Gender and Teaching (Reflective Teaching

Gender and Teaching
REFLECTIVE TEACHING
AND THE SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF SCHOOLING
A Series for Prospective and Practicing Teachers
Daniel P. Liston and Kenneth M. Zeichner, Series Editors
Zeichner/Liston · Reflective Teaching: An Introduction
Liston/Zeichner · Culture and Teaching
Maher/Ward · Gender and Teaching

Gender and Teaching
Frances A. Maher
Wheaton College
Janie Victoria Ward

Simmons College
LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOCIATES, PUBLISHERS

2002 Mahwah, New Jersey London
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2008.
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collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
Copyright Ó 2002 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in
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means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers

10 Industrial Avenue
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Cover design by Kathryn Houghtaling Lacey
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Maher, Frances A.
Gender and teaching / Frances A. Maher, Janie V. Ward.
p. cm.—(Reflective teaching and the social conditions of schooling)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8058-2986-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Sex differences in education–United States–Case studies.
2. Teaching–Social aspects–United States–Case studies. 3. Educational
equalization–United States–Case studies. I. Ward, Janie Victoria.
II. Title. III. Series.
LC212.92 .M34 2001
306.43—dc21 00-023133
CIP
ISBN 1-4106-0434-9 Master e-book ISBN

CONTENTS
Series Preface ix
Preface xv
I. CASE STUDIES AND REACTIONS 1
Introduction to Case 1 1
Case 1: “Sexism and the Classroom” 2
Reader Reactions to Nina’s Situation 7
Reactions to “Sexism and the Classroom” 8
Reader Reactions to “Sexism and the Classroom” 17
Summary and Additional Questions 18
Case 2: “Gender, Race, and Teacher Expectations” 19
Reader Reactions to Amy’s Situation 23
Reactions to “Gender, Race, and Teacher Expectations” 24
Reader Reactions to “Gender, Race, and Teacher Expectations” 34
Case 3: “Who Gets Hurt?” 37
Reader Reactions to Sarah’s Situation 42
Reactions to “Who Gets Hurt?” 43
v
vi CONTENTS
Reader Reactions to “Who Gets Hurt?” 51

Case 4: “A Woman’s Career?” 55
Reader Reactions to Helen’s Situation 61
Reactions to “A Woman’s Career?” 62
Reader Reactions to “A Woman’s Career?” 67
General Responses to the Four Case Studies 68

Reader Reactions to the Four Case Studies 72
II. PUBLIC ARGUMENTS 73
A “Conservative View”: Upholding Traditional

Values and High Standards 75
Comments and Questions 80
A “Liberal-Progressive View”: Education
for Equality and Democracy 83
A “Women-Centered View”: Celebrating Difference 90
A “Radical-Multicultural View”: Gender, Culture,
and Societal Transformation 98
Conclusion 103
III. FINAL ARGUMENTS, AND SOME

SUGGESTIONS AND RESOURCES
FOR FURTHER REFLECTION 109
The Centrality of Gender for Reflective Teaching

and Learning: Understanding the Interplay of Gender,
Race, Class, and Culture in Educational Settings 109
Education Through the Lenses of Gender 110
Gender, Teaching, and Teachers 111
Who Is a Good Teacher? 113
Girls and Boys in Classrooms 116
CONTENTS vii
Exercises for Further Reflection 118

Conclusion 120
Bibliography 123
Index 131
SERIES PREFACE
AN ESSENTIAL SERIES INTRODUCTION
Whereas many readers rarely read introductory material, we hope you will
continue. The success of this book depends, in large part, on how you use
it. In what follows we outline some of our key assumptions and we suggest
ways for approaching the material in each book of this series entitled, “Re-
flective Teaching and the Social Conditions of School.” First we identify
some of our reasons for creating this series. We then relate a bit about our
dissatisfaction with how teacher education is usually conducted and how it
can be changed. Finally we outline suggestions for ways to best utilize the
material in this and subsequent texts.
A few years ago we were asked to develop further the ideas outlined in
our book Teacher Education and the Social Conditions of Schooling
(Liston & Zeichner, 1991). It was suggested that we take our basic ap-
proach to teacher reflection and our ideas about teacher education curric-
ula and put them into practice. The proposal was attractive and the subse-
quent endeavor proved to be very challenging. It never seems easy to
translate educational “shoulds” and possibilities into schooling “cans” and
realities. But we think (and we hope) we have made progress in that effort
by designing a series of books intended to help prospective, beginning,
and experienced teachers to reflect on their profession, their teaching, and
their experiences. We are pleased and delighted to have the opportunity to
ix
x SERIES PREFACE
share this work with you. We hope you will find these texts to be engaging
and useful.
We are two university teacher educators, both former elementary teach-
ers, who have worked in inner-city, small town, and suburban elementary
and middle schools. We are committed to public schools as democratic in-
stitutions, as places of learning in which people of all walks of life come to
learn how to live together in a democratic society. Although we are per-
sonally committed to ways of working and living together that are much
more collaborative than exist today—we are educators first, realists sec-
ond, and dreamers third. It is our firm belief that an education that engages
prospective and practicing teachers’ heads and hearts, their beliefs and
passions, needs to be fair and honest. We have neither written nor encour-
aged others to write these texts to convince you to see schools and society
in a particular light, but rather to engage you in a consideration of crucial
issues that all teachers need to address. Once engaged we hope that you
will be better able to articulate your views, responses, and responsibilities
to students and parents, and come to better understand aspects of your role
as a teacher in a democratic society.
IMPACTS OF THE SOCIAL CONDITIONS

OF SCHOOLING
Prospective teachers need to be prepared for the problems and challenges

of public schooling. Sometimes the focus in schools (departments and col-
leges) of education remains strictly on the processes that occur within the
classroom and inside the school walls. At times teacher education pro-
grams emphasize instructional methodology and the psychology of the
learner in university course work and underscore survival strategies for
student teaching. These are certainly important elements in any teacher’s
preparation and ones that cannot be ignored. But classrooms and schools
are not insulated environments. What goes on inside schools is greatly in-
fluenced by what occurs outside of schools. The students who attend and
the teachers and administrators who work within those walls bring into the
school building all sorts of cultural assumptions, social influences, and
contextual dynamics. Unless some concerted attention is given to those as-
sumptions, influences, and dynamics, to the reality of school life and to the
social conditions of schooling, our future teachers will be ill prepared.
Over the last ten years, teacher educators have paid greater attention to the
social conditions of schooling. But a consensus of opinion on this issue
SERIES PREFACE xi
does not exist. Recently, the professional aspects of teacher education, in-
cluding attention to the social conditions of schooling, have been criti-
cized by scholars and politicians such as those associated with the Fordam
Foundation who believe that content knowledge alone is sufficient to
teach. This view, we believe, is a gross and politically motivated mistake
that will do harm to the students in our public schools and their teachers.
Students need teachers who have the professional preparation necessary to
teach a greatly diverse student population to high academic standards. We
hope that the books in this series will contribute to this end.
We are living in a time of remarkable change, a time of social and polit-
ical transformation. In an era that promises to be rife with social contro-
versies and political difficulties, in which public schooling will increas-
ingly come under attack, during which we will see marked changes in this
country’s cultural demographic make-up, in which there will be great
pressure to transform public schools into private-for-profit enterprises, our
teaching workforce must be well prepared. Future teachers cannot, on
their own, solve the many societal issues confronting the schools, but they
should certainly know what those issues are, have a sense of their own be-
liefs about those issues, and understand the many ways in which those is-
sues will come alive within their school’s walls. Poverty and wealth, our
culture of consumerism, what seems to be an increasing amount of violent
behavior, and the work pressures of modern life affect the children who at-
tend our public schools. Public attitudes about competition and excel-
lence, race and ethnicity, gender roles and homosexuality, and the envi-
ronment affect students inside and outside of schools. One can be certain
that the issues that affect all of our lives outside of schools will certainly
influence students inside their schools.
EXAMINING THE SOCIAL CONDITIONS

OF SCHOOLING
Probably the best way to begin to examine contextual issues such as these
is to be “attentive” early on in one’s professional preparation, to experi-
ence features of the social conditions of schooling, and then to examine
the experience and what we know about the social and cultural context of
schooling. We encourage prospective and practicing teachers to do this.
But teacher preparation programs often are not organized in a fashion that
would encourage the discussion and examination of these sorts of shared
experiences. What traditionally are called social foundations courses are
xii SERIES PREFACE
typically not school-based, but set apart from some of the more realistic,
practical, and engaged dilemmas of schooling. In schools of education we
frequently teach what the sociology or philosophy of education has to say
about schools but we tend to teach it as sociologists or philosophers, not as
teachers struggling with crucial and highly controversial issues. Thus, in
our own work with prospective and practicing teachers we have developed
ways to examine contextual issues of schooling and to enable ourselves
and students to articulate our ideas, beliefs, theories, and feelings about
those issues. The books in this series attempt to utilize some of these in-
sights and to pass along to others the content and the processes we have
found useful.
When students and faculty engage in discussions of the social and polit-
ical conditions of schooling and the effects of these conditions on students
and schools, it is likely that the talk will be lively and controversies will
emerge. In this arena there are no absolutely “right” or “wrong” answers.
There are choices, frequently difficult ones, choices that require consider-
able discussion, deliberation, and justification. In order for these discus-
sions to occur we need to create classroom settings that are conducive to
conversations about difficult and controversial issues. The best format for
such discussion is not the debate, the (in)formal argument, or dispassion-
ate and aloof analysis. Instead the most conducive environment is a class-
room designed to create dialogue and conversation among participants
with differing points of view. There isn’t a recipe or formula that will en-
sure this type of environment but we think the following suggestions are
worth considering.
It is important for individuals using these texts to engage in discussions
that are sensitive and respectful toward others, and at the same time chal-
lenge each other’s views. This is not an easy task. It requires each partici-
pant to come to the class sessions prepared, to listen attentively to other
people’s views, and to address one another with a tone and attitude of re-
spect. This means that when disagreements between individuals occur,
and they inevitably will occur, each participant should find a way to ex-
press that disagreement without diminishing or attacking the other indi-
vidual. Participants in these professional discussions need to be able to
voice their views freely and to be sensitive toward others. Frequently, this
is difficult to do. In discussions of controversial issues, ones that strike
emotional chords, we are prone to argue in a way that belittles or disre-
gards another person and their point of view. At times, we try to dismiss
both the claim and the person. But if the discussions that these books help
to initiate are carried on in that demeaning fashion,the potential power of
SERIES PREFACE xiii
these works will not be realized. A discussion of this paragraph should oc-
cur before discussing the substance raised by this particular text. It is our
conviction that when a class keeps both substance and pedagogy in the
forefront it has a way of engaging individuals in a much more positive
manner. From our own past experiences we have found that during the
course of a class’s use of this material it may be quite helpful to pause and
focus on substantive and pedagogical issues in a conscious and forthright
manner. Such time is generally well spent.
UNDERSTANDING AND EXAMINING PERSONAL

BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING AND SCHOOLING
It is also our belief that many educational issues engage and affect our
heads and our hearts. Teaching is work that entails both thinking and
feeling; those who can reflectively think and feel will find their work
more rewarding and their efforts more successful. Good teachers find
ways to listen to and integrate their passions, beliefs, and judgments. And
so we encourage not only the type of group deliberation just outlined but
also an approach to reading that is attentive to an individual’s felt sense or
what some might call “gut” level reactions. In the books in this series that
contain case material and written reactions to that material, along with the
public arguments that pertain to the issues raised, we believe it is essential
that you, the reader, attend to your felt reactions, and attempt to sort out
what those reactions tell you. At times it seems we can predict our reac-
tions to the readings and discussions of this material while at other times it
can invoke reactions and feelings that surprise us. Attending to those issues
in a heartfelt manner, one that is honest and forthright, gives us a better
sense of ourselves as teachers and our understandings of the world. Not only
do students walk into schools with expectations and assumptions formed as
a result of life experiences but so do their teachers. Practicing and prospec-
tive teachers can benefit from thinking about their expectations and assump-
tions. Hopefully, our work will facilitate this sort of reflection.
ABOUT THE BOOKS IN THIS SERIES
The first work in this series, Reflective Teaching: An Introduction, intro-

duces the notion of teacher reflection and develops it in relation to the so-
cial conditions of schooling. Building on this concept, the second work in
xiv SERIES PREFACE
the series, Culture and Teaching, encourages a reflection on and examina-

tion of issues connected to teaching in a pluralistic society. This work,
Gender and Teaching, is the third work in the series and examines the cen-
tral role of gender in teaching and schooling. We were fortunate to enlist
Frinde Maher and Janie Ward. They are talented scholars and practitioners
and highly respected in the profession. Subsequent works will employ a
reflective approach to examine prominent educational issues and to ex-
plore further our understanding of teaching. Ofelia Miramontes and Nancy
Commins are nearing the completion of their text, Linguistic Diversity and
Teaching. Other works will include such topics as math instruction and the
social conditions of teaching; technology and teaching; democracy and
teaching; and emotions and teaching. The structure of the works will vary
depending on our various contributors, the content of the work, and the
ways we can conceive of encouraging reflective practice. But each of the
works will take as its central concern the reflective examination of our ed-
ucational practice within larger social contexts and conditions.
SERIES ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Two individuals have been essential to the conception and execution of

this series. Kathleen Keller, our first editor at St. Martin’s Press (where the
series originated), initially suggested that we further develop the ideas out-
lined in Teacher Education and the Social Conditions of Schooling (Liston
& Zeichner, 1991). Kathleen was very helpful in the initial stages of this
effort and we wish to thank her for that. Naomi Silverman, our current and
beloved editor at Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, has patiently and skill-
fully prodded us along attending to both the “big picture” and the small de-
tails. She has been remarkably supportive and capably informative. We
are very thankful and indebted to Naomi.
—Daniel P. Liston
—Kenneth M. Zeichner
PREFACE
A book focused on gender and teaching may raise the question in your
mind, “What is the issue here?” It may seem to you that because most
schools and educational settings are coeducational, girls and boys share
most of their courses, and both men and women attend college and gradu-
ate schools in almost equal numbers nowadays, sex discrimination is no
longer a real area of concern—in the field of education, at least. Or, you
may think the gender differences that are left are pretty basic and schools
should not and cannot do much about those differences anyway—why
should girls want to play football? Other issues, such as multicultural edu-
cation, or special education, are more pressing. We hope that after you
have examined the cases and the issues in this book you will decide that
there are important questions worth exploring about gender and teaching
and see how gender relates to many other educational topics and concerns.
For example, what are the educational expectations about aptitudes,
achievement, and behavior that are gender linked, and how do such expec-
tations help or hinder students’ actual progress in school? How are male
and female students treated by each other? Does it matter whether teachers
are male or female? What are and should be the varying roles and respon-
sibilities of students, teachers, administrators, and communities in creat-
ing and maintaining these expectations and these relationships?
In short, when is gender “a difference that makes a difference”? In order
to visualize an equal education, ought we to ignore and minimize gender
xv
xvi PREFACE
differences, or should we emphasize the distinctive qualities of each group

and celebrate our diversity? (“Vive la différence!”?) We hope that the
cases in this book, and the discussions that follow each case, will help you
begin to evolve your own practical theories, explore and perhaps modify
some of your basic beliefs and assumptions, and become acquainted with
other points of view. This book is not about any “contest” between males
and females. Although it partly proceeds from our understanding of histor-
ical and sociological frameworks that show how women have historically
been discriminated against in our schools and in our society, our goal is an
education that is equally fair to everyone, boys as well as girls. As Judy
Logan, a middle school teacher who writes about her own classes, put it:
In order to keep teaching about gender from falling into the males versus fe-
males trap, I believe it is important to begin by letting students focus on
their own attitudes, ideas and feelings. Students need to realize their own
habits of stereotyping before they can understand them in the larger society.
Like attitudes about race and class, attitudes about gender are sometimes in-
visible, and we can’t analyze them or begin to change them unless we make
them visible. (Logan, 1993, p. 21)
We begin, then, by hoping you will explore your own concerns and as-
sumptions about these issues. Then, as noted by the editors of Culture and
Teaching (Liston & Zeichner, 1996), the second volume in this series, it is
important to look outward as well, to proceed on “both an introspective
journey and an examination of the social conditions of schooling. We need
to know not only what we believe but what schools do” (p. xviii). It is our
belief that gender, along with race, class, and culture, is one of the most
important dynamics shaping our social structure and the ways all of us
make meanings of our lives. Along with race and class, gender divisions
also help to create and maintain social and educational inequalities,
through institutional arrangements and practices that privilege some peo-
ple and hurt others. However, there are other views expressed and other
conflicts explored in this book as well. We hope that as a result of working
with the cases and responses here you will come to understand more about
your own attitudes and your own situation in relation to your gender, your
race, and your class position as a prospective teacher. We hope you will
learn more about the perspectives and attitudes of others in relation to this
issue and why they hold the views they do. Finally, we hope that you will
want to look further into the connections and intersections of gender with
these other structural dynamics and practices—those of race, class, and
PREFACE xvii
culture—as you continue your explorations into the social conditions of

schooling.
CONTENT AND STRUCTURE
Like Culture and Teaching, this book is organized into three basic parts.
Part I includes four cases dealing with related aspects of gender and teach-
ing, along with a range of preservice and practicing teachers’ and adminis-
trators’ reactions to each case. Part II is an elaboration of four public argu-
ments pertaining to the issues raised in the cases in Part I. Part III presents
our own concluding statement about some of the issues raised throughout
the volume, additional exercises for reflection, and a bibliography of addi-
tional resources.
The Case Studies
The cases in Part I explore different aspects of gendered experiences in

