Gender Norms And Sexuality Change The Role Of A Teacher

My chosen academic journal article is Contesting silence, claiming space: gender and sexuality in the neo-liberal public high school by Susan W. Woolley. This article examines how educational institutions and its actors introduce and reinforce a heteronormative binary ideology, and reject any non-normativity that may occur. Through this deep-rooted theoretical framework, high school students struggle to freely explore individual interpretations of sexuality and

Pascoe begins by pointing out ways in which the school as an institution plays a crucial role in the formation of masculinities. She often noticed teachers routinely ignored homophobic and sexist comments made by students. Students were never really punished for using words like “fag,” “gay,” or “dyke”. What are less obvious and more upsetting than the criticisms of the sex-ed program are the varied examples of the ways that “Heterosexual discourses were embedded in the physical environment of the classroom, teachers’ instructional practices, and students’ classroom behavior” (p. 39). From the pictures of boy/girl pairings on the walls, to the homophobic jokes between male students and male teachers, the schools’ complacency with heterosexism becomes undeniable. In one instance a boy and girl left the Winter Ball early, two vice principals joked “You two going to a hotel or what”? I feel that if two male students walked off that the administrators would have reacted in a different manner.

A 2014 study showed that most (95%) Ontario parents supported some form of sexual education, and approximately 82% of the same group of parents were supportive of a sexual education curriculum starting in elementary school. While this seems like a large percent of the population, the study did state that their research group were mostly well-educated middle to upper-middle class mothers. This positivity was echoed in a Globe and Mail article, which stated a senior student, Joel Louzado, “was moved that different sexual and gender identities would be introduced to students as early as grade 3, when they are taught that some kids have gay parents.” The article continued, stating that sexuality and same-sex relationships were not previously taught in school, and that most students learned about these topics through friends or online. A 2013 article reiterated these opinions; a two-spirited social studies teacher stated that “no mention of sexuality was ever made explicitly in any social studies unit.” These articles show that there are many different types of people who agree and promote the new sexual education curriculum in Ontario, and that the progressive teachings may, in fact, teach these young children to be accepting of other’s differences. Those who support the curriculum tend to see it as a way to help children deal with modern issues in a world where men and women are sexualized at younger ages than

Her intention behind interviewing Leonard Sax for the interview was to provide teachers with the tools to better engage students based on their gender and as a result combat gender stereotypes in schools. The ideas presented would be easy to implement in the classroom, if the right balance of styles that work better for the different genders is found. However, while the techniques provided by Dr. Sax in the interview to help better engage boys and girls in schools would indeed be helpful, they are not helpful in reaching the goal to end gender stereotyping in education. By completely disregarding students who are transgender, gender queer, or gender non-binary, Dr. Sax and Angela Watson completely erase a community of students who exist in today’s schools. They also do not consider the issue that different learning styles do not always directly correlate to gender, and by suggesting they do are unknowingly contributing to gender stereotypes in

There are a number of discourses surrounding women’s sexualities that make sexual agency difficult to achieve. I will discuss how sexist norms make practices of sexual assertiveness difficult in relation to the double standard of women’s sexuality, the LGBTQ community, and educational institutions. The following aspects demonstrate this: first, a double standard exists for women’s sexualities in the way that both “slutty” and chaste behaviours are judged and punished. Second, while women’s bisexuality is exploited for men, heteronormativity and a gender binary remain expected in relationships. Third, educational institutions use a number of tactics (e.g., victim blaming) to keep sexist norms in place. These pervasive sexist norms must continue to be questioned and systematically dismantled for both men and women to enjoy sexual autonomy.

“Research suggests that those responsible for training teachers and educational psychologists may not recognize the issue of sexual orientation as being relevant to their work. (McIntyre, 2009) Proper training for these individuals could help provide a foundation of education for teachers to be able to recognize and handle situations that arise. If professional attitudes were altered to better accompany those views of LGBTQ students, then we may have more success in training these people. “Teachers interviewed in this study reported lack of knowledge and training in matters of sexuality and needed reassurance from both parents and employers that the content of taught courses was acceptable.” (McIntyre, 2009) Knowledge is an important thing and should not be limited to only students, but teachers as well. Giving these teachers the proper education about how to address and identify LGBTQ issues would help

“Where is Andy? This is his second day absent”, Mr. James asked Jake at the beginning of class. “Oh Mr. James, Andy said he wants to drop out and start looking for a job because he knows one day he will find a wife who will have to cook and clean the house while he works. You know girls are not supposed to work Mr. James”, Jake remarked. Mr. James glanced to the right of the classroom and hears Steven and Christopher debating on the new disease girls have called the “cooties”. “Steven and Christopher you know there is no such thing as the cooties, right guys?” Mr. James implies. “But there is Mr. James. All of the boys around the school are talking about it and I am terrified to catch the cooties,” Christopher responds. “Billy wake up”, Mr. James directed during 5th grade language. “I’m so bored Mr. James. This all boy class is not the reason I will do well in school or pay attention. Where are the girls?” Billy replied. Based on the situation in Mr. James 5th grade class, should more American elementary school students be taught in single-sex classrooms? Single-sex classrooms are not the reason for academic success and will not be a good educational decision for our future generations, therefore, public schools should not establish single-sex classrooms. Even though some people say single-sex classrooms is a smart decision for education, it can cause extreme sexism and is not the true reason for academic success.

