to pattern their lives after. I believe it’s very important that young students have a male figure to look up too.

Gender "Bashing" and "Girl Power" Article Questions

Do you agree with the authors of the articles? Why or why not? Do you think that people are "overreacting" Why or why not?
- I don’t think people are overreacting. I believe that teaching boys to hate girls and girls to hate boys is very damaging to our society. I also believe that it very damaging to the boy or the girl that is told such trash.

Would you allow your daughter (if you had a daughter) to wear this type of shirt?
- I would not allow my daughter to wear this type of shirt. I don’t believe it is good for girls to get a distraught view of boys at such an early age. I believe that in the day we live it is important for girls to know that they are supposed to like boys and vice versa.

What are your general feelings towards "message" apparel?
- I feel like the message shirts are stupid. Those are all dumb sayings that try to draw dividing lines between different genders. I think that it is very important for boys and girls to learn what their roles in life are. I also think it’s very important to teach even the youngest of kids that boys like girls and girls like boys.

"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 remember when I was younger I can’t really remember what grade but I had a teacher that always separated the boys from the girls. It everything we did the boys and the girls never really interacted. I remember she even made us sit on opposite sides of the classroom from each other sit all boys on one side and girls on the other side during lunch. It was almost like prison.

According to the article, who benefits the most from conventional teaching strategies - boys or girls? Why is this?
- Boys benefit the most from conventional teaching strategies. According to this article male and female teachers tend to lean more toward male students answering questions in the classroom. The article also says that girls are typically asked the easier questions.

What will YOU do to eliminate gender inequities in YOUR classroom? Describe.
- In my classroom I will give all students equal opportunity to answer question. I will do my best to not insinuate that the male students should be answering certain questions. I also believe that it is very important to give all students the chance to be successful. I don’t want any gender in my classroom to feel like they are less capable of becoming successful because of their gender.

Summary:

Through this lesson I’ve learned a lot about gender and how different teachers treat students of different genders. I also learned about the teachers think that male students are more able to answer questions. I also didn’t know about the t-shirts that are made about hating boys and boys hating girls. I was very shocked by that.

Research Question: Who is more likely to land a job? Male or Female?

Reference: http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2015-01-13-study-reveals-careers-gender-gap-university-graduates

Research Analysis:

Through this lesson I became very interested in to how much of a gender cap was there when school was over compared to when people are in school. The articles presented in the lesson showed lots of ways that different people considered boys better than girls. I was curious as to if it was true of people after they leave school. This article by the University of Oxford gives the answer.

According to his article men are much more likely to land a job six months after completing college then a woman is. According to the article ninety percent of men leaving college have already secured the graduate level jobs, while only eighty-one percent of the women have. The study also showed that men were much quicker to go after their career goals then women.

Research Summary:

Through this discussion I was very interested into whether or not the gender gaps translated all the way to the work force. I knew that there were major gender gaps inside of the classroom but I was unsure of the workplace. Through this article I found that the gender gap continues on even into the workplace. I believe it is very important that we began as a country to promote gender equality in all aspects of day to day life.