schools. In Case 1, “Sexism and the Classroom,” we portray a Hispanic
teacher in a small Texas town who is disturbed by her students’ sex role
stereotyping and has to confront the sexism of the popular culture that now
permeates her elementary school classroom. Case 2, “Gender, Race, and
Teacher Expectations,” concerns the circumstances that contribute to the
high numbers of African American boys referred to special education
classes. A major problem arises when two teachers disagree about what is
best for one young boy. In Case 3, “Who Gets Hurt?”, we focus on the
teachers’ and schools’ responsibilities in dealing with recurring instances
of sexual harassment and homophobic baiting in a high school class.
Finally, in Case 4, “A Woman’s Career?”, we explore the gendered,
racialized, sociocultural aspects of the teaching profession. A young,
White, female college senior tries to make sense of the mixed messages
from her parents and her teacher training program as she reconsiders her
desire to teach.
Each case study is followed by a set of reactions written by prospective
and practicing teachers and administrators whom we asked to read and re-
spond to these stories. They represent only some of the many and diverse
ways in which people both inside and outside of school systems tend to re-
act to and deal with these issues. Reading their reactions, we can not only
see the complexities of these problems and of other people’s responses,
xviii PREFACE
but we can also perhaps further understand and refine our own positions.
In the final section of Part I, we also offer four general reactions to the set
of case studies. These general reactions help to connect the particular is-
sues raised by each case to the broader arguments offered in Part II, in
which the public arguments are presented.
Between each case study and the reactions, and after the set of reactions
for each case study, we have left space in the text for you to write your
own reactions and reflections. People approach this task differently. Some
find it easier to write their reactions after reading the case study; others
find it helpful to wait until they have read others’ reactions. We suggest
jotting down your reactions in both places. Because the process of learning
and reflection is unpredictable and changing, we want to encourage you to
make a record of your development over time, as you change your mind,
see new perspectives, perhaps change your mind back again, perhaps
move in a different direction. We want to encourage you to explore as
many different approaches as the case studies, the readers’ responses, and
your own reactions imply for you.
The Public Arguments
In Part II we move from the particular realm of the case studies to the more
general arena of public arguments and present four very different views
about gender, teaching, and education. What we call “public arguments”
or “public voices” represent clusters of orientations organized around gen-
eral values rather than sets of hard-and-fast principles to which all who
speak in that “voice” must adhere. These summaries represent some basic
assumptions that guide their proponents’ perspectives on educational poli-
cies related to issues of gender. We present conservative, liberal-pro-
gressive, women-centered, and finally radical-multicultural views of cul-
ture and teaching. Each of these public arguments has different views
about the importance of gender differences and gender discrimination to
educational policies and practices. Each also differs in its assessment of
the weight that should be placed on gender differences in approaches to
educational equity. For example, liberal approaches seek to minimize the
basic differences between the sexes, whereas women-centered thinkers
tend to emphasize the particular talents and skills of girls and women,
which they think have been ignored in schools.
We all live, experience, and continually construct and reconstruct our
own and others’ gender identities in all aspects of our lives. From our most
PREFACE xix
personal and familial contexts; to our educational and work environments;

to our places in the economic, social, and political order—all these are
centrally determined by gender. Thus each of the public arguments ex-
plored in Part II has implications beyond the classroom and the school,
reaching back into our home, family, and personal lives on the one hand
and out into the broader political arena on the other. The conservative ap-
proach, for example, seeks to maintain or return to a traditional curriculum
and pedagogy in the classroom. This curriculum is one in which the West-
ern tradition is valorized in English and social studies and in which topics
such as “women’s history” or “multicultural issues” are seen as undermin-
ing our cohesiveness as a community. Such conservative educational views
have their counterpart in a desire to preserve the gender roles of the tradi-
tional nuclear family. For each public argument, therefore, we will look at
its wider implications, as well as, of course, its specific effects on the experi-
ences of boys and girls, young men and women, and educational practition-
ers. We hope that our combination of case studies and public arguments will
help our readers explore these ramifications on many different levels as they
come to locate themselves and others within these debates.
Our Own Views
Finally, in Part III we offer our own readings of the issues associated with
gender and teaching and outline a number of ways in which practicing and
progressive teachers can continue to explore these topics. We offer a brief
introduction to our own perspective, which entails an emphasis on the
multicultural, antiracist, antisexist analysis of gender in the schools. Nei-
ther of us believes that gender can be addressed outside of the racial, cul-
tural, class, and other contexts that give gender identities and concerns
their very diverse sets of meanings. However, neither of us believes that
addressing racial and cultural issues is enough without also putting gender
at the center of these discussions. Ultimately, we take the position that our
schools are places where various forms of inequality flourish and are
linked, and we derive much hope from the work of teachers and others in
challenging those inequalities and working to build an empowering educa-
tion for all children. But ours are only two more views, and we encourage
you to develop your own. At the end of this section we provide in the Bib-
liography a list of what we consider to be indispensable books, and we
outline some suggestions for further explorations.
xx PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Frinde would like to acknowledge the help and support of her partner,
John McDermott, her co-author Janie Ward, and all of the feminist schol-
ars and activists whose work has inspired her own in the last 20 years. She
would also like to acknowledge the support and patience of Dan Liston
and Ken Zeichner, the series editors, and Naomi Silverman, our editor at
LEA.
Janie Victoria Ward wishes to thank her friend and co-author Frinde
Maher for her support, encouragement, and patience. Thanks also to Dan
Liston, Ken Zeichner, and Naomi Silverman, for their editorial wisdom
and invaluable guidance. Finally, this book is dedicated to my son Eli who
keeps me strong.
I
CASE STUDIES
AND REACTIONS
INTRODUCTION TO CASE 1
The first of our four cases concerns many of the issues facing teachers who
wish to create coeducational classroom environments that are equally safe,
hospitable, and challenging for both boys and girls. It illustrates the rela-
tions between gender socialization, which goes way beyond the classroom,
and classroom dynamics, which both reflect and influence gender socializa-
tion patterns. Children learn gender role identity and expectations at early
ages. Not only do school-age children become aware of gender stereotypes
and engage in gendered activities, but they also start to adopt personality
characteristics that show the ways they have identified with their under-
standings of “masculinity” and “femininity.” Children use gender differ-
ences as a way to organize their social worlds. Because children teach
each other to behave according to cultural expectations, same-sex peers
also exert a profound influence on how gender is learned. Gender role for-
mation also intersects with race, class, and culture issues, as different atti-
tudes about sex role expectations often have cultural roots and cultural
connections.
A related issue is the role of the teacher in combating or reinforcing
gendered behaviors in the classroom. What aspects of the teacher’s own
background and his or her construction of gender come into play? What
should teachers do, and why? Although it is safe to assume that all teach-
1
2 I. CASE STUDIES AND REACTIONS
ers wish to treat their pupils fairly and equitably, the research on curricula
and classroom pedagogies, from kindergarten all the way through gradu-
ate school, has shown overwhelmingly that girls at every age and from ev-
ery background do not receive an education equal to that of their male
peers. Teachers pay more attention, both positive and negative, to boys.
Textbooks, storybooks, and most reading materials feature almost exclu-
sively male activities and heroes. Girls typically get better grades than
boys in elementary school, and boys are more likely to be diagnosed as
learning disabled and end up in special education settings (see Case 2).
However, boys often do better in the higher grades, are more frequently
found in advanced-placement classes in high schools, particularly in math
and science, and do much better on the Scholastic Aptitude Test.
Furthermore, practices that are central to many school cultures rein-
force gender-biased educational experiences. Much is made of gender dif-
ferences among schoolchildren, from lining up pupils by sex for lunch and
recess, to dividing up playground space and activities by gender, to assign-
ing classroom tasks in terms of gender stereotypes. Thus, boys lift and
carry heavy boxes, and girls do secretarial errands for the teacher. Finally,
girls and boys themselves, through the influences of family, peer, and me-
dia cultures, often treat each other with avoidance and hostility. Boys in
particular often refuse contact with girls and actively resist assignments
and activities they associate with femininity. Studies have shown that
when teachers try to call on girls equally, or include more curriculum ma-
terials about girls and women, boys will rebel (Sadker & Sadker, 1994;
Spender, 1983).
Given these circumstances, teachers who want to enhance gender eq-
uity have a difficult set of challenges, including the selection of curricu-
lum materials, the handling of class discussions and the difficulties of in-
tervening in classroom peer group life. This case explores these issues
through the specific dilemmas of a second-grade teacher who wants to in-
crease the gender awareness of her class as well as help her pupils get
along better with each other.
CASE 1: “SEXISM AND THE CLASSROOM”
Nina Rodriguez steps back from the two large colorful posters of Dolores
Huerta, the United Farm Workers Union organizer, and Sally Ride, the na-
tion’s first female astronaut, that she has just hung over her desk. She
stands for a moment smiling to herself, proud of the way that she has orga-
CASE 1: “SEXISM AND THE CLASSROOM” 3
nized and decorated her second-grade classroom. She is especially pleased

that the children also seem to like the room. Being late September it is still
too early to say for sure, but so far it seems as if this is going to be a very
good school year.
Minutes later the second graders come streaming into the room. Recess
has ended, and it is time for the boys and girls to take their seats and pre-
pare their desks for reading instruction. Nina asks the children to get into
their reading groups.
“Ahhh, Miss Rodriguez, do we have to?”
“Yes, you do.”
“But it’s not fair!” whines Roberto. “Why do you have to put me and
Jose in a group with girls? Why can’t we be in an all-boy group, with our
friends? I hate girls!”
“Roberto, please,” Nina says quickly as she helps the students arrange
their desks into small groups of four.
“Yeah, we hate those stupid girls,” sneers Jimmy from the corner.
“Yeah,” echo several more boys, chiming in. “Shut up, you guys,” com-
plains 8-year-old Saundra in the middle of a group of girls. “Stupid, yucky
boys,” whines one of the girls in a taunting, singsong tone.
“Okay, that’s enough,” cries Nina, with increasing exasperation. “Settle
down, now. Open your books and let’s get started. Everyone will stay in
their assigned groups until I say you can change.”
As the children begin to get settled, Nina gives an inward sigh. She
knows that she should be used to the back-and-forth baiting and banter of
eight-year-olds by now, but she isn’t, and this gender-related silliness is
especially annoying. Nina had begun her career as a preschool teacher 7
years ago in a Hispanic community on the other side of the state. She
worked in a newly established, experimental, and progressive daycare
center and preschool that offered teacher education vouchers to the pre-
school teachers as a way to offset the relatively low wages they received.
Nina smartly took advantage of the vouchers and, although it took a long
time, combining full-time employment and college courses, she managed
to complete an associate’s and later a baccalaureate degree in early child-
hood education. Last year she was hired by the East Newtowne school dis-
trict as a second-grade teacher, with a class of energetic, primarily recent
immigrant youngsters of Hispanic descent.
As a teacher, Nina faced a host of new issues in the move from pre-
school to elementary education. Along with the obvious differences of age
and size, there was little similarity in the ways that the East Newtowne
teachers helped guide the children’s social and cognitive development,
particularly in terms of gender equity. At the preschool there were many

opportunities provided for the young children to engage in cross-gender
play. The boys played house, and the girls built with blocks, with no prob-
lems mixing together in common activities.
Since leaving the preschool, Nina had tried to keep up with the latest re-
search on girls’ development. She had been especially interested in the re-
search that found that girls are losing their self-confidence at earlier and
earlier ages. In schools, boys become more demanding of teacher atten-
tion, while girls become less likely to speak up in class and tend to with-
draw. Although she knows that in elementary school girls tend to do better
academically, Nina worries about the long-term effects of these early mes-
sages on their self-confidence and their academic achievement.
It sure can be difficult to raise competent girls, especially in her cultural
community, where traditional gender roles are often quite entrenched. But
with the shifts in the economy, it has become increasingly difficult to be a
stay-at-home wife and mother. Nina understands these difficulties. When
her own father had died, she worked part-time to help the family. She
wants more Hispanic girls to be better prepared to become wives, mothers,
and paid employees outside of the home. Nina also knows that if girls
don’t take traditionally “male” courses, such as upper-level math and sci-
ence, many well-paid careers will be closed to them in the future.
Nina has found that it certainly is hard to counteract the messages about
gender roles that the children receive from home, the gendered toys with
which they play, and the World Wrestling Federation and Barbie lunch
boxes that they bring to school. Even the majority of teachers in East
Newtowne Elementary prefer to line the children up by gender, boys on
the left, girls on the right. Although Nina is convinced of the importance of
gender equity, achieving it in this school with kids at this age feels like
swimming upstream.
She turns back to the class. Finally, the children’s desks are rearranged,
and they settle into their assigned cooperative groups. “Who can tell me
what happened at the end of the story that we read yesterday?” Nina be-
gins, to no one in particular. Rose raises her hand and begins to speak. “At
the end the hero, ummm, she, I mean he climbs to the top and . . .” Few of
the children can hear Rose end her sentence, because a group of the boys
starts to giggle out loud. “Miss Rodriguez, Miss Rodriguez, she made a
mistake. She said ‘she’ instead of ‘he’!”
“Yeah,” laughs Jimmy. “She!! Like a girl can climb the mountain and
save the city!”
CASE 1: “SEXISM AND THE CLASSROOM” 5
“Be quiet, Jimmy. You’re so immature,” calls Marlene as she glances at

her friend Rose, looking embarrassed and sitting in silence. “My mom
says a girl can do anything a boy can do.”
“Miss Rodriguez,” calls Bonita over the now-rising laughter of the
boys. “Why can’t we have a story with a girl hero? Why are all the heros
always boys?”
“Why don’t we write a story? A story with a girl heroine. We can all work
on the storyline together,” answers Nina, pleased with herself for thinking so
fast on her feet. “Great,” call out the girls, but when Nina glances around the
room, the boys’ faces register shock and disbelief. “Oh, nooooo! No way!”
calls Pedro. “Boring,” calls Roberto. “Come on, Miss Rodriguez. If the girls
are in the story, it wouldn’t be exciting at all. They’d be playing house or do-
ing dress up. Girls wouldn’t like slay a dragon with a sword.”
“Yeah,” agrees Juan.
“They wouldn’t wanna slay anything,” adds Carl.
“My daddy says girls should stay at home and take care of the house,”
adds Jaime. “This is stupid. We don’t wanna write this story, Miss Rodri-
guez. It wouldn’t be any fun. Girls don’t do anything interesting.”
Nina feels at a complete loss. She hears herself saying, “That’s non-
sense, Jaime!” and busies herself settling the children down again. For the
moment, she thinks, I won’t deal with this one, and she turns their attention
to the story they are to read next (one, she notes ruefully, with a male pro-
tagonist again). But that evening, with a little time to think, she determines
to challenge these pupils. Not only do the girls need role models of self-
confident, proactive, and successful females, but also the boys need to
learn about competent females, maybe even more than the girls do. After
all, it is only September, and she hasn’t really had a chance to work with
these kids very long. She could change the curriculum. She could challenge
the classroom dynamics. She could begin to instill in those boys “a little re-
spect!”, and she could begin to work on the girls’ self-confidence. But how?
Sitting after dinner with the usual stack of student journals in front of her,
Nina decides she needs some advice, and that evening, knowing she’ll
never do it if she waits too long, she decides to call a few colleagues.
Dr. Johnson, her best and most caring early-childhood professor, laughs
when he hears her voice. “Nina Rodriguez, how nice to hear from you!”
Yes, he says, he knows this problem really well, and “it’s worse in some
communities than others, where the mothers are home and the families are
pretty traditional.” He goes on, “Why don’t you make sure you have some
books with girl heroines and then give the students a choice? They don’t
all have to read the same book—or write the same story, for that matter.”
He suggests that she then have the students read their stories aloud to each
other and make sure that the boys listen when it is the girls’ turn. “Boys are
always like that, and you just have to be firm with them.”
Her next-door neighbor at East Newtowne, a fellow second-grade
teacher, is equally sympathetic. “Don’t you know it!” Maria Kelly exclaims.
“These kids can be really mean to each other, and those boys are so sexist;
mine are too. Whatever you do with your storybooks, let me know. We can
put up a united front on the playground, maybe, make sure that those bullies
leave the girls alone. It’s really important to protect the girls, don’t you
think?” Maria reminds Nina of that workshop they attended a year ago, at
which the speaker had recommended a book on caring and education by Nel
Noddings as well as Women’s Ways of Knowing, a book saying that girls
learn differently, that they are less competitive, more attuned to relationships
with each other than the boys, and like to work with each other in cooperative
groups. “You have those learning groups and that’s working really well, isn’t
it? Keep emphasizing that they have to work together. And maybe some days
the girls should have their own times together, too.”
Yes, Nina thinks, I do want to protect and nurture those girls. Agreeing
with both these colleagues, she still feels that something is missing. “I
don’t just want to protect these girls, I want to empower them. I don’t just
want to keep the boys away from the girls, I want the boys to learn some-
thing, too!” Her final conversation is with her mentor and friend at her old
alternative preschool. “How did we get the boys and girls to work together
so well?” she asks Dolores Trujillo. “Was it just that they were young?”
Dolores laughs and says, “Absolutely not! Remember how we taught
them? Remember the rules and how we wrote the curriculum?” And Nina
does remember. They had never lined up the children by sex, or made
“boy” and “girl” classroom tasks or areas. There had been encouragement
of gender-neutral activities, but there had also been explicit lessons about
gender awareness. When Nina finishes with Dolores she still feels con-
fused, but not quite so unsure. Maybe she could try some combination of
her advisors’ ideas. Her past students had been preschoolers; would
second graders take to such a direct approach? Is Maria right that they
have to take this issue into the playground, too? Should she think about the
whole school, or is her classroom the best place to start? What balance of
choice, persuasion, and requirements should she choose, so as to avoid
alienating the boys too much? And what about the parents? Would they
understand and support her? She determines to design her new combina-
tion of approaches that very weekend.
READER REACTIONS TO NINA’S SITUATION
7
REACTIONS TO “SEXISM AND THE CLASSROOM”
Many respondents focused on Nina’s actions in the classroom environ-

ment. Most expressed the need for teachers to be able to effectively man-
age sexist attitudes and behaviors. Nearly everyone talked about the need
to have explicit conversations with young students about gender roles but
noted that these conversations must take place in an atmosphere of trust to
avoid backlash. However, as shown later, some respondents also looked
beyond Nina’s specific actions to ask questions about underlying attitudes
as well as about the specific cultural context she and her pupils occupied.
Finally, a few also looked outside of her individual classroom and asked
questions about the broader community and society.
Nina’s Actions
Many people saw the problem as one of inadequate classroom manage-

ment. This classroom environment has not been conducive to bringing
about respect and learning, because the children had not been taught to
treat one another in mutually respectful ways. Nina was faulted for failing
to address specific sexist remarks, for ignoring disrespect early on, and for
her failure to set up and articulate behavioral expectations (with conse-
quences for noncompliance) for the class. As one respondent put it, “She
must insist on respect, and call kids on gender-related insults.” But sug-
gestions for how to begin ranged from starting “where kids are at,” as in
single-sex groupings; to helping kids teach one another to be assertive; to a
zero-tolerance policy. Respondents also noted the bickering between boys
and girls and the devaluing of women and girls. At the heart of it all, they
found, were disrespect, lack of trust, and the kids’ inability to see the
world from the perspective of the other gender. Gender polarities cast
males and females as opposites and placed them into two mutually exclu-
sive categories. Some respondents were fearful that children, especially
boys, would learn to place a higher value and more prestige on boys and
men, seeing one gender as better than the other.
My first reaction was that of frustration. I have experienced some of the

same behavior from the children, and it is hard to change. My students are
primarily of Mexican descent. They come from homes with traditional gen-
der roles. I believe that Nina should recognize where the kids are coming
from and get them to verbalize it. I would start from discussing similarities
and differences and move into acceptance.
—Bilingual Teacher
REACTIONS TO “SEXISM AND THE CLASSROOM” 9
Nina should have dealt with the issue immediately instead of essentially ig-
noring it. When she put the students into assigned groups she should have
explained the reasons for the groupings. When she said, “That’s nonsense,
Jaime,” she does nothing to address the specifics of what was said; yet when
the situation is happening in the classroom that is the most teachable mo-
ment. Dr. Johnson makes the sexist suggestion that she has to make sure
that the boys listen. (And not vice versa.) Just cracking down on the boys
without talking about the deeper issues will instigate more resentment and
problems. Maria Kelly’s advice to “protect the girls” ignores the deeper is-
sues of students developing respect for one another.
—Former Elementary School Teacher
Nina should follow through on what she says. For example, Nina impul-
sively suggested that the students write a story together, but because she
hadn’t really developed her plan, she let the boys talk her out of the idea.
This was unfortunate, because now it appears to students as if they can
change the teacher’s plans by complaining about the assignment.
—Middle School Resource Teacher
Nina should begin to build a community of learners in her classroom. The

first step would be to do some team-building activities with the second
graders. These activities will build trust and respect among the girls and
boys in the class. The class could generate a list of class rules to control the
outspokenness. During teaching, strategies to randomly call on students
could be employed. The children would quickly learn that callouts are not
accepted and that all students are expected to respond.
—Higher Education Administrator
Whereas the foregoing section includes general comments and criti-

cism, many respondents offered specific helpful suggestions about what
Nina could do in the classroom to challenge conventional gender stereo-
types and promote gender equity. People noted the contributions of teach-
ers in reinforcing gendered behavior. They criticized books with tradi-
tional occupational roles and pointed out the ways in which women are
underrepresented in textbooks. Specific suggestions included team-build-
ing activities, augmenting existing curricular materials with readings and
assignments designed to reduce gender bias, and exposure to models of
masculine and feminine behaviors and achievements that challenge and
disprove stereotypes.
Nina’s dilemma is probably quite common because it does seem that many
of the old educational materials are boy centered. In my last class, I also
found that boys were unhappy when they found out that the main character
in one of their required readings was a girl. With children this age I do feel
that some outright conversations about gender roles could be helpful. Sec-
ond graders can also do some really basic research on interesting women, or
women from the community could come in to talk with the class about what
they do. Any of these activities could be done independently or as part of an
already-planned curriculum unit. An essential part of Nina’s plan will be
the message that she conveys. If she feels that this issue is important, she
needs to insist that within her classroom children are respectful of one an-
other. She needs to call them on gender-related insults and make her expec-
tations clear. The message that the children get from her outside of the cur-
riculum will be essential to the success of her plan.
—Master of Arts in Teaching Candidate, Elementary
I would allow the students to form their own reading groups. Boys could
read about heroes and the girls could read about heroines. When finished
they could report back to the entire class. The second group of assigned
readings could be about a character of the opposite sex, with explanations of
how the experience of reading about heroes and heroines is different. The
third time I’d let students choose a story with either a hero or a heroine.
—Elementary School Teacher
I believe that the classroom teachers should always balance gender in their
curriculum materials. The students should study both male and female ex-
amples of heroism and success in all areas, including the political, social,
artistic, and scientific realms. The class should also be exposed to common
stereotypes, as well as examples which disprove these stereotypes. Ba-
sically, Nina needs to set up activities and assignments where both the boys
and the girls can observe both sexes having the successes and failures which
make everyone, regardless of all else, human.
—MAT Candidate, Elementary
The most important issues are