The issue of having an adjusted sexual orientation representation on the showing staffs of schools is a matter of worry to educationalists. It is viewed as vital by them that the educating of children ought not to be seen as purely a female task but rather that students ought to encounter both men and women working in classrooms. Educators have likewise communicated worry about issues, for example, assorted qualities inside of the calling what 's more, the status of a calling

Gender stereotyping and gender preferences have been a problem in society for many years. Modern day society has only just emerged from the ideology and mind-set that males are the dominant gender. However, some of this still lingers within the educational system. Hatton (1998) states that boys have been the preference over girls in the classroom as boys are more lively and interesting. Teachers rely on the good behaviour of the girls, which makes them ‘less interesting’, so that the time can be spent with the boys (Hatton, 1998). Gender is the distinguishing biological aspects of a person that considers them to be a male or a female (Davies, 1998). However, in this modern society we live in, ‘gender’ cannot so easily be labelled this black and white. In Australian schools today, the schools experience transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) young people (Ullman, 2015). This is to say that there are some young people who do not conform to what society biologically says they are. A metaphorical theory that Ferfolja, Diaz and Ullman (2015) discuss called the ‘unseen half’ perfectly places this social unjust issue of gender inequality. This theory states that diversity, individual or communities, within the educational system often undervalued or found difficult to understand are rendered ‘invisible’ in day-to-day practices (Ferfolja, Diaz, & Ullman, 2015). As recent as 1979, women were

On September 22, 2015 an article was published on Global News, which was entitled “‘Girl talk’ or ‘career exploration’? Texas school’s gender segregation peeves parents.” In this article, Patricia Kozicka discusses the controversial issue regarding Borchardt Elementary School in Texas, in which students in grade four and five were divided into separate classes based on their gender (Kozicka, 2015). According to the article, it is reported that, at the beginning of this school year, females and males would be placed in separate classes in which they would focus on different curriculums (Kozicka, 2015). Specifically, that females would focus on confidence and relationship building skills, whereas, males would focus on career and future aspirations (Kozicka, 2015). The principle cleared up the issue with an email stating that the class would be split based on gender, however, both would still receive the same curriculum only with different schedules of the lessons and more emphasis on particular topics (Kozicka, 2015).

Although some students of same sex families found that they received the message that they should not discuss their families within a school environment, as well as being silenced by their teachers when the topic arose (Lindsay et al. as cited in Dempsey, 2013, p. 18). This is an example of teachers using the null curriculum where they purposely omit information from the class room, it is important for teachers to respond in a way that does not limit topics such as gender diversity (Blaise & Nuttall, 2011, pp. 92, 93.) The country that children raised by same sex parents appears to have an influence on the likelihood of bullying indicating that the socio-cultural climate has bearing on the child’s wellbeing (Dempsey, 2013, p. 17). There is the opportunity that Australian schools may lead social change in the view to same sex families and in supporting family diversity (Mitchell & Ward, as cited in Dempsey, 2013, p. 18). Same sex families within the education system lead to the need for educators to have a larger understanding of children families, their communities and cultural diversity including socio-cultural factors that may influence curriculum

Across generations, we contend that education needs to be queered and queried in ways that disrupt normative presumptions regarding sexuality and that questions

Grounded in the UK’s political climate, Cosslett examines the failures of the Sex Education programs already in place in British public schools. The article begins with a strong statement on the need for Sex Education and continues by outlining various pitfalls that require correction within the current system in place. Within her article, Cosslett uses comedic personal experiences, and the personal experiences of people around her, to highlight the problems within the current Sex Education cirriculum before she addresses serious concerns with the program. Lack of consent education, an uptick in teenage domestic abuse, and an increased reliance on inaccurate pornography as a main source of education are three major reasons, Cosslett insists Sexual Education must be reformed. Using her comedic experiences to ease readers into the harder subject material, Cosslett addresses further on within the article, but the more pressing material she presents remains the main focus of her article as well as her main attempt to reach her audience: parents. With the closing of the article, Cosslett finishes with the idea that Sexual Education in school remains an immediate, important action

Many people might say the single sex schools are ineffective, because girls and boys need to know how to communicate with the opposite sex. They should be enforced to help children reach their full dreams without the thought of humility standing in their way. School is a place where students get acquainted with the basics of the life, which further helps them to foster their proficiency level in different aspects of life required in this competitive world, and the most important part of school is not where students get time to socialize with each other. Although Co-ed schools are a first choice for most adolescents and their parents, Single sex schools are equally good. In single sex schools, students don't have to worry about sexual

Several similar broad statements follow, weaving ideas of gender identity into the various aspects of school life. When it comes to the topic of education, most of us will readily agree that a school needs to provide a safe place for all children. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of how this should be implemented, and who should have the primary authority.