Gender in the Classroom

To create a more equitable classroom I think that the teacher must become more aware of their behaviors in the classroom and find non-bias materials to teach with.   According to Amanda Chapman’s paper entitled Gender Bias in Education,” Curriculum researchers have established six attributes that need to be considered when trying to establish a gender-equitable curriculum. Gender-fair materials need to acknowledge and affirm variation. They need to be inclusive, accurate, affirmative, representative, and integrated, weaving together the experiences, needs, and interests of both males and females. (Bailey, 1992) "We need to look at the stories we are telling our students and children. Far too many of our classroom examples, storybooks, and texts describe a world in which boys and men are bright, curious, brave, inventive, and powerful, but girls and women are silent, passive, and invisible." (McCormick, 1995) Furthermore, teachers can help students identify gender-bias in texts and facilitate critical discussions as to why that bias exists.”( Chapman 2011)

The first thing that I will try to do as a teacher is make my material more varied in as far a gender is concerned.  In West Virginia we are limited to state approved text books but I could choose a textbook that address the content in a non bias way and gives both genders accomplishments in science.  If the textbook does not accomplish this I could assign various journal articles address gender roles in science.  I also found a great PBS series called Secret Lives of Scientist that talks about what various types of scientist and what they do.  The great thing about the series is that they have both male and female scientist and how they deal with everyday life as a scientist. 

As a teacher I would also have to be aware of the amount of time I spend helping both genders.  Both genders must be allotted equal amounts of time and energy to learning.  According to Spencer, "Over the course of years the uneven distribution of teacher time, energy, attention, and talent, with boys getting the lion's share, takes its toll on girls." (Sadker, 1994)  As a male teacher I will have to make sure that the majority of my time is not towards the male gender in my classroom but equally divided between the two.  This includes thing such as examples used in class and the way questions are stated in a test. 

Bailey, S. (1992) How Schools Shortchange Girls: The AAUW Report. New York, NY: Marlowe & Company.

Sadker, D., Sadker, M. (1994) Failing at Fairness: How Our Schools Cheat Girls. Toronto, ON: Simon & Schuster Inc.

Jones, K., Evans, C., Byrd, R., Campbell, K. (2000) Gender equity training and teaching behavior. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 27 (3), 173-178.

Chapman, Amanda. "Gender Bias in Education." Gender Bias in Education (2011): n. pag. Web. 30 Jul 2011. <http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/papers/genderbias.html>.