· That gender differences be understood, tolerated, and even celebrated!
· That the gender/culture issues are explained and also placed in the
broader context of the out-of-home culture.
· That the reasons for tolerance and acceptance be discovered and then
understood by the students.
Nina should
· Confer with parents of boys of varied ethnic backgrounds.
· Let the students write their own stories and read them to the group.
· Be honest with the students about her concerns and why [she has
them].
· Have the students imagine themselves to be a member of the opposite
sex and write about a situation as that person.
She could also have the students help look for resource materials and proj-
ect ideas that suggest ways to reduce/eliminate gender bias. She could send
home a newsletter or letter to parents explaining some of the ideas she has,
things she’d like to do, and ask for parent comments, reactions, suggestions.
Related issues include:
· Parent bias. Be open and honest and allow them to air their ideas and
concerns. Acknowledge that some people feel that way but that there
are compelling reasons to consider changing negative attitudes. Be
specific.
· The school administration’s bias—same as above.
· The response/reaction of the community at large.
—Experienced Teacher, All Grades
Attitudes
Some respondents dug below Nina’s and the children’s actions to wrestle
with the basic mind-sets toward gender embedded in all of us. Some shared
their personal struggles with sexist attitudes. They saw that sexist beliefs are
deeply ingrained in our psyches and reinforced in family and institutional ar-
rangements, resulting in many levels on which sexism must be addressed.
Learning about gender discrimination can be central to children’s process of
identity development, because these lessons affect what kids believe and
value, their respect and concern for others, and who they become as people.
Because teachers are such important role models, some people asked what
kind of self-analysis is important for teachers to become change agents.
Teachers must learn to know and affirm their own values, be willing to accept
and give challenges, and model openness and an ongoing process of personal
transformation.They must be aware of the subtle messages they convey and
struggle against inconsistency. Gender issues must be raised and dealt with
openly. The transformational function of consciousness raising came up, and
one respondent asked us to think about Nina’s journey as a feminist. Finally,
attitudes toward gender were connected to cultural expectations as well.
Miss R. is right to empower the girls, not protect them. No one will be there
to protect them in the future, so they need to stand up for themselves.
—Prospective Teacher
Nina should begin by being very clear with herself and with her students
about her own values and her expectations. Open, honest dialogue will be-
gin to create an atmosphere of trust in dealing with emotionally charged is-
sues. I would also advise her to consider how her own changes have come
about. She can expose her students to broad perspectives, challenge and
stimulate them to think, question, experience, reflect, and share their views
and feelings. She can also provide a role model and set standards for accept-
able classroom behavior. But she cannot create the changes in the children.
Change is a personal process from within. To be in the process and on a
journey of greater awareness is the goal.
—Former Eighth Grade Teacher, Doctoral Candidate
It is difficult to not be sexist as a teacher. Even though I feel that my genera-

tion is far more aware of gender inconsistencies, we subconsciously act sex-
ist at times. Often the boys are the most obvious and therefore the most re-
sponded to by the teacher. I also sympathize with Nina when she tried to
create an assignment for the whole class to write stories containing a female
protagonist. I cringe with her as all the boys in the class complained that
girls can’t be heroines.
I recently taught a group of students and took special care to check myself
on the information they received and to create an environment that was not
sexist. But, I contradicted myself outside of the class (unknowingly) with
simple actions like lining students up at recess in boy–girl lines, or splitting
the group into boy–girl learning groups. This is really basic, but it shows
that there are many levels on which this issue must be addressed.
One of the mistakes we make as teachers is that (because of the attention to

women’s rights in the last decade) we think we have a gender-equitable so-
ciety because there has been so much attention to women’s issues in the last
decade. In fact there has been somewhat of a backlash the last few years by
those who think we’ve paid too much attention to female issues at the ex-
pense of male rights and needs. We need to be aware that gender problems
still exist and can be directly connected to cultural expectations as demon-
strated by the reactions of some of these young Hispanic children. There

may well be distinct cultural gender expectations, for instance, for young
Black males, poor White females, upper class White males, etc.
Classrooms need to have explicit lessons on gender awareness. Teachers
need to be aware of subtle messages they give kids. Role playing gender-
related situations is a particularly memorable and powerful device for
young students. Also ongoing discussions and dialogue are best. Class
meetings need to focus on situations that arise in the classroom, on the play-
ground, and even at home. And teachers need to be prepared to defend these
discussions to parents who may question the use of school time on view-
points they don’t necessarily support.
—Teacher
With respect to this case, I would like to know more about Nina’s journey as
a feminist. What were her influences early and later in life? What stimulated
her thinking and actions (beyond economic realities) to break down gender
stereotypes and gender roles? How did her family respond? Friends? Did her
ideas alienate her from her culture? What were the consequences with her
students? Is she prepared to discuss the consequences for a boy who is em-
powered to cook a family meal, or a girl who can fix the family car? In this re-
gard, it is important to understand our own journey, beliefs, level of sexist
(racist and homophobic) awareness, and sense of who we are in the world as
we turn around to teach children to understand themselves and influence
their attitudes and behaviors.
—College Instructor
The Cultural Community
Several of our readers paid close attention to the intersection of culture and
gender identity development. Each culture teaches its children its own les-
sons about gender. Gender expectations are taught to children early in
their lives and within a variety of social contexts. Thus children bring to
school culturally embedded attitudes about how men and women should
think, act, and feel. This case raises important questions about gender so-
cialization and the difficulties that can arise when cultural views about ap-
propriate gender roles conflict. How should Nina respond, and why? In
addition, this case warrants a look at the process of change that occurs
within and between cultural settings, in this case the attitudes of first- and
second-generation immigrant populations toward the changing role of
Latina women in U.S. society. Gender meanings shift within cultures and
within the individuals of those cultures. Nina, like many young Latina
women, lives a bicultural existence, and her reflections on her own shift-
ing perspectives about gender roles allow her a unique vantage point.
Finally, Nina is a member of the Latino community, a largely diverse eth-
nic population of many nationalities and cultures. Several respondents
cautioned against prejudging, overgeneralizing, and stereotyping all La-
tino men as macho or all Latina women as submissive and training their
children to be the same.
Nina must examine her own belief system. What is holding her back? There
are certain core values American schools must teach children so they can
become “good citizens” in our democratic society. Teachers are expected to
reinforce American values. Americans claim to respect diversity and toler-
ate cultural differences. However, when subcultures hold beliefs contrary to
the broader American culture, it appears that is where we no longer respect
the child’s home or ethnic background. We step in and show the child a new
way of seeing the world. The value of gender equity becomes more impor-
tant than the respect for a student’s culture and belief system.
—Elementary Teacher
Nina also stated that in her cultural community traditional gender roles are
quite often entrenched and that she wanted Hispanic girls to be better pre-
pared to become wives, mothers, and paid employees outside the home.
She said it is hard to counteract the messages about gender that the chil-
dren receive from home and the toys they play with. Should one assume
that aspects of their own culture will necessarily coincide and generalize
over to a different culture, and even if Nina were of Hispanic descent,
should it be assumed that the characteristics associated with her experi-
ences are necessarily that of her Hispanic students? Should a teacher set
out to counteract messages that children receive from home? While our
own beliefs provide a foundation from which to make decisions, it is im-
portant to recognize the point at which these beliefs turn into biases and
fail to serve their intended purpose.
—Teacher
I agree with Nina’s dilemma in that often young girls get overlooked by the
education system. But I disagree in that culturally these young women are at
a disadvantage due to predisposed cultural gender roles. As a minority com-
munity living in the United States many parents see education as the only
way of “moving up.” Therefore, parents encourage both girls and boys to
pursue educational dreams. If anything, women are encouraged to handle

many roles: mother, daughter, sister, wife, career woman, etc.
I realize that my response has been a bit of a tangent on the case study,
but as a Latina I feel that I must clearly make a case for my community. Too
often are Latinas stereotyped as submissive and Latinos stereotyped as
machistas. As more and more immigrants arrive they realize that through
education their children can pursue the “American dream.” I know because
my family is one of those.
Outside of the Classroom
Most people felt that Nina should be committed to doing whatever she
could to bring about gender equity. However, some noted that this issue
cannot just be about changing what goes on in the classroom. Several re-
spondents pointed out that bringing about real change means enlisting the
help of other teachers, administrators, and the school. How is one to do
this, especially if other teachers aren’t there yet? Most people who were
concerned with these issues highlighted the fact that Nina must move care-
fully and judiciously, recognizing that not everyone would be ready or
willing to change. The schoolwide implications of working for gender eq-
uity would entail a great deal of work. Moreover, although gender equity
issues have been given more attention over the last 10 years or so, Nina
must remember that some people still don’t recognize the need for change.
Respondents suggested, for example, that Nina move cautiously to get her
colleagues to join with her, perhaps by sharing her successful and creative
classroom strategies or by making the discussion of gender equity an
agenda item in staff meetings. Also useful are professional development
activities such as workshops for teachers and guest lecturers. Finally, sev-
eral people also mentioned the importance of enlisting assistance from
parents and others in the larger community.
I think Maria is right by encouraging gender-neutral activities and by edu-

cating both genders about the opposite sex. However, it doesn’t end in the
classroom. The whole school, parents and community, should be aware of
this issue.
Regardless of how innocuous these comments might have seemed, I would

not have let them go by without discussion. I would let the boys know where I
stood by letting them hear that I think their comments were inappropriate. I
would force discussion among my students. I would speak with parents and ask
them to support me in a no-tolerance stance. For me it would not be enough
to expose them to literature or do consciousness-raising activities alone.
There would be need for supplementation, continued dialogue and support
from parents and administrators.
—Teacher
I’d put gender equity on the agenda for staff meetings. If there are no con-
cerns, I probably would not pursue the issue further.
—Teacher
What should happen next? One, Nina should implement her plan and docu-
ment the events. Later this should be reviewed with her peers from afar and
possibly the ones she presently works with. Second, Nina should discuss the
ideas with the principal and some coworkers. If they seem supportive or in-
terested, she should consider opening up to the whole staff and attempt
schoolwide change. The most important issue in this case is the develop-
ment of the children. Which way will the teacher encourage or discourage
their development? The other important issue is instigating change in a
traditional school. How much can Nina handle? Taking the initiative to do
this type of work on top of all other expectations of the job is a burden. To
establish real change takes meetings, documentation, assessment, and ad-
vertisement.
Nina should begin informal discussions with some of her peers about the
messages they are conveying. Nina could share with staff some creative
ways to select children or create lines rather than using gender.
Nina needs to have a conversation on three different levels. First, let the
principal know how she plans to handle the situation. Suggest a faculty
meeting. Second, she needs to talk with students’ parents. Finally, tackle is-
sue head on with her students with activities, workshops. Also, she must re-
alize that professional development is needed.
—Administrator
READER REACTIONS TO
“SEXISM AND THE CLASSROOM”
17
SUMMARY AND ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS
This case raises central issues for gender and classroom teaching, namely,
how girls and boys may be treated equally and fairly throughout all aspects
of school and classroom culture. These include verbal participation, ar-
rangement of seating and other classroom climate considerations, curricu-
lum choices, reading and other assignments, the decoration of the class-
room, school policies that may affect classroom gender arrangements, and
so on. Some specific questions might be:
· What should be the goals of “gender equal” education? How can they
be balanced with respect to racial, class, and cultural diversity?
· What are children learning about gender roles at home, at school, and
through the media? How may these sources of influence vary and
conflict?
· What is the significance of the students’ home environments? How
should teachers deal with culturally different models for balancing
work, family, and gender roles?
· How much and in what ways should teachers intervene in pupil-to-
pupil interactions and peer group life, in regard to gender equity?
· How can teachers make sure that girls participate and are encouraged
to speak without losing track (or control) of the boys?
· What approaches are available to help teachers use other ways of dis-
tinguishing students besides “girls” and “boys”? (Could they line up
for recess alphabetically, for example? Could the class be divided into
different teams?)
· What are some specific curricular and pedagogical choices that are
available to teachers? What approaches and materials are there for
teachers who address the issues of gender equity? What is available in
regard to nontraditional role models for girls and boys, for example?
· What would need to happen for girls to feel comfortable doing activi-
ties and assignments traditionally associated with boys, or for boys to
feel comfortable with “girls’” activities?
CASE 2: “GENDER, RACE, AND TEACHER EXPECTATIONS” 19
No one disputes the fact that all children some of the time, and some chil-
dren quite frequently, exhibit unruly, disruptive behaviors both in and out-
side of classrooms. For teachers, making a determination between what is
simply a case of “bad behavior” versus a “disability” can be tricky,
because such “clinical” decisions are highly subjective and often influ-
enced by complicated, interacting cultural variables created by race, class,
and gender expectations. It has been 25 years since the end of the practice
of shutting out or institutionally warehousing children whose physical
and/or mental disabilities placed them outside of the educational main-
stream. Millions of American children with a full range of physical and
mental challenges have been able to gain access to educational services
appropriate to their needs within the public school system. But the practice
of special education is not without controversy. Increasingly, the decisions
and choices made by educators are being closely scrutinized in schools, in
the courts and, as the soaring costs of special education threaten to deplete
the resources of regular education programs, the public policy arena.
CASE 2: “GENDER, RACE, AND TEACHER

EXPECTATIONS”
The bell rings, and the class of fourth-grade students hurriedly collect their
textbooks, knapsacks, pencils, and pens and head out into the hallway off
to their next class. On his way out the door, Charlie, a 9-year-old African
American boy, unsuccessfully tries to slam dunk his social studies text-
book into the trash can, which tips over with a loud bang. Trash spills all
over the floor. “Charlie!” calls Amy Edwards, as she looks up from her
desk. But before she can finish her sentence, Charlie quickly retrieves the
textbook, halfheartedly picks up the spilled trash, and rushes into the hall-
way, calling out loudly to his friends up ahead. Sighing, Amy, the student
teacher assigned to this class, walks to the doorway. It’s only January 20,
and she can tell it’s going to be a long semester. She knows it would be
wise to clean up the mess before Mrs. Johnson, the classroom teacher, re-
turns. As she’s picking up the last few pieces of trash, she sees her princi-
pal walking toward her door. Glancing down at the mess, he mumbles,
“Don’t tell me, I can guess. Charlie Robinson again, right?” Not waiting
for an answer, the principal continues:
Ms. Edwards, I need a report from you as quickly as possible. It’s about
Charlie’s status in this class. At Mrs. Johnson’s request I had him assessed
by the special education [SPED] office, but the SPED director doesn’t seem
to think his misbehavior is that big a deal. Both teachers can’t be right about
this situation. Now, you know the kid, you’ve been assigned to that class all
year. Here are two reports to review: One is written by Mrs. Johnson, the
other by Mrs. Brown in special education. Read what they say and add your
own observations and critique. You’re smart, fair, and you seem to under-
stand these kids. I respect your judgment. I’ll be waiting for your report.
With that, the principal leaves the room.

