Gender Equity

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Gender Equity

From the day that individuals are born stereotypes of males and females are impressed upon them. Most people believe that males are supposed to be competitive, aggressive and logical thinkers among other masculine traits. Females on the other hand should be sociable, passive and emotional thinkers. People all over the world accept all of these stereotypes of females and males. These stereotypes also carry over into the way teachers conduct their classrooms. In education both genders have advantages and disadvantages in different areas.

Most people believe that boys receive more attention then girls. Male students seem to talk more then females during class. They also tend to call out answers and therefore are given more attention in one perspective. Teachers also do not correct girls as frequently because teachers think that it will hurt girls’ feelings. When teachers give boys more constructive criticism this stimulates more intellectual growth, (Kleinfield and Yerian, 1995). Female students favor to collaborate during conversations and like to build on other’s ideas.

Females always seem to lag behind boys in two school subjects, math and science. For some reason our society have greatly stereotyped women as being inadequate and incapable of possessing these skills. Girls do not become independent problem solvers and do not do well in high-level cognitive tasks. In result girls develop a bad attitude towards math and science and think of it as a male domain (Silvey and Smart, 1982). Teachers also can contribute to this loss of interest in these subjects. Sometimes teachers tend to assist girls with difficult problems to avoid feelings of disappointment. Teachers also seem to call on boys to answer more cha...

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...ereotypes about boys and girls, such as mathematics being a male domain. Students should realize that no mater what sex they are anything is possible if they set their mind to it. If students believe these stereotypes and yet they do not fit into that particular mold they might try to hide their strengths of weaknesses. Sometimes students can use these stereotypes as an excuse not to do well in a particular subject or area.

Bibliography

Barrs, Myra, and Sue Pidgeon. Reading the Difference. Maine: Stenhouse, 1994.

Coleman, James S. Equality and Achievement in Education. San Francisco:Westview, 1990.

Klienfield, Judith S., and Suzanne Yerian. Gender Tales. New York: St. Martin’s, 1995.

Shapiro, June, et al. Equal Their Chances. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1981.

Silvey, Linda, and James R. Smart. Mathematics for the Middle Grades. Virginia: Reston, 1982

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