It's worth trying to address sources of gender imbalance in *both* directions.
It seems my school system (suburban NJ) was secretly, subversively progressive when I was there: we had a woman teaching mechanical drawing, a good gender balance in both art and science, a kick-ass bull dyke honors chem teacher, etc. That said, I did see some of the problems mentioned---at a much earlier age---particularly the assumption that male students were the rebels and subject to extra scrutiny (4th grade was particularly notorious in this respect for me). I don't think there was a male teacher in my elementary school until I hit 4th grade, and I didn't have one as a teacher until 6th grade.
I did also notice that science at the elementary level is kinda wussy, such that you needed to be a pretty hard-core nerd to know much about science before middle school. By that time, puberty and image consciousness set in. I don't know how they broke us of the habit, because the peer pressure was pretty intense (even for guys); the folks who went into science were not particularly science junkies in 7th grade. Arguably art was pretty wussy until puberty set in, too, but I vaguely remember at least being called on to attempt a credible still life in watercolor. I think I even kind of enjoyed it enough to try it again at home.
Anyone else think getting the right messages in before puberty sets in is a Good Plan?
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timeasmymeasure
Amen, sister...
Date: 2006-01-26 09:58 pm (UTC)It seems my school system (suburban NJ) was secretly, subversively progressive when I was there: we had a woman teaching mechanical drawing, a good gender balance in both art and science, a kick-ass bull dyke honors chem teacher, etc. That said, I did see some of the problems mentioned---at a much earlier age---particularly the assumption that male students were the rebels and subject to extra scrutiny (4th grade was particularly notorious in this respect for me).
I don't think there was a male teacher in my elementary school until I hit 4th grade, and I didn't have one as a teacher until 6th grade.
I did also notice that science at the elementary level is kinda wussy, such that you needed to be a pretty hard-core nerd to know much about science before middle school. By that time, puberty and image consciousness set in. I don't know how they broke us of the habit, because the peer pressure was pretty intense (even for guys); the folks who went into science were not particularly science junkies in 7th grade. Arguably art was pretty wussy until puberty set in, too, but I vaguely remember at least being called on to attempt a credible still life in watercolor. I think I even kind of enjoyed it enough to try it again at home.
Anyone else think getting the right messages in before puberty sets in is a Good Plan?
-JWM