Amy throws herself into her chair. This is an awkward situation. Ever
since she has returned from a 3-year stint in the Peace Corps, teaching in
Guatemala, she has wanted to become a teacher here in the United States.
She dreamed of working in a school like this one, a small elementary
school, recently made diverse by a district-wide desegregation plan and
thus an optimal setting for multicultural experimentation.When she began
her internship at the school, everyone told her that Mrs. Johnson was one
of the best teachers in the school. Her colleagues recalled that after the
gifted program that Mrs. Johnson taught in was phased out, and the volun-
tary desegregation program was implemented throughout the district, Mrs.
Johnson was reassigned back into a regular fourth-grade classroom.
Totally committed to the school, she has never once complained about the
many transitions she has had to endure. Amy has been grateful to be as-
signed to Mrs. Johnson’s class and pleased to be trained by such a skilled
elementary school teacher.
Amy starts to think about how she would respond to the principal’s re-
quest. She begins by first reading the classroom teacher’s report. In it,
Mrs. Johnson angrily complained about Charlie’s attitude and behavior,
frequently labeling him disruptive, nonattentive, hyperkinetic, and loud.
Compared to the majority of her students, she saw Charlie’s behavior as
well outside the norm; in fact she was “surprised” that this student hadn’t
been flagged earlier. In addition, Mrs. Johnson wrote that Charlie’s
mother, an employed single parent, had been called to the school fre-
quently about her son’s difficulties, yet Charlie’s behavior never seemed
to improve. Mrs. Johnson concluded that because of Charlie, the class-
room was simply too difficult to control. She requested that the SPED of-
fice provide him with a separate educational environment “specific” to his
deficits. She wanted him out of her class for his own good and for the good
of the other students.
CASE 2: “GENDER, RACE, AND TEACHER EXPECTATIONS” 21
As Amy thinks about what she has read, her mind wanders back to the
beginning of the year, when she was first introduced to Mrs. Brown, the
school’s SPED director, and the other members of the SPED team. Amy
and Mrs. Brown quickly discovered that they both held degrees from the
same graduate school, and that was enough to keep the two women chat-
ting together for quite some time. Way back in September Mrs. Brown had
warned Amy that there were a few teachers in the school who appeared to
have special difficulties with African American students. “I swear,” she
said to Amy at the time, “with some of these teachers, if there are two
Black boys assigned to a class, at least one of them will be labeled by these
women. They are so inflexible. They just can’t seem to deal with differ-
ence.”
Amy opens the second folder and begins reading the official assessment
report issued by Mrs. Brown. Much of it reads like a foreign language:
There are a series of standardized psychometric test scores and psycholog-
ical evaluations; reading, spelling, and arithmetic tests; instruments to
measure language development; and a social development inventory.
From what Amy can recall from her graduate school classes, all of Char-
lie’s scores and evaluations seem to be within the normal range.
As Amy reads the words in the final section of the report, it isn’t hard to
imagine the frustration Mrs. Brown was feeling. She wrote:
Mrs. Johnson describes Charlie Robinson’s classroom behavior as fre-

quently disruptive and out of control, and has determined that the difficulty
he seems to have in slowing down and keeping still is indicative of an
“emotional disturbance” or “a related learning disability.” However, his ac-
ademic achievement is at grade level, and once we factor in the gender,
race, and class bias embedded in the anglocentric clinical tests we use, the
scores are at best ambiguous. When I observed Charles’s class as part of my
evaluation, I did see a few instances of overly exuberant behavior. How-
ever, in my opinion it was nothing that couldn’t be handled by a strong
teacher whom the children respected. Mrs. Johnson fails to realize that the
very behaviors Charlie exhibits “inappropriately” in her classroom are con-
sidered quite appropriate, and are indeed expected in his home and commu-
nity culture.
Charles is a 9-year-old African American male who must by definition
negotiate at least two very different cultures, home and school. I know his
mother cares deeply for Charles and values his education immensely. But his
mother is frustrated by what she feels are the low expectations held in this
school for Black boys like Charlie. She has a point. Rather than finding ways
to help Charlie focus and self-motivate, the school would prefer to spend all
this time and all these resources to determine his deficiences and exclude him
from regular education classes. It is my professional opinion that Charles
Robinson’s current situation can be best dealt with in the regular classroom
and that a specialized placement in this case is not necessary.
Amy closes the SPED folder and sighs deeply. This is definitely not an
easy decision. She sympathizes with Mrs. Johnson—Charlie could be a
handful, and on some days Amy has to admit that she’d feel a lot better if
he were assigned to some other class on the other side of the building. And
who knows? Maybe a specially designed program tailored to his needs
would be the answer. On the other hand, Mrs. Brown has a point, too.
Maybe Mrs. Johnson is overreacting, perhaps because she doesn’t really
understand boys like Charlie and knows little of the social, cultural, and
opportunity factors that shape his thinking and influence his behavior.
And how would she? She isn’t from their neighborhoods, she’s probably
never even driven through their communities. And Amy doubts that they
taught much about these issues of cultural differences in the teacher prepa-
ration program that trained Mrs. Johnson. At that time, more than 25 years
ago, efforts at school desegregation were in their early stages, and Black,
brown, and linguistic minority children were few and far between in this
school district. How would she know that disproportionate numbers of
Black boys are regularly assigned to SPED classes, where, because of
teacher shortages, unqualified personnel provide substandard and inappro-
priate instruction and services? And how would she know that the current
critique of a large number of the psychometric instruments used in assess-
ment state that they are culturally and gender biased, anglocentric, and in-
attentive to cultural differences?
Amy is truly perplexed. Mrs. Johnson is a very good teacher, hard-
working, professional, and always committed to her students. But maybe
knowing the unique characteristics and needs of her students of color, and
the sociocultural influences on teaching and learning that their presence in
her classroom represents, is beyond her comprehension at this time. “No,
that can’t be all of it!” Amy hears herself groan. “Let’s get real! Charlie is
not the only problem here. If kids like Charlie make it impossible for
teachers to teach, then doesn’t Mrs. Johnson also have a responsibility to
the other kids in the class?”
Just then the school bell rings. The children come streaming back into
the classroom. Pondering her indecisiveness, Amy wonders what she
should write in her report to the principal. From out in the hall she can hear
Mrs. Johnson’s exasperated cry, “Charlie! For the last time, pleeeze stop
that now, go into class and take your seat!”
READER REACTIONS TO AMY’S SITUATION
23
REACTIONS TO “GENDER, RACE,

AND TEACHER EXPECTATIONS”
U.S. schools have long been segregated by race and social class. Ability
grouping (including tracking and self-contained SPED classes) segregates
children even more within schools (see Oakes, 1985; Wheelock, 1992).
Theoretically, SPED offers individualized learning, small classes, and a fo-
cused curriculum, but this is seldom the case. Instead, all too often it means a
watered-down curriculum, untrained teachers, and questionable pedagogical
practices. Moreover, too many SPED classes are overpopulated with chil-
dren of color, particularly boys. Critics charge that SPED classes are ware-
housing Black and brown boys whose teachers are unwilling and unpre-
pared to give them what they need to be successful in school classrooms.
Many of our readers focused on what they felt was needed to turn things
around in the regular classroom. Some offered ideas for direct classroom or
school-based interventions. Others chose to attend to teachers’ attitudes and
assumptions as shaped by racial bias, which they saw as contributing to the
problem at hand. Eitzen and Baca-Zinn (1998) argue that gender works with
the inequalities of race, class, and sexuality to produce different experiences
for all women and men. Although gender divisions make women unequal to
men, different groups of men exhibit varying degrees of power, and different
groups of women exhibit varying levels of inequality. As readers discovered
and pointed out, this case is not only about African American boys but also
about differences in power among various female players.
Intervention
The majority of comments readers made were about Mrs. Johnson’s diffi-
culty in handling Charlie. Charlie’s behavior, his inability to sit still, and
his low impulse control were acknowledged by nearly everyone as partic-
ularly challenging. One disruptive child can wreak havoc on an entire
classroom. Many saw the problem as Mrs. Johnson’s inexperience with
these types of students, particularly African American boys like Charlie.
Some of the proposed solutions focus on what Mrs. Johnson could do in
the classroom. Other readers suggested that to be effective with such stu-
dents requires culturally specific and relevant knowledge. Knowing the
students whom one teaches, their families, their communities, and their
cultural environments is essential to being effective with the Charlies of
this world. Several suggestions were offered.
REACTIONS TO “GENDER, RACE, AND TEACHER EXPECTATIONS” 25
The key issue here is who should change? Charlie, or the teacher? On the
one hand, the system (teacher) should be working to meet the needs of
the child. On the other hand, Charlie has many years of school ahead of
him, and his disruptive behavior will not always be tolerated, especially
as he gets into middle and high school. Is the school doing Charlie a dis-
service if they choose to allow his behavior?
Probably what needs to happen is finding some middle ground. Mrs.
Johnson clearly needs some professional development on how to handle
difficult students. With the help of the school psychologists, Charlie might
be able to learn some strategies for working with difficult teachers. It is
likely that he will encounter more of them in the future. In addition, Char-
lie might be able to transfer these skills into other parts of his life, like
when he encounters a difficult boss in the workforce.
—School Administrator
The most important issues in this case concern Mrs. Johnson’s perceptions
of Charlie and other African American students and whether Charlie
should be in a special education class or not. Mrs. Brown’s report sug-
gests that he should not be. She reports that his test scores reveal that he
doesn’t need any special education environment to learn, and she sug-
gests Mrs. Johnson isn’t really attuned to the experiences and needs of
African American boys, which is part of the whole problem (rather than
Charlie being the entire “problem”). The question really is, to what ex-
tent should Mrs. Johnson be expected to meet Charlie halfway? Does
she bear any responsibility in the situation? Can she do anything in the
classroom to help the situation get better? The main issue concerns how
to challenge the rigidity and narrowness of her perception while keeping
in mind that Charlie is indeed disruptive at times and makes teaching
very difficult at times. It’s a complicated situation. Solving it through
special education governmentality isn’t the solution.
—Teacher
Mrs. Johnson must not give up on Charlie yet. If Charlie continues to misbe-
have, Mrs. Johnson could suggest that he take time-outs in the hallway or in
a quiet part of the room until he regains control of himself. Another alterna-
tive is to have Charlie meet with a counselor once a week to talk about his
feelings and discuss his positive or negative behaviors. Or maybe a posi-
tive reward system could be implemented so that Charlie can earn points
based on predetermined tasks or behaviors that are attainable for Charlie
every day. At the end of the week, depending on how many points he
earns, Charlie can get some kind of predetermined reward. This way
Charlie has something to work toward and to be excited about each week.
Not only might this motivate Charlie to start behaving properly, it will
build a relationship between Mrs. Johnson and Charlie. The plan can be
created with Charlie, his mom, Amy, and Mrs. Johnson so that everyone is
aware of the expectations and so that Charlie is in agreement with them.
Mrs. Johnson should familiarize herself with Charlie’s environment and

culture, then document her interaction with Charlie versus a “good student.”
I’d ask Mrs. Johnson to try treating Charlie and perhaps the whole class like
gifted and talented students. She needs to provide her students with choices,
build on students’ interests, offer them a highly kinesthetic environment,
and challenge her students to use high-level reasoning skills.
—Teacher
Classroom Dynamics
Nearly all of the respondents saw this case at least partly as a behavior man-
agement problem, one that is made even more difficult in particularly large
schools with large class sizes, such as 25–35 children. Students come to
class with varied cultural backgrounds and learning styles. It is very hard for
meaningful teaching and learning to take place when the group is stalled be-
cause of one individual student’s behavior, behavior that may be acceptable,
appropriate, or easily overlooked in another setting but is terribly distract-
ing in the classroom. Although the first three of the following comments
criticize the teacher, several respondents offer more positive suggestions.
The classroom teacher needs help with teaching Charlie in an appropriate

manner. He does not belong in a special education class. His classroom teacher
needs some new ideas and strategies for assisting Charlie with learning and in-
teracting in the classroom.
—University Administrator
My reaction to this case is one of concern. I feel this is not an effective

teacher; she has a definite problem with certain races and she can’t see past
the color issue here. Charlie should have been moved out of her class and
somewhere where he would not always be in trouble. I feel Charlie was act-
ing up because he knew he could push a button. Charlie doesn’t have a male
role model and he’s at a school where the “racial balance” is not what he’s
used to.
—Teacher
We all have many [kids like this] in our classrooms and skin color is not
necessarily an indicator. However, Mrs. J has already made up her mind
that Charlie is a failure. Some intervention is needed, with various behavior
modifications explored and firm consequences in place for unacceptable
behavior. Charlie will never fit into Mrs. Johnson’s preconceived mold, but
that doesn’t mean he can’t learn. If he can spend time in another situation
for even part of the day, then teacher will retain her sanity.
—Teacher
I’ve encountered so many so-called “troublemakers” in classrooms where

I’ve taught. Instead of always taking time away from the rest of the students
by reprimanding the Charlies, I’ve tried to enlist Charlie’s attention in more
active roles in the classroom. For example, I’ll ask him to be my helper in
even the tiniest way to teach him that he can be active in a positive way. I
believe that by empowering a person to believe he or she can excel in a
small area we are laying the foundation for achievement in much larger ar-
eas in life. Charlie’s behavior could have been modified by the amount of
attention Mrs. Johnson spent on his good behavior rather than bad. Perhaps
all his troublemaking was a cry for attention (even though it was negative).
If she were to pay greater attention to his acts of goodness, he’d be learning
a valuable lesson in life. So, first of all I’d set the kid up for success, then I’d
commend success. I also think that the teacher needs to rethink why Charlie
behaves the way he does. Talk to him about ways in which he feels he can
be a better student. Come up with a way to discreetly show him when he is
behaving improperly.
Charlie is described as disruptive, nonattentive, hyperkinetic, and loud. These

behaviors aren’t aggressive or destructive, just out of step with teacher’s comfort
zone. Perhaps the first question to ask and share honestly together is, What do
teachers and students need to learn their best? How can the classroom environment
work better for Charlie, the teacher, and all the children? What a wonderful oppor-
tunity this class has to learn about differences and community problem solving for
peaceful coexistence. Removing Charlie from this class would remove the most
vital learning situation that is immediately available.
Although Charlie is clearly acting inappropriately in the classroom, I do not

agree with her decision in alienating Charlie from his class and placing him
in a special education class. Perhaps Mrs. Johnson needs to look deeper into
Charlie’s sociocultural background to see the “factors that shape his think-
ing and influence his behavior.” However, I think that any child, regardless
of race or gender, who may be having academic or social difficulties in
school can be worked with to achieve success and become more self-
motivated. This should be a goal of any teacher, not simply to point out the
deficiencies, but to highlight the successes. This is where teachers need to
adapt their methods to the needs of the students.
School Issues
Some respondents looked beyond Charlie’s classroom to the whole school

environment. One teacher commented, “It appears that Mrs. Johnson and
Mrs. Brown don’t communicate. The principal should have met with both
and tried to collaborate with them over a solution rather than asking Amy
to evaluate the situation alone.” Most focused on the issues of assessment
and teacher professional development, which are closely related because
of the difficulties in making distinctions between bad behaviors and genu-
ine learning disabilities. Such judgments are highly subjective and always
influenced by interacting cultural variables created by race, class, and gen-
der expectations. Teachers, especially those working with multicultural
populations, need to be well prepared.
Assessment
Several respondents zeroed in on the issue of the subjectivity of testing

and voiced concerns that standardized tests are ethnocentric, culturally bi-
ased, and assume a White, middle-class experience. Preconceived notions
of ability could cloud evaluator judgment and produce incorrect diagno-
ses. As one of our readers wrote, “It was very unfair of the principal to un-
load such a task onto a beginning teacher.” Even Amy herself might hold
unexamined biases as her judgment, too, could be clouded by the respect
she holds for her mentoring teacher.
The most important issues in the case are the correct diagnosis of students’
needs, old-fashioned teaching styles that don’t meet the needs of all stu-
dents, and the dual role students are forced to juggle in their academic ca-
reer. Of these, I have been personally struggling lately to better understand

what particular students must go through on a daily basis and how I can
adapt my teaching to their individual needs. One thing that I have learned is
the danger of making assumptions about students or anyone in general for
that matter. There are no concrete answers, and sometimes the best analysis
leads to the realization of inadequacies as an educator and how to work
around that. It is a difficult thing to point the finger at yourself rather than
the child and determine when that is truly and honestly the problem.
The important issues raised in this case are bias against gender and race/eth-
nicity as well as relationships between teachers and parent/teachers. Bias
exists, and when teachers are aware of the bias it opens their eyes to a new
world. I would hope Amy would become more aware of her colleagues and
her own biased views. Perhaps this experience will open her eyes and make
her a better teacher. It also represents an opportunity for teachers to use col-
league and/or parent relationships to determine ways of helping students
have more academic and behavioral success in the classroom.
—Graduate Student
Whose needs are being served? From what I have read it seems like the
teacher’s needs are being served. She would have everything to gain by los-
ing Charlie. I do not want to assume anything because she is White and
Charlie is Black. But I think someone should assess what Mrs. Johnson has
done as a teacher to get across to Charlie. Maybe he should be evaluated by
someone else. It appears that the person who initially tested him was al-
ready biased.
I think that Amy needs to explore Mrs. Johnson’s views . . . for bias. Also,
Amy herself needs to determine if she herself has any bias about Charlie
and his gender/race. Amy must realize Mrs. J may be coming from bias or
preconceived notions about Charlie and his gender and racial background.
An examination of her own views as well as Mrs. Johnson’s might provide
a valuable place for Amy to start. She also must realize that [Mrs. Brown]
may also be coming from a bias as she might be trying to overcompensate
for the bias against race and gender.
Amy is in a difficult position. As a student teacher, Amy’s voice shouldn’t

be the one that determines the fate of a child in her classroom. Her judg-
ment could be clouded by the respect she clearly has for her mentoring
teacher.
I believe this case presents the dilemma that faces every Student Success
Team (as they are called in my district) across the country. Last school year
I served as the SST coordinator in a middle school of 750 sixth-, seventh-,
and eighth-grade students. The question I repeatedly heard from teachers
was, “What am I going to do with this boy who exhibits low skills, lacks
motivation, and is constantly off task and disturbing others?” In my opin-
ion, this case illustrates a challenge that teachers have with boys in general,
and specifically with boys of color. There were very few African American
students at my school. Most of the boys identified by teachers as needing
testing were Hispanic, although there were a fair number of boys of every
ethnicity who elicited teachers’ cries of exasperation. Teachers, just like
Mrs. Johnson, brought boys into the SST process hoping to have them
tested and reassigned to special education classes where the boys would re-
ceive individualized help in small classes with teachers who were trained to
meet their needs. However, very few reassignments were made. The school
psychologist almost always came back to the team with one of three reports:
1. there wasn’t a substantial discrepancy between IQ and performance on
the assessment, 2. the performance on the assessment fell within the normal
range, and 3. the student couldn’t be tested because the assessment instru-
ments were “anglocentric,” but from her observations of the student he was
correctly placed in mainstream classes.
Professional Development
Several respondents addressed the need for professional development with

the aim of understanding the implications of racial, ethnic, and cultural di-
versity for schools and classrooms. Desegregation and racial integration re-
quire work, preparation, support, and training. These school-based issues
should be addressed as a cohesive unit with teachers and administrators
working together: “Teachers like Mrs. J need to be respected, built up and
supported.” Teachers need the information necessary to understand children
of color, including gender and racial biases, becoming conscious of varying
expectations and the consequences of low expectations, and learning the
perils of stereotyping, especially of Black boys. Teachers need to become
familiar with culture-based behaviors and differences in learning styles.
I believe that the biggest issue in this case is that the school didn’t spend
enough time preparing the teachers for the desegregation plan. Mrs. John-
son was asked to make a big transition from gifted program to fourth-grade
classroom. Perhaps this transition should have been accompanied with
some school support and training. Mrs. Johnson has not yet acquired the
tools and information necessary to understand her new students. Regardless
of Charlie’s academic intelligence and behavioral problems, Mrs. Johnson
is clearly struggling with the dynamic. She obviously needs support from
the school. This issue is probably happening in other classrooms too. The
school needs to start a program with its teachers on racial diversity and
identity.
The school district that Amy is in has undergone a desegregation program

that has only recently made the school diverse. Yet, each of these teachers
seems unsure as to where they should turn for advice on these issues. Ac-
knowledging and addressing these issues as a cohesive unit, while allowing
for the unique contributions of individual members, would allow for cre-
ation of a school that is supportive and effective in meeting needs of admin-
[istration], teachers, students, and community.
—Teacher
There’s a dire need for teacher professional development in understanding

the implications of diversity and in building on that knowledge to learn how
to effectively differentiate instruction and curriculum. Professional develop-
ment would help Mrs. Johnson become conscious of the varying expectations
teachers have for their students and the consequences of low expectations.
Also, she would become aware of the tendency to stereotype boys, espe-
cially boys of single parents. Professional development classes should ad-
dress the wide variety of learning styles and help teachers understand that
the appropriateness of certain behaviors varies between cultures. Perhaps
Mrs. Johnson could learn to set realistic goals where students are provided
with the opportunity to succeed, which often translates into self-motivation.
Stereotypes, Assumptions, and the Wider

