While I concede that Martin made a
few compelling points and startling observations, this article ultimately left
me with a feeling of dissatisfaction. On more than one occasion, I felt as
though Martin fudged the significance of her observations and their
implications. That being said, I do think she was on the right track when she
partially attributed gender inequality to perceived differences between men and
women, and when she elaborated on that point and identified differences in the
way men and women carry themselves as tilting the power dynamics between men
and women. However, my sense is that she attributes an inordinate amount of
responsibility for gender inequality to men and women’s differing physical
presences and an inordinate amount of responsibility for gendering to the
school system.
I thought
an interesting reoccurring theme in the article was the prompt compliancy and
submissiveness displayed by girls who were reprimanded by their teachers. The
author repeatedly reports that when the teachers scold boys for misbehaving,
the boys continue to behave in the same manner. However, when girls are told to
stop doing whatever it is they are doing, they only have to be told once- twice,
tops- before they cut it out. I do not think this is a tendency that many girls
grow out of, either. In my classes, I have found that girls are quick to
register their opinion on issues that are subjective and cannot sufficiently be
argued to prove one point or another. On the other hand, when a discussion
emerges in which factual evidence can be presented to attack a person’s
position, girls are more likely to remain silent or else regurgitate a
conventional view that has previously been presented by someone in an
authoritative position.
Martin’s observation that distinctions between
appropriate masculine and feminine behavior become more apparent to children at
age five, after they have spent two years participating in the educational
system and interacting with their peers, than at age three is strong evidence
for the effectiveness of the preschool gendering process. This makes me wonder how there are always
some people who emerge from society unaffected by gendering at school, at home,
or in their community (generally the female segment of this population would be
referred to- not altogether respectfully- as “butch” and the male segment would
be referred to as “effeminate”). I would also be interested to know how the
classroom gendering process is altered when the teacher is a man… For instance,
is a greater emphasis placed on telling boys what they should do rather than
what they should not do and vice-versa for girls?
I too thought it was very interesting seeing how fast girls were scolded for being informal while boys were generally given a second and third chance. Do you think this has to do with the teachers being predominately female? I believe that if the teachers were male, then the boys would not be able to get away with the things they do when the teacher is female. I believe it would be reversed role and that the boys would be expected to act much more mature and gentlemen like. You bring up a good point in mentioning the difference between the study of children in the age range of 3 to the age range of 5. Having 2 years of interaction with other children can steer a child one way or another. For the first time these children are influenced by someone or something other than their family members. You raise a good question to end your response. It is interesting to think about because Martin's piece definitely backs you question in a sense that girls are often told not to do things and boys are told what is appropriate.
ReplyDeleteThis idea that a male teacher would hold different expectations for the children than the female teacher is a compelling argument in some ways, such as society’s influence on the appropriate discipline methods for men to perform as opposed to women, or the difference between same and differing sex discipline. Though I do wonder if a male teacher would illicit different behaviour from his students, for children are treated differently by their father’s and their mother’s, which in turn shapes children’s responses to men and women that they come in contact with.
DeleteI think that Ellie’s idea that a male teacher would change the way children acted at the preschool level is interesting and a hard question to answer. I agree that girl’s are generally more submissive, but having worked at an all girl’s camp they too ignore requests often. What I find most interesting is the fact that girls compared to boys respond differently to authoritative figures. I wonder if the submissive nature of the girl’s at the preschools was a result of a fear of authority and “getting in trouble”. At camp my campers respond best when a punishment is on the line or any situation in which an authoritative figure is involved. I question if this is a result of an all female teacher preschool or society’s expectation that girls are “perfect”. I also question if this nature would change if preschool’s had predominately male teachers. Is the submissive nature of female’s a result of controls beyond the scope of schooling?
ReplyDeleteIn your first paragraph, you describe how you believe that Martin spends too much time theorizing that school is responsible for gendering the children, however I think it is more important to state that this was only one experiment, and she can only comment on the data she has in front of her. She does mention that parents play a huge role in the section about how the children dress for school, considering the parents are the providers and buy the clothes for their children. An example of this is how little girls are dressed with a superfluous amount of pink clothing. But I agree with most of your other insights in your post, and it would also be interesting to see even how gendering continues throughout elementary school.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of your response, you talk about people who are "unaffected by gendering." I thought this was a really interesting point because, in my opinion, I don't think that anyone is truly unaffected by the gendering process. Some females may be more traditionally masculine and vice versa, but I feel that because of the society we live in, no one is left unaffected by gendering. Simply the fact that they get labeled as "butch" and "effeminate" show how their lives are affected by gendering - by not conforming to our society's masculine and feminine ideals, they are subsequently singled out and slapped with an often derogatory labels. Additionally, I feel that even people who predominately don't conform to gender roles often do conform in some ways. For example, even a "butch" women may have learned to be quiet and complacent in a classroom setting.
ReplyDeleteI too was intrigued by impact that subtle differences in behavior had on gender and learning. The first thought that came to my mind was that boys are excused and defended more often than girls on the grounds that 'boys will be boys.' Growing up, I knew a pair of twins: one boy, one girl. Both were very sociable, loud, silly, and had likewise short attention spans and often wreaked havoc on the classroom. But the girl was so often reprimanded for her actions and I noticed, even in grade school. She received time-outs and had to visit the principal's office far more frequently than her brother did, even though he displayed identical behavior. Now I realize, with the help of Martin's claims, that boys are socialized far differently than girls in terms of how they are 'allowed to' act.
ReplyDelete