Gender Bias

I found the chapter 4 (entitled: Gender and Classroom Communication) from our Powell & Powell reading to be very interesting.  It was not something I had considered before.  I had never thought about how my views on gender would influence my teaching, but as Powell and Powell (2010) say on page 78, my attitude about gender will greatly influence my teacher.

• Will I call on girls more? or boys more because they are waving their hands wildly?
• Will I find boys rambunctious just because they are boys?  Will I find girls quiet and easy to work with?
• Will I concentrate on telling girls their outfits are cute rather than complimenting their thinking?
• Will I find myself saying, "But boys don't cry."

It was a very eye-opening reading for me.  The following quotes were the ones that hit the hardest:

• "While biology is important, it is not the primary factor that explains the way males and females perform in academic settings... It is the way we deal with differences that is most important to understand" (pg. 78).
• "A teachers' attitude about gender will influence the way s/he manages classroom and will affect his or her expectations about students ability" (pg. 78).
• As girls get older (around middle school), girls begin to lose interest in intellectual ideas and begin to care more about how they look; they also begin to believe that they are not capable in all areas if they feel they do not meet the cultural standard of beauty. (pg. 79).
• "Teachers too often comment on how pretty a young girl is and not enough on the quality of her thinking" (pg. 80).
• "... teachers may not understand the 'boy code' or be sensitive to the range of messages that inform a boy to be tough, aggressive, and strong.  Teachers may in fact reinforce the very behaviors they are critical of in other contexts" (pg 82).
• Research shows that teachers interact with boys and girls differently.  Teacher initiate more communication with boys more than girls; Teachers tend to ask boys more complex questions; Teachers are more likely to give detailed instructions to boys and take over tasks for girls; Teachers tend to praise boys more than girls for their intellectual work (pg. 88).  

As I read the chapter I was just struck with how much we can influence the students in our classrooms, and how much our underlying values/opinions can influence without us even realizing it.  How will my thoughts, beliefs, values about gender influence my teaching?

Suddenly I found myself analyzing my interactions with all the kids I come in contact with.  At Sunday School I realized I tell the girls that I love their outfit.  Do I ever tell them I liked their answer to a question?  All the sudden I couldn't tell if they boys were being rambunctious because they were boys, or because I wasn't teaching in their style of learning.  I began to consider that one boy's acting out was not because he was disobedient (although sometimes that was the answer...), but maybe because he was bored.  I have begun to consider that I may need to re-think they why's of my actions, my thoughts and my assumptions.

I also began to consider what Powell & Powell (2010) stated about how to minimize gender difference in the classroom.  They said as teachers we can:

• minimize and model non-sexist language,
• choose curriculum that stresses accomplishments of women and men and notes their achievements in other ways,
• be sensitive to learning styles and create activities/assessments that are matched with students' abilities,
• recognize the power and effect of the peer groups,
• and address the needs of the boys and girls in our classroom. (pg. 90-92)

In my time in the classroom, I have been lucky enough to see a teacher who I think is a great example of a teacher who takes gender into account.  My 5th grade cooperating teacher is a great example who tells all of her students that they are great thinkers.  She also works to make sure that everyone is called upon (I have seen her tell a girl to pick a boy and that boy then to pick a girl and so on; I have also seen her say that everyone must have a turn at something before allowing a student a second turn at answering).  She differentiates naturally, in everything she does.  She engages all types of learning styles.  I have been impressed each time I observe her.  It has been awesome to see first hand what we have been learning about!

So, readers... my question to you... how do you plan on being a classroom teacher who minimizes gender differences?  How do we encourage all students to reach their full potential?  How do we use the influence of the peer group to our advantage?

Resources:
Powell, R. G., & Powell, D. L. (2010). Gender and classroom differences. Classroom communication and diversity (pp. 75-93). New York: Routledge.