Community
The salient issue of racial bias was mentioned by several readers—specifi-

cally, as already noted, the sexualized and gendered aspect of racism
against Black boys. Some made proposals to provide cultural instruction
and sensitivity training for experienced and successful educators so as to,

as one reader put it, “shed the dogma of the elitist society they have been
inculcated into.” Stigmas, labeling, and negative self-fulfilling prophecies
related to teacher expectations—all of these practices lead to segregating
students by ability. They thus further reinforce expectations that promote
the very negative attitudes and behaviors the teachers are trying to avoid.
Finally, some felt the issue was much larger than Charlie and his teachers.
One reader said, “Getting Charlie out of the classroom or giving Mrs.
Johnson sensitivity training merely puts a band-aid over the larger under-
lying problem (of anglocentrism, complicity, etc.).” The range of thought-
ful comments suggests that, beyond confronting stereotypes, we must look
at the role of the home and family, along with understanding more fully
the complexities of the culture of schooling.
The key issue here is who should change? Charlie or the teacher? On the
one hand, the system (teacher) should be working to meet the needs of the
child. On the other hand, Charlie has many years of school ahead of him,
and his disruptive behavior will not always be tolerated, especially as he
gets into middle and high school.
The response to Charlie comes from frustration and fear and a desire to
make differences go away. As a teacher working to create equity in schools
and in our culture, we must be very aware of the cultural desire to protect
ourselves and create “others” to guard ourselves from.
—Teacher
Why is there a conflict between White female teachers and Black male stu-
dents? This conversation must be had because there continues to be a hid-
den understanding that for Black males to make it through the educational
system of the United States they must be to a certain extent, emasculated.
Unfortunately, this attitude is also spreading to other males of color as more
and more attempt to complete their education.
All students bring their needs into the classroom. They all have a history
both in and out of the school. And they all deserve an education that is con-
sistent with their own individual needs. Making assumptions and falling
into stereotypes takes away from the learning process.
I’d like to see Amy and Mrs. Johnson contact Charlie’s mother and ask to
make a home visit. After that they could make other visits to his commu-
nity, perhaps with him along to describe things. Mrs. J needs to see first-
hand what life is like for Charlie outside of school.
What voice does Charlie’s mother have in the matter? Does she know her
child is being evaluated to be placed in SPED? Unfortunately, I think that
the teachers are failing to use Charlie’s mother as she seems to be concerned
about her child and could be used as an ally in affecting Charlie’s behavior.
This case sounds all too familiar in an urban school setting. The majority of
teachers in most urban areas are White, while their students are not. The
culture clash is inevitable. However, its not just “White culture” that is at is-
sue. The culture of schooling is ingrained in many of us. Even people of
color hold beliefs about what school is supposed to be like—[for example,]
straight rows, quiet students, etc. These beliefs continue to foster attitudes
about how students and teachers should behave under certain circum-
stances. Many kids like Charlie get caught in the middle.
READER REACTIONS TO “GENDER, RACE,
AND TEACHER EXPECTATIONS”
34
SUMMARY AND ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS 35
This case raises a number of issues involved in the referral, assessment,

and placement practices concerning the education of students whose atti-
tude and behavior in school are considered negative, nonconforming, and
excessively disruptive. Proponents of SPED services argue that the assess-
ment of each individual student referred for services should be conducted
by a nonbiased, multidisciplinary team. As you see in this case, individual
situations are complicated by the confluence of intersecting factors of
race, gender, and socioeconomic status.
Although large numbers of students experience their schooling wholly
or partly outside of the mainstream, there is overwhelming evidence that
low-income, African American male students are disproportionately
placed, and thus overrepresented, in SPED classification categories
(Chinn & Harris, 1990, Harry & Anderson, 1990). Frequently these boys
are referred by White teachers and others who are culturally different from
the students themselves. This case not only raises questions about tensions
between SPED and classroom teachers but also asks us to think deeply
about the preparation of teachers. What preservice and in-service training
models can be instituted to make teachers more sensitive to issues of cul-
ture when it comes to the assessment of students’ classroom behavior and
learning styles? This problem is made worse when the services are inade-
quate.
Some of the questions that arise from this case include:
· What steps can and should Amy take to determine which teacher’s re-
port—Mrs. Brown’s, the SPED specialist’s, or Mrs. Johnson, the class-
room teacher’s—to accept?
· What additional information does Amy need to make her decision?
· What strategies can Mrs. Johnson adopt to manage Charlie’s behav-
ior?
· What are some of the variables contributing to the disproportionate
placement of minorities, particularly African American males, into
SPED?
· What roles might the race, gender, and social class of the three teach-
ers play in this case?
· Why do so many teachers and prospective teachers lack instruction in
SPED?
· How should teachers respond to the widely held concern that some as-
sessment instruments used to determine special needs are gender and
culturally biased?
· What kinds of administrative arrangements need to be in place to fa-
cilitate proper placement of students in special education?
· What kinds of administrative arrangements need to be in place to im-
prove communication between teachers in SPED and in regular class-
rooms?
· How can teacher preparation programs increase sensitivity to and
awareness of the intersection of cultural difference and placement in
academic programs? How can ongoing, in-service, and continuing
education programs do the same for veteran teachers?
CASE 3: “WHO GETS HURT?” 37
This case study focuses on the issues of sexual harassment, homophobia,

and teachers’ responsibilities for the way students treat each other in
schools. The events depicted in the case study illustrate how sexism and ho-
mophobia operate and interact with conventional stereotypic expectations
of girls and boys in educational environments. Sexual harassment and bully-
ing diminish many girls’ and some boys’ self-esteem and sense of personal
safety and impede their academic progress. From an early age in elementary
school, many children are also victims of homophobic remarks and behav-
ior. Younger children call each other “sissies” and “tomboys”; high
schoolers use the terms “fag” and “dyke.” A related issue is the degree to
which adults can and should intervene in the dynamics of peer culture,
which many teachers assume is “off-limits” and not part of their job.
Although these issues are usually treated separately, this case study ad-
dresses the ways in which sexual harassment in general, and homophobia
as a specific form, are harmful to students and destructive of school cli-
mates, and what teachers can and/or should do about harassing situations.
Over 80% of high school girls in a recent survey said they had been vic-
tims of verbal sexual harassment, and gay and lesbian youth are reported
to be the most frequent victims of hate violence and abuse (Lipkin, 1996;
Stein & Sjostrum, 1994). To call girls “sluts” in order to ruin their “reputa-
tions,” to fondle them without consent, shows young women that they
have little power in relation to young men. The harassment of gays leads
to isolation, self-hatred, and sometimes even suicide and deprives students
who are unsure about their sexual identity of a means to explore and ex-
press their confusions. More subtly, to call a girl who wears overalls and
no make-up, or who is an accomplished athlete, a “dyke,” or to call a quiet,
studious boy a “fag,” not only deprives gay and lesbian students of their
rights to be who they want to be but also deprives everyone of alternative
positive models of masculinity and femininity. In “Who Gets Hurt?” we
see a teacher wrestling with her growing realization of the pervasiveness
of the problem in her classroom, her school, and her community. Does it
hurt only one student in one class, or is there more at stake to consider?
CASE 3: “WHO GETS HURT?”
Sarah Turner is in her second year of teaching at Elmtown North High

School, which is one of two high schools in a predominantly White, mid-
dle- to lower-middle-class community. She teaches English to 10th and
11th graders. This year her course fits perfectly into the schedule of sev-
eral members of the football team. Sarah is trying to interest them in
Shakespeare and has chosen Macbeth, hoping its violent and suspenseful
plot will keep their attention. Sarah is pretty pleased with the school year
so far, but she worries about this class. A few of the students, usually led
by the team’s fullback, Bobby Angell, seem to enjoy disrupting the class
with distracting comments. Kids whose dress, appearance, or beliefs seem
unconventional bear the brunt of Bobby’s jokes and mean-spirited jabs.
Words like faggot and homo have been fired at a few boys, especially
Frank, a quiet and nervous sophomore who is also enrolled in this class. It
bothers her to see the pained and embarrassed looks on Frank’s face as he
tries to fend off such remarks from Bobby and his friends. Sarah knows that
such behavior occurs elsewhere in the school as well; she has heard other
teachers mention Frank, and not all of them have been sympathetic to him.
A few have implied that he is inviting the teasing by his “wimpy” behavior.
In her class, though, neither the other students nor Sarah have really paid
much attention to this situation so far. Sarah often makes a mental note to
address the issue, but so far she has not interfered, having been mainly con-
cerned with keeping the class in order. She often says to colleagues, though,
“Boy, when Bobby and his gang are absent, it’s a lot easier in there!”
One November afternoon, Sarah observes, from a distance, Bobby and
two other boys approaching Frank in the hallway on their way to class.
Checking briefly to see if they are being watched, the boys surround him
and knock his copy of Macbeth to the ground. The boys begin their taunt:
“Hey, sweeetie, read it to me! Wanna play Lady Macbeth?” Bobby’s
friend Jimmy sneers, “Nah, she’s too tough for him.”
Just then, from the corner of her eye, Sarah sees another class member,
Holly, approach the group from the other direction. Holly is pretty outspo-
ken in class and occasionally tells these guys to shut up when they are
making too much noise in the back of the room. Recognizing that Frank is
cornered and needs help, she now yells, “Cut that out, you jerks!” Hearing
this, the boys’ attention suddenly shifts. Sarah sees a heavy arm go up and
push Holly up against the corridor wall outside the classroom. Sarah heads
angrily toward the group just as the boys make a circle around Holly so
that Sarah can no longer see her. She hears them suggest that Holly play
Lady Macbeth. “Frank can be Macbeth, you can give him a blow job.”
“Yeah, that’ll wake him up, show him what he’s missing.” The boys’
sneers and giggles end abruptly as they notice Sarah coming their way. Af-
ter much shoving, they all tumble into the classroom, Holly pale and
shaken, Frank with his head down, and the other boys looking defiant and
embarrassed. Glancing around, Sarah realizes that the whole class has
heard this interaction. Holly stumbles to her seat, but Frank bolts suddenly
from the room. An eerie silence blankets the class.
Ó
With everyone looking at her, Sarah decides she has to say something.
As sternly as she can muster, she tells the boys that she will not stand for
that kind of language “in my room or outside my room; if you don’t settle
down immediately you’ll each have to come back for detention.” She won-
ders briefly whether they have football practice that day and figures that
they must; either because of that threat or because they are a little chagrined
at their own behavior, they settle down fairly quietly. Holly has put her
head down on her desk, but the rest of the students seem to have let the
moment go, and indeed Sarah is surprised to realize that, like them, she
has heard so many remarks like these that she thinks “maybe it isn’t such a
big deal.” She decides for the moment to go on with the class.
But throughout the class Sarah’s mind is elsewhere. Frank does not ap-
pear again that period, and she is worried. What if he stays out of school?
Doesn’t she have a responsibility to him? What about his parents? Also, what
about Holly? She may not feel comfortable coming back either. During her
free period several hours later, Sarah also finds herself returning to her last
thought, that “it’s not such a big deal because it happens all the time.” Could
it be that that is what makes it a really big deal? “What if we have all become
used to something that is really bad for the kids? Does this kind of thing go
on in other classes?” Sarah decides to talk with some of her colleagues, and
maybe even go and see the football coach later on in the week.
Ó
In conversations over the next several days with many teachers, Sarah
finds out that there is a wide range of opinions on this problem, but she
also notices that everyone has thought about it. Some teachers have had
Frank, or a few other students “like him, you know,” whom they suspect
are gay and “still in the closet.” In a conversation in the teachers’ room af-
ter school that same day she finds that a few, like herself, actually think the
whole school atmosphere has gotten “a little out of hand.” Her best friend
in the English department, Jean Smith, puts it pretty strongly: “This bunch
of football players and their friends think they can run the whole show just
because they’ve won a few games. I’m sick and tired of what they get
away with.” John Franklin, a history teacher, notes that this kind of behav-
ior encourages other boys to pick on kids like Frank and also to pick on
girls, especially shyer and less confident ones. “Some of our kids are really
sensitive, and why shouldn’t kids be allowed to be a little bit different?
Not all guys are aggressive jocks and not all girls want to be cheerleaders,
thank God!” As Beth Marks, another longtime English teacher, concludes,
“It’s not just your classes, Sarah. I think the whole school climate has been
getting worse recently. It’s like no one respects anyone else anymore, not
teachers, not kids, not the community, either.”
On the other hand, other teachers to whom Sarah mentions the issue see
Frank himself, not Bobby and his friends or the school atmosphere, as the
problem. She has a very different conversation from the one in the teach-
ers’ room with a couple of colleagues she meets during cafeteria duty the
day after the incident. “That kid should be able to take a joke”; “he needs
toughening up; that’s what high school is all about.” Moreover, they tell
her the problem is outside their control as classroom teachers. “What are
you going to do about how they talk to each other outside the class? That’s
their turf. I have enough trouble maintaining discipline in my own class-
room.” Or, “Listen, cafeteria duty is bad enough. If I tried to police their
conversations I’d be dead meat.”
Thinking back over the week on Friday, Sarah is surprised at the variety
and intensity of the responses to the issue. She is also a little surprised to
find out that although most of the concerned teachers are women like her-
self, and most of the others are men, not all the men she talked to were
happy about the situation either. On the whole she finds herself torn be-
tween a kind of relief that maybe it isn’t just her own problem after all and
a sinking feeling that now that she has found out about this schoolwide sit-
uation she really ought to do something more. One of her faculty col-
leagues had mentioned that he had heard about a gay and lesbian support
group at nearby Elmtown South High School. But it occurs to Sarah that
although such a group might help certain gay and lesbian youth, it might
not do much about the general atmosphere. She decides that the best way
to begin is to talk to the gym teacher, and see what he thinks of the prob-
lem. Maybe if the football coach, Mr. Silva, could understand how Frank
was feeling, he would make an effort to call off Bobby and his friends. Af-
ter all, she reasons, he has much more influence over them than she does,
and maybe he would have some ideas about what further steps might be
taken. But when she asks the coach about the situation, he says, laughing,
“Those guys are terrible, aren’t they? Just feeling their oats, you know,
and gym is the worst. They are just letting off steam! They like this class,
not so academic and they get to relax a little. What can I do with them?
Hey, they could be a lot worse. When I was their age we gave this runty
kid in our class a really hard time!”
Sarah leaves for home on Friday in real distress, wondering what possi-
ble options she has now. Over the weekend, pondering the conversations
she has had, she decides to begin with a situation she has at least some
control over: her own classroom. After Macbeth the class is going to do a
poetry unit, and now she thinks that this unit could concentrate on “diver-
sity poems”—poetry expressing the voices and perspectives of margin-
alized groups that will include, but not be limited to, gays. She can begin
the unit with a lesson on stereotyping and conclude the lesson by design-
ing with the class a conscious and public policy against harassment of any
kind by any student against another. Why, one of the hurtful stereotypes
she could elicit might be the one about the “dumb jock” football player!
The use of the poetry for “consciousness-raising,” coupled with a firm
classroom ban on prejudicial comments of all kinds, not only would pro-
tect Frank and Holly without singling them out but it would also teach the
whole class an important set of lessons. Meanwhile, Sarah determines to
talk to Frank separately and mention this support group; it will be up to
him whether he thinks it might be helpful.
Although Sarah is excited about these plans, she is still worried about
what she found out about the mood of the school. Perhaps, she says to her-
self, separate incidents like what happened to Frank and Holly can be suc-
cessfully treated on an individual basis when they come up, but perhaps
not. She is glad she is an English teacher and can adapt her own curricu-
lum, but should she also talk to colleagues about some schoolwide pro-
grams or events? What about the school’s reputation with parents and the
community, which, right now, she reflects ruefully, is very happy about
the success of the football team? She begins to wonder how what mes-
sages this community as a whole is sending to its students and how class-
room teachers might begin to deal with these messages.
READER REACTIONS TO SARAH’S SITUATION
42
REACTIONS TO “WHO GETS HURT?” 43
REACTIONS TO “WHO GETS HURT?”
Sarah’s dilemma illustrates the many levels of individual, classroom,

school, and community involvements raised when students who do not “fit
in,” for whatever reasons, are stigmatized by their peers. Responses
ranged from advising Sarah to stick to her curriculum, no matter what, all
the way through to a call for a commitment on the part of the whole com-
munity to confront and transform the atmosphere of the high school. Com-
plex questions arise here over whose responsibility it is to take on such a
charged issue. If a classroom teacher cannot resolve the whole problem in
her classroom alone, does that mean there is nothing he or she can mean-
ingfully do? In terms of the students, beyond the harassment, what views
of appropriate gender roles do they display? What do students’ actions say
about the pecking order in this high school and its relation to gender dy-
namics and the “policing” of gender conformity for all students? Most re-
spondents felt that Sarah had responsibilities both in her own classroom
and beyond, and we have somewhat arbitrarily split the responses into
classroom, school, and community emphases.
Inside-the-Classroom Issues
Most people thought that Sarah needed to intervene in her own classroom,
whatever else she did. Respondents discussed the need to protect Holly as
well as Frank; to discipline the members of the football team; and, most of
all, to create a classroom atmosphere of respect. As for Sarah’s curriculum
ideas, respondents disagreed about their potential efficacy. Here are some
of the issues and questions that arose.
The real world is that Sarah’s job depends on student test scores, so she
must focus on content; hopefully there are counselors who could intervene
and even run sensitivity training workshops and perhaps provide a support
group for Frank. These issues are society’s issues and cannot be swept un-
der the carpet with the chalk dust. This year I had a student, a little boy, who
enjoys knitting, crocheting, and embroidery. I worry about what will hap-
pen to him in middle school. At least he has had a few years of contentment.
Sarah needs to take a close look at her own feelings of homophobia and sex-
ual harassment so that she can develop her own system of addressing such
events. Why do we give so much power to these big bullies? She seems to
be coming to some awareness of the dangers of such activities and lan-

