Examples Of Sexism In The Classroom

Sexism in the Classroom
In "Failing at Fairness" one of the most important topics of sexism is addressed, and that of course is sexism in the schools. From the beginning of public education there is evidence of hidden sexism in the classroom, yet not until recently have researchers began to take a closer look at the dilemma at hand.
Sexism in the classroom is not a problem that has just occurred overnight in schools. I believe that it has a history, staring long before I was born. I love to listen to the stories that my Grandparents share with me, as do many children my age. They always tell me how great those "good old days" were. Yet the stories make me step back and look at my grandparents, and see that those "good old days"
The second grade teacher would pick those students that they thought were the brightest in math and moved them forward. I was one of them. The strange part was that I was the only girl, out of about ten guys. I never really gave it much thought until I read this article. I thought that the other girls just were not as smart as I was. I was reminded of a comment that was made to me that I did not find offensive then. The advanced math teacher always called me her "rose among the thorns." The teacher was implying that I was the only good student in the class. Then, in eighth grade class I remember it surfacing again. On occasion, the principal, or even other teachers would come to our class and ask for volunteers to help with something and the teacher would always and ask the guys. The girls did try to volunteer, but they were simply overlooked. There was one exception, if the librarian need help, then the girls were automatically chosen to assist her. This happened throughout my days in grade school. I noticed it again at my high school where my history teacher, being a female, would always call on the boys for answers. It did not matter how many girls had volunteered. Also, she tended to socialize with the guys more then any of the girls. Lastly, I have found sexism even in college. I have one professor who, whenever she needs help, getting a movie together, or setting up the
Lots of teachers, good ones and bad ones fall into this habit that they do not even realized they do. It may just start out with the old famous saying: "boys will be boys." But they do not realize that by saying this boys start to believe that this is acceptable behavior for them. And girls may start to believe it too. Another popular excuse is that boys need more attention because they either misbehave or they do not retain the information presented in class as quickly or as well as the girls do. But think about it how would the teacher really know if this is true or not? The point is that they won't. If girls do not speak up and continue to do well in class then the teacher will continue to ignore the problem. They then go home and study more then the boys might have to. Many girls do not speak up because sexism is such a hidden problem, even for them sexist actions cause girls to view themselves differently and it has a downward spiral effect. They tend not to be as advanced as boys, which in turn means lower SAT scores, which causes them to have limited choices for