Provenzo Chapter 11 •Gender? •How is gender constructed? •What role does gender play in the education of children? Gender • social category imposed on a sexed body • cultural construction Special privileges to men • Western culture: special privileges to men. • Traditionally, women in secondary roles to men. • Attitudes about men and women sharing housekeeping and child-rearing tasks have changed significantly since the late 1960s. • Women carry disproportionate share of duties. Women and U.S. Education • • • • 1640 laws requiring that women be taught to read. Laws were difficult to enforce. 1826: first public high school for women Men and women were usually segregated in schools. Women’s seminaries in the 1820s. • Trained women to be successful wives and mothers. • Curriculum: religious, moral, literary domestic, musical, artistic. • Horace Mann, Catherine Beecher lobbied for women to be given greater opportunities to become teachers. • 400 plus east-coast women in teaching positions throughout the West. • Teaching provided women not only with a meaningful profession, but also, as time went on, with greater access to higher education. Sexual tyranny • 1790’s: Mary Wollstonecraft: women be sufficiently educated to be intellectual equals of their husbands and sons. • Capable individuals able to support themselves if necessary. • Seneca Falls, New York 1848: women’s rights convention, the most important meeting of feminist leaders up to that time. • Series of resolutions, patterned on the Declaration of Independence, that proposed the principle that men and women are equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights. • Important women’s rights leaders, such as Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906), argued that women should have not only equal educational opportunities, but also equal opportunities in the workplace. The women’s rights movement: • • • • Important victory in 1920’s Ratification of the 19th Amendment. First time women had the right to vote. Opportunities to work expanded during the Second World War. • Due to labor shortages, women began to work in many businesses and industries from which they had previously been excluded. • Rosie the Riveter: effective in occupations traditionally held only by men. Women and Contemporary Education • Modern women’s rights movement began in the 1960s as an outgrowth of the larger civil rights movement. • Important federal civil rights legislation affecting women was the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race or sex. • 1972, Title IX, an amendment to the 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed by Congress, but did not go into affect until July 21, 1975. • Title IX states explicitly: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” • Applies to all public school districts in the United States and almost all institutions at the college level. • For the first time women were to have equal access to sports programs and facilities. • Elementary, secondary, and collegiate administrators were advised to make sure their athletic programs provided equal facilities, equipment, coaching staffs, publicity, practice time, and opportunities for women to practice. Sexual Discrimination in the Classroom • Inequity: male and female students given unequal access to learning materials. • Gender discrimination can be subtle. • Sex stereotypes represent reified notions of what men and women are like. • Sometimes stereotypes correspond to reality, but more often they are rigid and untrue perceptions. Sexism in Textbooks Research of David and Myra Sadker: 1992 analyzed the content of math, language arts, and history textbooks used in New England. Twice to three times as many pictures of boys and men as girls and women. Out of 631 pages of a world history textbook, only seven pages related to women, either as famous individuals or as a general group.” Alternative Sexual Orientations By never • The unfortunate • raising the issue of sexual orientation as a legitimate reality of U.S. society is that it developmental issue remains extremely • placing informative and nonpejorative books in the homophobic. school library • seriously confronting homophobia in the classrooms Schools abdicate their responsibility not only to adolescents who are questioning their sexual orientation but to all students. Sex Education and the Schools • Students have rights • Parents have rights • Parents’ rights need to be balanced against those of the state and its need to educate students. In conclusion • “We need to create new narratives which combat the destructive effects of gender and discrimination in our society.” --Eugene Provenzo • Gender discrimination and stereotyping diminish all people. --Provenzo What do you think? Think, pair, share about two or more of the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. What are some ways that sexual discrimination manifests itself in the classroom? Can you recall personal experiences with such descrimination? How can this type of discrimination be best overcome and eliminated? How is sexism evident in our day to day use of language? Are there ways of overcoming these problems with language? What do you think should be the rights of homosexual teachers and students? Where can men fit into the movement for equal rights for women? Where can heterosexuals fit into the movement for equal rights for homosexuals. How can antidiscrimintation be sustained? Study: Sex ed does not encourage sexual activity • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • May 30, 2001 Web posted at: 2:13 p.m. EDT (1813 GMT) WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sex education and other programs that tell teen-agers how to avoid pregnancy and AIDS do not encourage them to experiment and in some cases discourage it, a review of some 250 studies found. The review, sponsored by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, identified a handful of programs that have succeeded in reducing teen pregnancy, including a handful that talk straight to teens about sex and a couple that focus on community service, giving teens constructive alternatives. ALSO Schools lax in tackling touchy subject? Educator, author: Teach sex education earlier There remains no evidence about whether "abstinence-only" programs, a favorite of conservatives, are effective, the review said, even as the Bush administration proposes an increase in federal funding for them. A national evaluation of a $250 million abstinence program created by the 1996 welfare law is now under way, but results are not available. Backers of these programs believe that talking about the benefits of birth control while encouraging abstinence sends a mixed message, but the report released Wednesday disagrees. "The overwhelming weight of evidence shows that sex education that discusses contraception does not increase sexual activity," concludes the report, "Emerging Answers," written by researcher Douglas Kirby, a senior researcher at ETR Associates in Scotts Valley, California. Four years ago, Kirby conducted a similar review of studies about teen pregnancy prevention and concluded that almost none of the programs that had been evaluated made a difference. This time, he reports, the findings are more optimistic. Teen birth rates dropping Teen pregnancy, abortion and birth rates have been falling since 1991, and birth rates are now at their lowest level recorded, with about 50 out of every 1,000 girls aged 15 to 19 giving birth in 1999, a 20 percent drop since 1991. Experts point out that teen sexual activity has dropped as use of condoms increased -- both largely due to fear of AIDS. Still, communities often struggle when trying to create programs to reduce their rates. Kirby's report found eight programs that showed evidence of success: five sex education programs; two community service programs that included group discussions; and one intensive program that combined sex education, health care and activities such as tutoring. All the effective sex education programs employed what's sometimes called "abstinence-plus." They delivered a "clear message" that abstaining from sex is the safest choice for teens, but those who are sexually active should protect themselves from pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. The report, which examined only programs that had been scientifically evaluated, also concluded that family planning clinics probably prevent many teen pregnancies, although there is little evidence to prove it. Some studies have found that clinics were able to increase use of birth control by providing top-quality educational materials, discussing the patient's sexual and contraceptive behavior and sending a clear message about what works. The study also found that programs that give away condoms at school have produced mixed results in reducing sex and pregnancy, although studies have consistently shown that these programs do not increase sexual activity. Generally, short-term programs of any stripe were not effective, the study concluded. Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Main points: 1. Gender: critical factor 2. Teachers need to understand it better 3. Giroux’s teachers as border crossers 4. Gender issues influence, shape what goes on in the classroom • “Whatever the form or medium, these stories have formed us all; they are what we must use to make new fictions, new narratives.” -Author Carolyn Heilbrun • “We need to create new narratives which combat the destructive effects of gender and discrimination in our society.” --Eugene Provenzo