guage, but I find it interesting that she could outwardly ignore offensive re-
marks from one student to another regarding gay people and women. What
would she have done if she had heard one student call another “nigger”?
Would she respond the same way and take so long to come to a solution?
—Teacher
Perhaps the teacher could talk to the class as a whole to determine what
their views on people that are different than themselves and discrimination
are. It was interesting as out of the four cases this was the only case that in-
volved male teachers (some in positive and some in negative roles). The
case also involved the tension between homosexuality and the idea of the
“manly” athlete.
—Master of Arts in Teaching Candidate
Sarah should have done more right when the incident happened, not waiting
several days to figure it out. It is obvious that students do not respect each
other and do not respect their school from the way the teachers talk. That
means Sarah’s job is even more important. She needs to get her students to
start respecting each other in her class. That is the first step before the prob-
lem can be addressed as a whole school.
Sarah needs to address her class first and discuss the problem with the
students involved. She needs to call the parents of Bobby, Frank, and Holly
to make them aware of the situation and to find out more about their indi-
vidual situations. What makes Bobby that way, and is he like that at home?
What do Frank’s parents say about him? Are they concerned about the way
he acts? Is Holly okay? After talking with the parents, Sarah would have an
easier time getting more personal with each of her students. If incidents like
this keep occurring in the class she needs to get more people involved (prin-
cipal, coach, meeting with parents). Her threats need to become actions, and
the insensitivity needs to stop in her classroom.
—Teacher
I believe that letting Holly suffer through this harassment was inconsiderate
to say the least. Sarah should have spoken to Holly privately after class and
apologized for such an issue occurring on campus. Also, she should have
asked Holly if she would like to speak with a school counselor. Holly’s par-
ents should have been called and informed about the occurrence. Maybe
then, Holly’s mother or guardian should have spoken to Holly about what
she was feeling and what she should do the next time the boys or anyone
else harasses her. I feel that Holly was assaulted. She should not be allowed
to harbor feelings of guilt or shame, which sometimes are brought about by

our cultural attitudes and perceptions of “girls who might have had it com-
ing.”
I would have two cautionary thoughts for her as she progresses with her
plans. First, she has made an assumption that Frank is gay and plans to men-
tion the support group. A more open, accepting approach would be to invest
time in getting to know Frank, providing a safe relationship for honest shar-
ing and demonstrating her acceptance. Frank may not be gay. In this story
he has not shared this with anyone. Her attempt at support could easily
backfire and further alienate Frank. Secondly, while the behavior of the ath-
letes in her class is aggressive and damaging, she needs to seek to under-
stand their inner conflicts and fears as well. To break down the “otherness”
means raising awareness and understanding of all the students. This is a dif-
ficult task. For the athletes to become aware of the conditioning provided in
competitive sports and learn to shift their perspectives off the field will be a
challenge. Some positive, successful athletic role models could help here.
Frank represents a tip of an iceberg in terms of dealing with stereotypes
and [dis]respectful language/views in a classroom. Although the case takes
place in the secondary level, some of the issues are involved in all levels.
Sarah needs to make sure that her classroom is a comfortable and a respect-
ful place for students to learn. If students are not comfortable or are not
treated respectfully, then the ability of her students to learn may be dimin-
ished or even lost (as seen through students’ absences due to their discom-
fort). I think that Sarah should go ahead with her lessons and look at stereo-
types (even jocks), but she needs to make sure her objectives are clear to her
students as well as for any parents to see. Perhaps by allowing those stu-
dents who occupy a more popular stereotype to get a taste of the negative
sides of the stereotype, she will be able to enlighten this section of the stu-
dent body.
—MAT Candidate
I think her attempt at doing a unit on “diversity poems” is a great idea. A

lesson on stereotyping is a great way to start, and by the end of the unit she
can hopefully get the students to see what negative affects harassment of
any kind can have on one another. In my mind, if only a few students be-
come more conscious and more accepting of other people’s feelings and be-
liefs, then Sarah will have done her job and been successful. These are great
lessons that no student in Elmtown North High School would waste their
time hearing.
—Teacher
If Sarah decides to start a “diversity poem” unit in her classroom, I think the
students will see right through this, and once again Frank and Holly will
take the brunt of the jokes. Sarah will have to be very skillful in setting up
this activity so as not to draw attention to any student in her class who might
belong to a group.
The key is to engage honestly in the process of exploration of values and

breaking down the concepts of difference. For those whose voices have
been silenced by this aggression, learning to own their voices, to speak their
feelings and thoughts honestly will take much courage and growth of self-
esteem. A poetry unit could be the perfect venue, if approached openly. We
all ultimately learn and change through acceptance from outside and within.
—Middle School Teacher
I like how, as a teacher, she questions ways to address this situation in the
classroom. Her poetry lesson seems a little too rationalistic, and she does
not address institutionalized heterosexism and sexism enough, but her ideas
and questions are a good start. I also like the recognition that remarks which
may not seem like such a big deal may be exactly the things that are getting in
the way of some students learning the academic material. What I found most
interesting was the blending by both students and teachers (including Sarah)
of queer sexuality and deviant gender. What about teaching about the regu-
lation of the (male) gender—along with the subordination of the female sex
(in the role of Holly) and its concomitance with homophobia? This story
can question our own assumptions about sexuality, gender, and queerness.
—Graduate Student
School Issues
Many respondents focused on the necessity for schoolwide reforms, and

some mentioned the 1999 killings at Columbine High School in Colorado
to underscore the need for attention to the problems of students who are
marginalized and scapegoated by their peers. One respondent was specifi-
cally concerned about the effects of a gay and lesbian support group, fear-
ing that such an organization would further stigmatize its members. An-
other linked this case directly to the need for an enforceable schoolwide
sexual harassment policy. Several went beyond the need to protect Holly
and Frank to a wider concern with an atmosphere valorizing the football
team and the hierarchies it represents.
Teachers that Sarah spoke with in the case said they had too much to do just
controlling their classes. They used that as an excuse as to why they didn’t
comment on students’ insults. The fact is that they won’t have control until
students feel safe in their classes, which means they do need to monitor
what is said. While one teacher can’t affect the entire school atmosphere,
she can make her classroom a place that is free of hurtful and derogatory
comments. Also, once she is conscious of the situation, she can make others
aware, as Sarah did. I would hope that in this situation, several teachers
brought their concerns to the administration because they are ultimately re-
sponsible for enforcing what is and is not acceptable in their community.
Sarah was wise to discuss the subject with a wide variety of her col-
leagues. It was interesting that overall it was the women who thought the
students’ conduct needed to be addressed while more of the men seemed
satisfied to just “let boys be boys.”
The fact is that we have all very recently seen a graphic portrayal of what
can happen when harassment goes unchecked. While the incident at Colum-
bine High School is not the norm, it is true that what kids say to one another
is extremely powerful and therefore can be extremely detrimental. As peo-
ple working in the school community, it is essential that we let it be known
and TEACH that mistreating other students physically or verbally is not ac-
ceptable. There need to be consequences for that type of conduct. As teach-
ers or administrators we need to acknowledge incidents where students are
made to feel unsafe. For a teacher to ignore the fact that students in her class
are calling others “faggot” or “homo” during class is wrong. By failing to
comment on that type of incident, she is condoning it.
—MAT Candidate
It would be interesting to trace the various groups in school who are typi-
cally not accepted by their peers. This is especially true due to the recent
events in Littleton, Colorado. How do these students deal with the abuse?
For those who are resilient and succeed despite the taunting, what qualities
or support do they have?
Whether or not Frank is gay, other students are. To bring in a gay and les-
bian support group without initial dialogue and education that supports such
a group, and a safe place in which to talk about these issues, will not be ef-
fective at the least; and at the most, could be dangerous.
A staggering number of gay teenagers commit suicide every year be-
cause of situations like these—where children feel alone, isolated, and bul-
lied, without an avenue to express themselves.
Where is the principal? Where is the disciplinary action against members of

the football team, regardless of who the victims are, their gender, or per-
ceived sexual preference? The message must be sent from administration,
staff, and classroom teachers that these types of harassment cannot and will
not be tolerated. Where are the principal and the leadership in this school?
The school needs to take a position on physical, verbal, and sexual harass-
ment and deal directly with the offenders. I wonder what policies are in
place to protect teachers against the same kinds of harassment, and where
the law stands on protecting the civil rights of students.
The adults at this high school are turning their backs on suspendable, possi-
bly expulsionable, offenses. This is very serious and opens the adults at this
school up to lawsuits filed by the parents of students like Frank and Holly.
Our handbook reads:
“A hate crime is any act to cause physical injury, emotional suffering or
property damage through intimidation, harassment, racial/ethnic slurs or
bigoted epithets, vandalism, force or the threat of force, motivated all or in
part by hostility to the victim’s gender, real or perceived race, ethnicity, re-
ligion or sexual orientation.” Consequences for a hate crime infraction may
include suspension or expulsion, and the police must be notified.
“Suspension or expulsion will be considered when assault, battery, sexual
assault or sexual battery is committed on a student.” The police must be no-
tified.
“Sexual harassment is a form of personal misconduct that undermines the
integrity of academic relationships. No individual, either male or female,
should be subjected to unsolicited and unwelcome sexual overtures or con-
duct, either verbal or physical. Sexual harassment is a major offense which
may result in disciplinary action as well as legal action.” The police must be
notified.
I couldn’t help but think of Columbine High School in Colorado when I
read this case study. The media [have] reported many times about the lack
of behavior expectations for the jocks at the school. It has been implied that
the shooting spree occurred because two disenfranchised boys were tired of
the abuse they had received at the hands of the elitist jocks. This case points
out that the adults at this school have very low behavior expectations for the
football players. The staff needs to immediately address issues of law and
safety among themselves and with the school’s students and parents. Where
are the administrators at this school? They are legally responsible for carry-
ing out the behavior guidelines of the district.
The staff at this school also needs to learn about the negative implications of
stereotyping. Examples of stereotyping behavior:
· Boys won’t be interested in a book unless it is filled with suspense and
violence.
· Quiet, nervous boys are homosexuals.
· Boys have to “feel their oats” and “let off steam.”
—Middle School Teacher
Community Issues
A few respondents situated the high school in the context of wider com-
munity responsibilities and concerns. This community must learn to ap-
preciate and celebrate diversity—including, it is implied, more expansive
views of gender roles; otherwise, reforms in individual classrooms and
even in the high school itself will come to naught.
What should happen next?

· Talk to the principal, guidance counselors. See if anyone else has ideas
or plans in the works. Coordinate with them.
· Ask to have a teacher in-service to discuss how and why the whole
school should and could work together on these issues. If the negative
behavior is pervasive it needs to be addressed throughout the school,
not just in her classroom.
· Teacher attitudes must be heard, addressed, and changed where appro-
priate.
· The collaborative creation of informative handbooks and in-school re-
sources that are made available to students, parents, and the commu-
nity.
· The collaborative creation of service learning projects that will involve
and engage students, teachers, and community in helping to under-
stand, accept, and celebrate the differences of others.
—Experienced Teacher
Sarah may even take a step further in forming discussion groups with stu-
dents, parents, and others of the community in order to deal with or at least
identify the problem which seems to be great in this case’s situation. There
are a number of steps at different levels Sarah can take, and it is up to each
teacher to do what they see as right instead of sitting idly by and tolerating
intolerable behavior.
The harassment which occurred in this case is just one terrible part of the
overall important issue presented in this case. The message that the commu-
nity as a whole gives its students is wrong. The separation must be made be-
tween, say, the performance of the football team and the behavior of the
football team. Of course it can be appreciated if a team does well, but at the
same time they can easily be rightly criticized for intolerable behavior. If a
community is unwilling to act or even simply tolerate disrespectful behav-
ior, then that community has a lot to learn about itself. [When] individuals
take the initiative even at the classroom level, then the community is
brought closer to the solution. However, students not only learn from the
actions of their teachers during school, but also from even observation of
parents and other adults on the larger scale.
—MAT Candidate
READER REACTIONS TO “WHO GETS HURT?”
51
This case raises many issues related to the ways in which schools, al-
though officially fair to and safe for all students, actually reinforce and
even exaggerate the inequalities of the sexual status quo. Sexism and ho-
mophobia take place at the individual, classroom, and school levels, not to
mention in the surrounding community. Many of the respondents spoke to
the need to address issues of stereotyping at the classroom level through
both curriculum changes and rules against students’ offensive behavior
and remarks. A few pointed out that the dominance of the “jocks” needs to
be confronted as well. Others explored the schools’ responsibilities, both
moral and legal, and what changes in school policy are needed to make all
students feel safe. Some mentioned Columbine High School and the need
to challenge the schoolwide dominance of the football team. Finally, a few
noted the necessity to involve the community beyond the school.
Homophobia in schools and its attendant harassment and bullying
weigh heavily on students who might be lesbian or gay. The attitudes of
teachers, peers, and the curriculum often combine to enforce a regime of
silence and ridicule. It is not surprising that gay teens make up a large per-
centage of adolescent suicides. Homophobia and sexism also make the
task of engaging intellectually all their students very hard for teachers.
Teachers, particularly female ones, are themselves vulnerable to sexual
harassment. Gay teachers have a particularly hard time; if they stay clos-
eted they too are lonely and isolated and miss the chance to help each other
and gay students. Yet coming out in many public schools entails real per-
sonal and professional risks.
Furthermore, homophobia makes not only gay and lesbian students, but
also all students who are unsure about their sexual identity, feel unsafe,
isolated, and lonely at a particularly vulnerable time in their lives. Indeed,
homophobia is the basis for much of the “policing” of adolescent gender
behavior that forces both male and female students to behave in stereotyp-
ical and limiting ways. Thus female students learn to dress and act “femi-
nine” in order to attract boys and to be popular with each other, and males
who might develop intellectual curiosity, particularly in “female” sub-
jects, such as English, avoid them or hide their interest. Masculinity comes
to be equated only with athleticism and sports. Ultimately, students are de-
nied diverse and alternative ways of becoming masculine and feminine.
· What are the responsibilities of individual teachers, administrators,

schools, and the wider community in relation to these issues? How
can at-risk students be protected?
SUMMARY AND ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS 53
· Can and should adults ever interfere with peer cultures? Are there
adult-driven school policies that reinforce harmful peer attitudes and
behaviors?
· What school policies must be undertaken to challenge harmful as-
pects of school cultures? How can marginalized students be more
fairly treated, and how can dominant students, such as members of the
football team, be educated and disciplined? How can such reform pol-
icies be implemented?
This case raises complex questions about motives for entering teaching,
the daily choices of classroom life, and the nature of the profession as a
particularly woman’s job. The need for competent teachers continues to
grow, and the range and variety of student needs, skills, and interests have
never been greater. Students are much more likely to come from diverse
ethnic and racial backgrounds and unconventional home situations, and
there are many more pupils with learning difficulties to be accommodated
within the regular classroom. Teachers thus need to understand many
kinds of pupils as well as master increasing amounts of subject matter ma-
terial and curriculum choices. Reform movements in many states are in-
creasing the educational requirements for classroom teachers to “raise the
intellectual standards” of the profession.
On the other hand, although this factor is ignored in the recent reform
statements, the status and pay of teachers continue to rank below those of
most professions, and the majority of teachers remain women, usually
White women. Males recruited into teaching at these levels often receive
extra praise and support for taking on a difficult job. By contrast, young
women choosing teaching are still routinely assumed to be settling for a
second-class career or fall-back option, reflecting their “natural” nurturing
abilities, because the more able may now be lawyers, doctors, or business-
women. Add the cultural, racial, and class differences from their pupils
that many beginners experience as they start their teaching careers, and it’s
no surprise that many wonder why they are there at all. Although many
women of color become teachers, the overwhelming majority of the teach-
ing force is still White. Teachers of color face both similar and different
challenges, and their stories provide examples for others to follow. (See
the Bibliography for works on teachers of color by Beauboeuf-Lafontant,
1999; Delpit, 1995; Foster, 1997; and Ladson-Billings, 1994).
Teaching promises a host of responsibilities and challenges but without
commensurate financial and status rewards. The issue here is not simply,
“Why go into teaching?” It is not enough to have a genuine concern for pu-
pils, or to love children, which is where many young recruits begin. The
case will look at these and other goals, such as intellectual challenge, con-
cern for the wider community, and the desire to make a difference. Through
the soul-searching ruminations of one student teacher, this case raises the
question of what kinds of knowledge, attitudes, and goals are appropriate
for beginners to consider as they make these important career choices. How
do race, culture, social class, and gender influence these decisions?
CASE 4: “A WOMAN’S CAREER?” 55
CASE 4: “A WOMAN’S CAREER?”
Halfway through her student teaching semester, it seems like every morn-
ing Helen Schwartz wakes up in a completely different mood. Sometimes
she is elated at the thought of the day’s lessons and the really good idea she
has just had about finally reaching the students in that fourth-period class.
But sometimes, after a night spent arguing with her father, she wonders
why she is working so hard, why she doesn’t follow up on that Women in
Science program she did last summer, why she is missing half of her se-
nior year, and above all, why she is “throwing away all that tuition when
you could be studying to get into grad school!” On mornings like these she
ruefully remembers her student debt, a debt it seems she’ll never pay back
on a teacher’s salary.
She especially agonizes over these conversations with her parents be-
cause she knows that even though she’s an only child, every penny of tui-
tion has been a financial sacrifice. After all, her father had wanted to be a
doctor and had to settle for being a social worker, and her mother, who ac-
tually likes being an elementary school teacher, has always wanted “some-
thing more for Helen since she is so smart!” As her father has pointed out,
her interest in “changing the world” could be satisfied through science as
well as a teaching career. The Women in Science program, offered
through a local women’s college, was focused around all the research
needed in issues of women’s health, such as breast cancer, fertility, and
menopause. She could make a contribution in any one of those areas, but
instead she has decided to pursue teaching.
Sometimes, as a new teacher, she feels as if she is letting the kids down,
too; she must seem alien to so many of them; one more White teacher who
“doesn’t get it” and can’t seem to get her classes under control. The pupils
come from such different backgrounds than hers, and they are struggling so
hard with her. Some days, she can see on their faces looks of pity, conde-
scension, and impatience as they wait for her to try to establish order and get
something done. “It’s not like you are doing them any big favors,” she mut-
ters bitterly to herself. “They’d be much better off without me around!”
But then, some mornings she is re-energized by her conversations with
Jane Dexter, her education professor, the instructor who had turned her on
to teaching in the first place. Jane had shown her students that the educa-
tion system in this country is and always has been an important arena for
social and historical conflict and change and that schools are one place
where people can still make a real difference. “You don’t have to live in
the sixties, you know, to work for social justice; you just have to be willing
to learn a lot and make a lot of mistakes!” Jane had inspired them all with
stories and examples of teachers who had succeeded with poor, working-
class, and language minority students. “They aren’t ‘different’; you are;
you must learn about their worlds.” Jane had pointed out that someone like
Helen could turn children on to examining the conditions in their own
lives and even to careers in science and could show them all the links be-
tween scientific and social issues. “Environmental issues are really impor-
tant in these urban neighborhoods.”
And the teachers Jane spoke about weren’t only those well-known
models of the heroic teacher, the likes of Jonathan Kozol, or Edward
James Olmos in “Stand and Deliver,” or Robin Williams in “Dead Poets
Society,” all male, whose messianic single-handed charismatic authority
seemed distant and unapproachable. Some of the most effective ones were
actually women, like that teacher Jessica in New York City’s Seward Park
High School, who managed to get many of her low-income seniors into col-
lege (see Freedman, 1990). On better mornings like these, she thinks she
might be able to effect some changes like that in her own future classroom.
Ó
Harriet Tubman Middle School is one of three middle schools in a large
city, about half an hour away from Dawson College, where Helen is a se-
nior biology major and education minor. Helen grew up not too far away
from Tubman, which was built and named in the late 1960s as a magnet
school to help the city integrate its Black, Hispanic, and White popula-
tions. But her suburb was mostly White and, like most middle-class kids in
her own school system, she had taken classes and graduated in an almost
exclusively White environment. Dawson is a fairly prestigious coed lib-
eral arts college whose students come from all over the East Coast; Helen
and her parents consider it an achievement for her to have gone there. At
Tubman, however, Helen has been confronting an entirely new world, one
for which neither her special-education class nor her multicultural-educa-
tion course had really prepared her. The school community is almost en-
tirely working class, and the unemployment level, although not bad for an
inner-city community, is much higher than in the surrounding suburbs. The
student population of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders is 60% Black, 25%
Hispanic, and 15% White. The faculty, however, are almost all White; there
are four African American teachers, but the only Hispanic teaches bilingual
education, and one of the four African American teachers is the special-
education teacher. Each grade is divided into several clusters, each of which
has English and social studies with one teacher and math and science with
another. So Helen really has two cooperating teachers: She teaches general
science to two of Mary Kennedy’s eighth grades and helps Mary’s col-
league, Phyllis Kean, in her social studies classes with the same kids.
One day Helen decides to try to make a concrete connection between
the ecology topics she has been teaching and the students’ real lives out-
side of school. (“This will be a good day; I have a real plan for fourth pe-
riod!”) It is 2 days before spring vacation, a good time to try something
new. Mary has given her the go-ahead to try a complete unit of her own de-
sign after vacation, and she is mulling over several ideas. Yesterday’s news-
paper had an article about water pollution that traced the course of a glass of
water from its origin in a reservoir 60 miles from the city center to its desti-
nation in local tap water, where it is full of pollutants from passing through
so many old and damaged pipes. Maybe the kids could do something on wa-
ter pollution in their neighborhood! She would find out what their interest
level was and be prepared to explore whatever topics came up. Then she
could spend the vacation planning a 2-week unit on the subject.
Ó
At first things go pretty much according to plan. In an unusual begin-
ning for this rowdy and mischievous group, whose raucous challenges to
Helen’s authority are typically led by the girls, the students settle quickly
down to work in their small groups to work with the Xerox packets she has
prepared. But suddenly Marina, a very bright and lively girl, speaks up.
Marina is an important force, as Helen has already recognized; she is inter-
ested in science, is something of a ringleader, and can make classmates
pay attention if she is into the day’s lesson.
Now Marina says loudly, “Listen to this!” She quotes from the article:
“ ‘Our city’s water absorbs iron, copper, and lead from the pipes, produc-
ing yellow water, and elevated lead levels that are dangerous to children.’
Hey, my cousin ate too much lead paint! They tried to sue the landlord and
they didn’t get anywhere! Lousy slumlords. Is it in our water, too?”
Suddenly the room is alive with student comments. Helen tries to inter-
vene and asks them to speak in turn, but to no avail, and she realizes after a
few minutes that this is a moment she has been waiting for—the students
are all really involved in this lesson! She decides to let them just react for a
few more minutes.
“Me, too, we must have the same landlord!”
“My mother went down to City Hall—”
“No one cares about us down there—”

“I don’t care about the water, what about the junkyards?”
“Hell, what about the drug pushers?”
“Wait!” (this is Marina) “I want to find out what’s in our water! Could
we do an experiment? You know, like test some water or samples or some-
thing?”
“Naah, let’s go down to City Hall together—I know my Ma would
come!”
“Stupid, this is science class—what’s that got to do with City Hall? I
wanna find out what’s in the water and the paint!”
There are lots of “Yeah, rights” but an equal number of “Nos” at this re-
mark, and Helen quickly decides to ask the class to think of all the things
they need to know, and what they might do, in order to improve their water
and maybe look at other kinds of pollution in the community. They make a
list on the board, including items like the following.
·
Test the water in a few apartments.
·
Find out who owns this notorious junkyard near the school and get
them to clean it up.
· Clean it up ourselves! (Laughter from the group)
· Take samples of water/soil/paint and test them and write a scientific
report.
· Contact the newspaper to do a follow-up story on lead paint as well as
lead in the water.
Helen is really excited as she makes the list, but there are a few other
comments that she does not write down. Some students, including Marina,
insist that “this is science class, not social studies! We should stick to sci-
ence. I don’t want to go visit the neighborhood, I know enough about that
dump already!” And Helen also hears a few more disturbing points: “She
can’t help us anyway, she’s never even been to the neighborhood”; “Yeah,
she’s probably scared”; “Well she wouldn’t be safe there, right?” (laughter);
“I’m not going to get my Ma to stick her neck out. She’s scared of the land-
lord, he’s always talking about evicting us”; and “I’m tired of outsiders
coming snooping around our house. I ain’t letting anyone in to look at my
paint!”
Ó
It is the beginning of spring vacation now, and Helen has some impor-
tant decisions to make. It’s not that she couldn’t change her mind, she tells
herself, but it seems as if how she decides to spend this week is going to re-
ally make a difference in how she thinks about teaching and even whether
she goes through with it after all. Both her cooperating teachers, not to
mention Jane, have been really supportive in helping her think about the
“water unit.” It’s just that they don’t agree! Phyllis and Jane are both
thrilled about the possibilities for Helen to really learn more about the
community around the school and in a small way to educate herself about
her students’ lives and problems. Even though her student teaching will
end soon, the unit will give her a chance to explore the wider context,
which is vital to understanding her own potential role, not only in the
classroom but also in the school and the community. Said Jane:
You have to show them that you care about them and who they are, and let
them teach you. Then your unit could really mean something. It’s important
to have the chance to meet parents, and you know they never come up to the
school. This ecology unit can really go somewhere, the kids can pick an issue
and publicize it, they can start in our newspaper. They can really make a dif-
ference!
Helen can learn to practice some of her social-activist ideals.

Mary is equally excited, but about the possibilities for teaching science,
particularly to the girls. “These kids are bright. Some of them are really in-
terested in science, and you can encourage that! Look at that Marina. I bet
we could find a lab she could use for those water experiments.” So, thinks
Helen, which way should the unit go? Should she emphasize the commu-
nity part or the science part, or could she do some combination? What kind
of research does she herself need to do? All in one week!
And, to top it off, on Saturday her biology professor, Professor Tong, calls.
We are having a meeting next Tuesday for the students we think have a
chance at grad school. You could spend some time during your break look-
ing over your courses, what you’ve taken, to prepare for the GREs. I re-
member you said you wanted to think about grad school even though you
are student teaching.
When Helen hesitated, Professor Tong had become a little brusque, she
thought: “Don’t throw away this chance, Helen! You’ll get rusty if you
postpone the exams, it will be much harder to take them in a few years.”
During the weekly Sunday telephone call from her parents, she has no idea
what to say to them. Her father reminds her,
Isn’t it about time for you to be thinking about those grad school exams?
Remember how excited you were after that program last summer about go-
ing into public health? I really can’t see why you couldn’t do a lot of good in
that field, community service and that kind of thing, if that’s what you want.
You could really make a contribution, Helen.
Hanging up with a sigh, telling them she will call them soon, Helen
thinks that she really is going to have to make some kind of decision about
her future. What are Helen’s choices in this last spring vacation of her se-
nior year, and what factors in her classroom, her school, her family, and
her own dreams should she think about as she ponders the possibilities of a
teaching career?
READER REACTIONS TO HELEN’S SITUATION
61
REACTIONS TO “A WOMAN’S CAREER?”
Readers of this case focused on two main areas of concern: Helen’s poten-
tial abilities as a teacher of these particular children, and whether she her-
self should become a teacher. Most respondents saw it as an individual de-
cision only, depending on Helen herself; a few, however, saw her dilemma
as reflective of the changing roles of women, the status of teachers in our
society, and the broader implications of a White middle-class teacher
working with children of a different class and culture. It was interesting to
note that this case received the fewest responses of any of our case studies.
Perhaps this was because it was the last case, or because fewer teachers
could relate to it, or because it is a very difficult topic to discuss. Recruit-
ment of teachers, and the responsibilities of the teaching profession, are
once again in the public eye, and there is a range of current ideas about
how to recruit qualified and talented aspirants like Helen and how to retain
them once they start. Respondents suggested many different ways to ap-
proach the issue.
Helen’s Talents and Interests
Some respondents focused on Helen herself, emphasizing the point, in dif-

ferent ways, that teaching takes a special kind of commitment, as “we are
not in it for the money or the panache.” They saw her decision as primarily
a personal one.
Helen and I want to teach because we love the personal contact with kids
and we want to make science interesting to our students. We are not in it for
the money or the panache that comes from a PhD. Science for some under-
graduates is a path to a prestigious career in medicine or research, but to
others it is simply a way of looking at the world, or a language that allows
one to try to communicate with the natural world. She would only regret it if
she didn’t try. Helen will be wonderful at bringing the lives of her students
into discussion and research in science classes.
—Teacher
She shouldn’t be a teacher unless she is fully committed to it. Teaching out
of duty will lead to bitterness. She has to make this decision for herself even
if it means drowning out all the other voices so she can decide.
REACTIONS TO “A WOMAN’S CAREER?” 63
What should happen next? Helen should write her ecology unit and teach it.
This will enable her to make a career decision based on how her unit works
out with the students. There may be both successes and failures, but she will
have some experience implementing her own ideas about what meaningful
teaching and learning really is.
—Administrator
If you feel the pull of a career, you should follow it so you don’t live with the
regrets and “What ifs.” If you realize it’s not for you, you just shift gears and
change directions.
—Former Elementary School Teacher
Helen could combine science and the community through service learning
projects. Related issues:
· This project could last longer and be bigger than one unit.
· She can teach AND go to grad school. It’s done all the time.
· She can work on the public health issues with her students and use
their findings to provide leverage and clout to make needed social
change.
—Experienced Teacher
Teaching: A Woman’s Career?
Other readers brought up the issues of gender and teaching very directly.
Why “waste” a good university education in order to teach, when women
can do other things now? And if Helen were a man, would there be as much
pressure on her? Some respondents took up the implications of the answers
in the previous section to point out that if she is not fully committed, she
should wait. Many start and leave after several years, wasting the resources
put into their training, because of high demands, low rewards, and negative
societal attitudes. A few also noted Helen’s potential influence on her fe-
male students, although one person was not sure this was a good thing. All
the respondents thought her choices here were very difficult ones.
I related to Helen’s dilemma very closely since I also went through some of
the same pressures by friends and family members when I decided to be-
come a teacher. Being the only daughter of eleven children to graduate from
the university at that time and go into teaching seemed like a waste of time
and spent resources to them.
The gender issue is somewhat hidden by the fact that she is an only child
and therefore the attention is on her. If she were a boy, would she be left to
make decisions more independently? Would her father suggest the
women’s anatomy areas for a son going into medicine? Would so many
people feel a need to push their opinions so forcefully at her rather than re-
spectfully suggest ideas? I can’t help but wonder if she would be treated dif-
ferently if she were a he.
I think Helen can make a difference in the lives of her female students re-
garding issues of women’s health. Female students need female science
teachers at some point in time so that they can see how a female can inter-
pret and enjoy subject matter that is so inherently male. Science is not just
logic and knowledge, it is also intuition and emotion, which is something
important to portray to both male and female students.
—Teacher
If she starts by engaging the kids in water analysis, she can consider where
to go with the unit. She can hook Marina, and if Marina becomes excited
enough to pursue a career in science, Helen will have accomplished a tiny
miracle. And where Marina goes, others may follow.
I believe all educators should have some type of alternative career prior to
entering the classroom, especially women. I don’t think it’s fair for women
to try to influence young girls into science unless they know what they are
talking about.
It seems that the prudent thing for Helen to do is to return to the Women in
Science program. If she finds that a career in science is not what she really
wants, she can return to teaching, and will be a much stronger teacher as a
result (maturity with age, and increased content knowledge). By staying in
teaching, she may always wonder, “what if?” I know we need good teach-
ers, but my experience with interns, like the Teach for America folks, is that
they come in, do their 2 years, and then leave to do something else. Yes,
they are great to have for 2 years, but I think about all of the resources (hu-
man and professional development) that are wasted on teachers who just
“dabble” at teaching. Since Helen now has an idea about what teaching en-
tails, she can explore other opportunities and return to teaching if that is
what she really wants.
REACTIONS TO “A WOMAN’S CAREER?” 65
This is a very realistic case. I have heard many of my students complain

about the pressure they feel to choose another career path, yet their hearts
are true to teaching. The two fields of public health and teaching are both
noble career choices for a socially active, conscious young person. It’s a
shame they are pitted against each other here. The old adage rears its ugly
head: It is better to DO science than to TEACH science.
Teaching is a noble profession, yet it is undervalued by society, low pay-
ing, and currently the butt of terrific teacher-bashing. Teaching also has the
reputation of not attracting the best and brightest students. Although I don’t
agree with the father’s approach, I can understand his motivations. Clearly he
doesn’t value teaching, probably doesn’t value his wife’s position as a teacher
(perhaps she was limited in her career choices) and is trying to influence
Helen’s value system as well. It sounds as if she has the “bug,” though; when
you reach students through their interests, motivations, and intellect—wow!
What a rush. Attracting bright students to the profession and making teaching
an equally attractive career choice in a competitive market is a key issue.
Teaching and Broader Issues
Finally, a few respondents brought up the challenges of teaching at a

school where the faculty is almost all White and the students are already
aware of the great inequities in their environment. How can White teach-
ers come to understand their own positions of privilege so as to genuinely
work against their students’ conditions of oppression? Helen’s choice en-
tails a struggle with these issues as well.
Another important issue I see is the cynicism that the students show when
they are trying to figure out the process for their project. This cynicism is a
window into how inner-city children perceive the larger world as uncaring
and against them. Even though they are only 12/13 years old, these students
have already experienced the inequities in their environment.
She really needs to analyze why she wants to be a teacher. Would she be
able to act in ways to change the world in areas outside public education
too? It is also worth exploring further why the faculty at this school is al-
most all White. What societal structures make this so? What can be done to
alter this situation?
—Teacher
There is one struggle which Helen has probably not yet consciously en-
gaged with but perhaps should. This is the struggle between addressing po-
litical goals (which are admirable) and acting like a White savior (i.e., the
great White wealthy teacher who comes in to educate and empower and
raise up and “save” those poor students of color). I believe it is necessary for
teachers to want to teach and help traditionally marginalized students (such
as economically disadvantaged students and students of color); however,
such efforts can reflect a colonialist and patronizing attitude if teachers do
not work against their own privileges and racist/classist ideologies/assump-
tions. Helen, and those who admire or identify with Helen, need to be sure
that they are working against these insidious forms of oppression, lest they
end up harming the very ones they are trying to help.
—Graduate Student
READER REACTIONS TO
“A WOMAN’S CAREER?”
67
Helen’s case may be examined in two major ways, which are related, and
both have to do with her racial, class, and gender position in the school and
in society. First is the gendered nature of the teaching role itself. The fact
that most teachers are still women has many implications, including the
fact that the femininization of teaching continues to make the profession
less prestigious and the related loss of authority and status in the classroom
and the community. Many of the respondents wrestled with these issues,
particularly Helen’s potential contributions as a potential female science
teacher. She can now take advantage of other career opportunities, open to
her as they were not open to her mother, and this new context makes the
choice of teaching as a career even more “suspect” for a bright young
woman. Helen’s pupils do not automatically listen to her; she has to earn
their attention and respect before she can accomplish much, and she has to
come to terms with herself as an authority figure as well as a “nurturer.”
However, as the last respondents pointed out, she also has to decide what
she can uniquely offer these students, both socially and intellectually, as a
White middle-class newcomer to their community. Questions include:
· How can people decide whether to go into teaching as a career?

· How can teaching be made more desirable to young women and men?
· How can teachers learn about cultures unlike their own, learn to un-
derstand the dynamics of their own positions of privilege, and foster
genuine growth in their students through respect for their communi-
ties?
GENERAL RESPONSES TO THE

FOUR CASE STUDIES
Although most of our respondents concentrated on the specific case stud-

ies, a few looked at the cases as a whole. One found that they strongly
evoked aspects of his own classroom experiences. Another suggested that
what all of them had in common was that the teachers postponed immedi-
ate action. She wanted us to keep in mind that interventions in the name of
greater equality, whether in terms of gender, sexuality, race, or ethnicity,
must begin in classrooms with individual teachers. Another pointed out
GENERAL RESPONSES TO THE FOUR CASE STUDIES 69
that teacher preparation must involve unlearning racism and sexism as

well as becoming familiar with pupils’ communities: This is a long and
complex process. Finally, we include a response to Case 2 that we think is
relevant to all four cases. This teacher wonders about the connections be-
tween what may happen in classrooms devoted to equity and what stu-
dents may encounter in a “real world” that remains hierarchical and
unequal. Although pessimistic, this response reminds us that these are so-
cietal issues that do not originate only in schools and cannot be solved in
the educational arena alone.
As a prospective teacher with some past experience working with children,

teachers and all of the social concerns and issues that surround the educa-
tional arena, I read these cases and quickly related them to myself by attach-
ing them to a particular event or experience from my past. I found myself
constantly thinking “yes, I know how that feels,” and “How DO you deal
with that situation?” Each case brought up one or in some cases several is-
sues that I have been struggling with as a teacher. Having just finished a
month long stint as a student teacher at a local summer program, some of
these issues are very fresh in my mind and are things that I have been ac-
tively searching for solutions to or new methods to approach. Having
worked most recently with a class of second and third graders made up of
minority students, predominantly African American, Case #1 and Case #2
stood out in my head as especially relevant to my own experience.
—MAT Candidate
In general, I thought all four cases were marvelous vehicles for introducing
the issues and their associated dilemmas. The ambiguities in each case
should generate lively classroom debate. In particular, I noted that the
teachers in these cases postponed immediate intervention. While that is
probably the norm in real classroom situations, it isn’t the best way to han-
dle these situations. Furthermore, while it may not be ideal to jump into
controversial classroom subjects if you’re not prepared for the resistance
they almost always generate, NOT responding immediately does implicitly
condone “-ist” behaviors and “-isms.” Finally, teachers not only must
model sensitivity to student differences but also must be proactive about or-
ganizing student, faculty, administration, and parent support—because if
they don’t do it, no one else will. Between the Civil Rights Act (’64) and Ti-
tle IX (’72) and today, if we’re still fighting these same battles, then leaving
these issues to the “authorities” hasn’t been effective.
—College Professor
Special education courses and multicultural courses are not providing

teachers with the necessary preparation to work with students of color. So
what else is needed to help prepare future and current teachers to best un-
learn the racism (not to mention sexism, hegemonic philosophy, homopho-
bia, and bigoted characteristics of our society) that continues to eat at our
society but also glues us all together? Teachers of color as well as White
teachers need other preparatory education before entering the classroom
and attempting to learn about the nitty-gritty of the communities that they
are working with.
In the ideal classroom educational equity would be the foundation of every

lesson. Each child’s “cultural currency” would be used to form a bridge be-
tween the learner and the teacher. All children would be taught with his or
her preferred learning styles in mind. This classroom would infuse all learn-
ers not just with content knowledge but with positive self-images and cul-
tural pride. The learning environment would value and celebrate all chil-
dren, and by extension all cultures, races, ethnicities, genders, sexual
orientations, different abilities, and social classes.
Unfortunately, this notion of educational equity can exist only in a uto-
pian classroom. We live in a world that is fundamentally unjust; every par-
ticipant in the learning process is a product of that world. Schools are
merely microcosms of society. The problematic relationship between teach-
ers and students of different cultural backgrounds mirrors the strained race
relations in our society. Should countless students be tossed aside and rele-
gated to the vast wasteland of special education in public schools? Of
course not. Should overworked and underpaid teachers be summarily dis-
missed because they deem these children “unteachable”? Certainly not. The
dichotomy between what is best for the individual student and what best
serves the majority of students is a complicated one. Many teachers teach
classes with 33 students on their rolls. Each of these 33 students comes to
class with varied cultures and learning styles. How can meaningful teaching
and learning take place when the group is stalled each time an individual ex-
hibits behavior that may be appropriate in his or her community but is dis-
tracting in the classroom?
There is no simple answer to this issue. Is special education the only so-
lution for students that cannot achieve success in the regular, sometimes
racist and biased, classroom? Would cultural instruction and sensitivity
training for teachers alleviate the problem? Can we “teach” experienced and
successful educators to shed the dogma of the elitist society they have been
inculcated into? Is it fair to teach all children that they will be valued not de-
spite but because of their cultural difference, when the world simply does
not work that way? When we tailor learning to each child’s needs, then do
GENERAL RESPONSES TO THE FOUR CASE STUDIES 71
we not tacitly imply that the world will always accommodate the child
when the opposite is often true? In an era of celebrating diversity it will be
interesting to see how these children function as adults in the corporate
world that demands uniformity. Are we teaching these children to operate
within the culture of power or to simply operate within their own culture?
—High School Teacher
READER REACTIONS TO THE
FOUR CASE STUDIES
72
II
PUBLIC ARGUMENTS
As the authors of the second book in this series, Culture and Teaching
(Liston & Zeichner, 1996), pointed out, education in most democracies is
a “publically funded, state-supported endeavor. . . . Public schools are
public institutions and as such they are the focus of much discussion and
analysis”—not only at school board meetings but in the community at
large. As we write this, in the year 2000, presidential and other candidates
are making education a top priority in their campaigns. Yet teacher educa-
tion is typically limited to preparing people mainly at the school site and
primarily for their classroom activities. Most teachers are not taught to
think about the implications of what they do in their classrooms for their
schools, their communities, or their country.
As a central issue for our homes, our workplaces, our culture, and our
public sphere, gender equity is a perfect example of a set of concerns that
extend beyond classrooms and schools. Women have made major inroads
into almost every previously male-dominated career and now make up
half of our country’s workforce. Yet they still earn little more than two-
thirds of every male-earned dollar and are responsible for the bulk of
housework and child care, even when they work full time. This so-called
“double day,” the persistence of sexual harassment and domestic violence,
and persisting cultural stereotypes of “the feminine” all show us that more
than 25 years after the failed passage of the Equal Rights Amendment,
women are still “the second sex” in our society, and although these are
73
74 II. PUBLIC ARGUMENTS
problems and barriers For White middle-class women, they are worse for
working-class women and women of color.
These contradictory patterns may also be seen in schools. In 1972, the
same year that Congress narrowly failed to approve the Equal Rights
Amendment, Congress passed Title IX, mandating equal treatment of girls
and boys in all school programs. Ever since then, girls have been in shop
classes and boys in domestic science courses and, perhaps more impor-
tantly, women’s teams have flourished in many sports. Many observers
and participants credit women’s sports for producing several generations
of young women with increased abilities, ambitions, and self-confidence
both on and off the field. On the other hand, as this book has shown, gen-
der (and racial and sexual) stereotyping in the classroom, curricula, and
the school community remains an issue with many facets. Although for-
mal equalities have been set up by Title IX, or the Americans With Dis-
abilities Act, or the Bilingual Education Act, the working dynamics of
gender and other societal inequalities are harder to change. We hope that
the case studies presented in this volume have underlined the complexities
in the way some of these issues are played out, pointing the way to possi-
ble approaches and solutions as well. Our schools are part and parcel of
our society. Because schools both reflect and contribute to the social con-
struction of gender and other cultural norms, so teachers, as individuals
and as colleagues, may be influential in addressing these issues.
In Part I we presented case studies to highlight various dilemmas con-
nected with the topic of gender and teaching. In Part II we take the issues
raised by our cases and respond to, interpret, and articulate them in four
very different fashions. We have purposely tried to compose public argu-
ments that represent existing views, and we have tried to represent a broad
spectrum. We have prepared “conservative,” “liberal-progressive,”
“women-centered,” and “radical-multicultural” public arguments and
have entitled them as follows:
“A Conservative View: Upholding Traditional Values and High Stan-

dards”;
“A Liberal-Progressive View: Education for Equality and Democracy”;
“A Women-Centered View: Celebrating Difference”;
“A Radical-Multicultural View: Gender, Culture, and Societal Transfor-
mation.”
In the conservative orientation we emphasize the maintenance of

women’s important traditional roles in the family and the community and
A “CONSERVATIVE VIEW” 75
on classrooms that stress discipline, character building, and academic

achievement for all children. In the liberal-progressive orientation we fo-
cus on the need for schools to promote gender equality as a central feature
of a democratic and student-centered educational philosophy. Examining
the women-centered approaches has allowed us to look at the qualities of
caring, connectedness, and concern for each other, central values of the
private sphere that are often missing from our educational philosophies
and our classrooms. Finally, the radical-multicultural view emphasizes
gender as a key aspect of multifaceted patterns of societal inequalities and
suggests how schools and classrooms can promote practices that lead to-
ward social change and social justice.
These views not only represent public arguments about gender, teach-
ing, and schooling, but they also capture features of our own ways of look-
ing at the issues. We hope that an examination and discussion of these
public arguments will enable you to make further sense of all the argu-
ments you have read and help you to understand and better articulate your
own views. We doubt that any individual’s views will fit neatly into any
one of these positions. It is most likely that you will find that you share
ideas and opinions with two or even three of the public arguments here. To
that end we encourage you to “enter” as fully as you can into each point of
view, seeking to understand it on its own terms. Then, step back and look
at it again, this time with some distance and skepticism.
After presenting each public argument, we raise additional general and
specific questions and issues. We do not elaborate a lengthy list but en-
courage you, especially in your class discussions and analyses, to explore
these positions further. We do, however, link each public argument to the
cases in Part I. We hope that connection will enable further discussions of
the particular incidents in Part I and the general claims made in Part II.
A “CONSERVATIVE VIEW”: UPHOLDING

TRADITIONAL VALUES AND HIGH STANDARDS
Introduction
We believe that the public schools in our great society are simply not
measuring up to the many challenges they face. Education is and always
has been the primary means to individual improvement and social ad-
vancement in this country. Yet although there is an overwhelming number
of education reform proposals put forward at the local, state, and federal
levels, and more money is being pumped into our schools than ever before,
too many of our children are slipping behind instead. Rather than being
held victim to the multiculturalists’ political agenda, or swept up in what-
ever latest reform fad to come down the pike, educators need to get back to
basics. Schools should be about individual academic achievement, not the
promotion of a victim mentality, particularly in girls and minority group
students. Schools play a critical role in socializing youngsters to our na-
tion’s beliefs and way of life. Our schools must turn their focus once again
to sharing our common knowledge, morality, and truth.
Throughout our history, and until very recently, teachers have both rep-
resented and taught to our children the shared values and individual char-
acteristics that we want to see cultivated in the next generation, namely a
sense of honor, personal responsibility, and a strong moral character. But
today our schools are being taken over by representatives of a host of anti-
White, anti-male, anti-family, and anti-religion fanatics. Chief among
these groups are feminists, who for a long time have overstated the prob-
lems that they see affecting girls in American schools. Their calls to “take
care” of girls, like the calls for multiculturalism, are misplaced, divisive,
inaccurate, and highly political. These efforts do little more than create
havoc in our schools and derail the education process. They offer nothing
in the way of improving individual student achievement and indeed offer
rhetorical excuses in the place of the hard work that is needed for all chil-
dren to succeed.
Family Values
The family is the basic glue of society, providing a primary source of sta-
bility for both individuals and society itself. The feminist agenda is cen-
tered on an attack on the institution of the family and on commonly held
and deeply felt family values. By advocating such radical causes as abor-
tion, cohabitation, homosexual rights, and so-called “alternative life-
styles,” feminists, falsely claiming to speak for all women, seem hell-bent
on unleashing forces that threaten traditional American family life.
The aim of our educational system should be to produce well-educated
women and to support them in whatever career choices they may make,
even if they choose to stay home or pursue traditional jobs and careers,
such as nursing and teaching. However, in today’s politically charged en-
vironment too many girls, particularly those who choose to maintain tradi-
tional roles, feel tremendous pressure from those who would have them
believe that their choices are old-fashioned, self-limiting, and damaging to
the cause of women’s equality. Feminists are selling young girls a bill of
goods. They are told that they can do it all and have it all—wife, mother,
professional superwoman—with no attention paid to the untenability of
such claims or to the dire consequences to society that these promises evoke.
Who will be our nurses and our teachers, and who will stay home with our
children? Girls and young women should be allowed, even encouraged, to
adopt the values, attitudes, and training that will enhance their essential roles
as homemakers, wives, and mothers. These roles are invaluable—they pro-
vide a critical service to American families and to American society.
Teachers should be positive role models in this regard, preparing young-
sters for the important adult roles they must take on. In short, the traditional
division of labor by sex contributes to the social order: Men and women both
have extremely important, but different, contributions to make to our society.
Differences, Harms, and Wrongs
Quite simply, conservatives believe that the feminists’ overemphasis on

gender bias in American schools is wrong. For the last 10 years feminists
have complained that girls are being shortchanged in American schools. The
American Association of University Women report (1992) and its publicity
campaign was carefully designed to frighten families into believing that our
schools are a toxic environment for girls. Schools apparently squelch their aspi-
rations and damage their self-esteem; they are ignored, silenced, and betrayed.
The feminists who perpetuate such dubious claims seek to eliminate what they
call pervasive bias in educational practices. They see this bias everywhere: in
course selection, curricula, testing, even in funding for athletics. They also be-
lieve that, like the girls, teachers too are victims (although they often don’t
know it) who are “oppressed by patriarchy” and thus have subconsciously
internalized the sexism and racism that permeate this culture. Teachers are
harming girls, contributing to their underachievement and low aspirations.
Feminist demands for gender equity have turned our schools upside
down, and to what end? What they fail to comprehend is that girls are not
victims; there is no battle of the sexes other than the one they have manu-
factured for their own gain. In fact, most girls in our schools and in our so-
ciety are doing just fine. For example, despite what feminists want us to
believe, the simple fact is that many girls are not in our upper level math
and science courses because they choose not to be there, not because of so-
called biased school practices or discriminatory guidance counseling.

Why force choices down their throats in the name of a spurious gender eq-
uity? Because there are fewer girls in vocational education programs and
boys in home economics, does that mean that there is a grand conspiracy
to keep them out? Of course not. These choices represent the ways boys
and girls are: their different gender interests and characteristics. These
choices are normal and natural, and are, except perhaps to these radical
feminists, common sense to us all.
At the heart of this debate is the question of whose values will prevail.
Schools should continue to promote the shared common values that have
kept our families and the institutions of our society together thus far. Dec-
ades of research on biological traits and character development show that
social harmony and the cultivation of civility in our youth rests on their
learning to respect each other’s different contributions to our community.
Schools have no business implying that women are “unequal” because
they are not men, or teaching girls or any other minority group of students
to think of themselves as victims. These ideas are dangerous, demoraliz-
ing, and foolish. They have no place in our educational system.
Acclaimed Antidotes
Self-Esteem
The feminists claim that girls in this society feel bad about themselves.
Their low self-esteem is, so the argument goes, a function of their social stat-
us and their continued devaluation. They are said to suffer from a host of
frightening psychological problems, from anorexia, to depression, to self-
mutilating behaviors. Our girls, they claim, are in pain, and our society is to
blame. Perhaps if these feminists would stop making girls feel like victims,
because they ought to become or be treated more like boys, then the low
self-esteem some girls evidence would disappear. Self-esteem should come
from individual advancement, not from group identification. Teaching
children to blame their gender or any other group characteristic for their
own failures does little to promote anybody’s academic achievement.
Curriculum
Beginning in 1992 with the report “Shortchanging Girls, Shortchanging
America,” published by the American Association of University Women,
girls are said to be disadvantaged in our schools (American Association of
University Women, 1992). They say the curriculum is male centered, that
assessments and tests are riddled with gender bias, and that boys are called
on while girls are ignored in school classrooms across the nation. On the
contrary—largely on the basis of this and other questionable data, today’s
classrooms and curricula have become far too politicized for their own
good. A simple perusal of the average high school English class reading
list today tells the sad truth. Gone are the days in which teachers had the
freedom to support and include the “great works.” The traditional classical
canon that has stood us well for generations is slowly being supplanted by
a host of “warrior authors”: anti-White male haters whose bloated claims
of oppression simply confuse our children and obscure the truth.
Girls as Victims
We maintain that when you blame other people for your problems, you
can’t succeed. Whatever happened to personal responsibility? The femi-
nists would have us all believe in their weird and warped conspiracy the-
ory, that men and boys have it all and that women and girls are powerless
and unworthy. Indeed, these people, in their desire to pump up the girls, are
ignoring the very real problems that boys are facing in schools these days.
Fortunately, as Christina Sommers (2000) persuasively argued recently, the
feminist myth is finally unraveling. The evidence is mounting that boys are
the real victims in our schools. An increasing number of studies show that
girls are the group most favored in school, while boys are the ones who suf-
fer most from biased educational practices. Girls do better in language arts
and in the humanities. More girls these days are heading to college than
their male counterparts. Male students, on the other hand, are more fre-
quently referred for disciplinary action, are found more often in special-
education classes, and have much higher school dropout rates.
Our Plan: Academics and Character for All
As should be clear from what we have argued so far, we think that the
main business of schools should be academic achievement, as argued by
Chester Finn (1991), Dianne Ravitch (2000), and others. America’s stu-
dents are behind in basic skills in the lower grades, and more and more of
our high school and college graduates lack exposure to the great works in
literature, history, and philosophy that have made up our country’s heri-
tage. Our workers need thorough training in the skills needed to compete
in an increasingly internationalized workforce, and our leaders need a firm
grounding in the classics of Western civilization. Instead of the steady
progress in these directions we ought to be seeing, building on the

strengths of the past while looking toward a more prosperous and unified
future, our schools have fallen victim to a series of foolish gender and cul-
ture wars. The result: a watered-down curriculum in the name of “multicul-
turalism” and “gender equity” and the substitution of a social agenda and
“self-esteem building” for the much-needed inculcation of basic skills.
In their concentration on the demands of so-called oppressed and vic-
timized groups such as women and minorities, the schools have also ne-
glected their other primary function, which is character development and
moral training. If our schools and cities are falling apart, and if violence,
drugs, promiscuity, and teenage motherhood, not to mention unemploy-
ment, are destroying our families and neighborhoods, then the solution is
to help all our children develop sound moral character, a sense of personal
responsibility, and the qualities associated with successful parenting, gain-
ful employment, and engaged citizenship. Where better than our schools
to begin? We must reject the mantle of victimization, which blames others
for our own problems and does not allow for personal responsibility. In-
stead, both girls and boys should be encouraged, by direction and exam-
ple, to cultivate their own talents and interests as they learn to be con-
cerned about the common good. For girls, if this means becoming a wife,
mother, or teacher, so much the better. It is the social reforms advocated
by feminists, who want to take women away from their traditional roles,
that have been the main force behind the destruction of our nuclear fami-
lies, and this destruction has been one of the major threats to our stability
as a nation. It is time for schools to get back to academic progress and to
character development before it is too late.
Comments and Questions
“The Conservative View and You”

General Questions
1. What aspects of this viewpoint were appealing to you?
2. What aspects do you disagree with?
3. Do any aspects seem familiar from your knowledge of schooling, or,
on the other hand, unrealistic in terms of today’s schools?
Specific Questions
1. How can teachers help children achieve academically without un-
derstanding their different learning styles and working with these?
Doesn’t keeping a common standard for achievement in all subjects,

and helping all students meet that standard, mean treating students
differently?
2. What is the best way to handle the gender differences that do come
up? For example, how would conservatives want to handle unruly
boys, or bullies, or passive girls? Conversely, what should one do
about girls who want to do math, or boys who want to read poetry?
3. What are the specific ingredients of the moral and character training
recommended? In the pressure of time, how can academics and char-
acter training both be accomplished?
In the next few paragraphs we return to the case studies and begin
briefly to analyze them according to the perspective we just outlined. Do
you think our analysis fits how a conservative would view each case?
When you look at the specific case analyses below, do you agree with
them or not? After thinking about these analyses, do you still feel the same
way about the conservative view?
“Sexism and the Classroom”

A conservative might say that Nina should stick to the curriculum, mak-
ing sure that the students are fairly treated, of course, but not actively in-
tervening either in peer group culture or through curricular innovations.
Some would support traditional understandings of gender role activities
and orientations and urge Nina to have “girl” and “boy” responsibilities.
They might argue that they were supporting the “family values” that they
impute to parents in the community. “Boys will be boys and girls should
be girls.” In any case, Nina should be primarily concerned with her stu-
dents’ academic progress; whatever else she does, she should make sure
that all her students learn the basics—reading and writing—and become
prepared for the standardized testing program of the district. It is also im-
portant that these primarily Hispanic students learn about our common
American culture.
“Gender, Race, and Teacher Expectations”

There are a variety of positions taken in the literature on special educa-
tion and in teachers’ practices of student assessment and behavioral man-
agement. A conservative would be most concerned with excellence and
with maintaining academic standards in the classroom. Misbehaving stu-
dents like Charlie should be promptly removed from class, because they
create problems not only for themselves but also for the other students. In-
appropriately behaved students demand the teacher’s attention, which in
effect diverts her energy from the other, more well-behaved children in the
class. On the other hand, some conservatives are concerned about the high
cost of educating groups of children in separate, self-contained, special-
education classrooms. Not only Amy, but the whole school should adopt
more stringent disciplinary and suspension policies and practices to re-
duce the bad behavior of the special-needs students now retained in the
regular classrooms. As for testing and assessment, conservatives would
probably support the use of standardized tests, discounting the validity and
importance of claims regarding bias. How can students’ progress be fairly
monitored and compared without the use of such tests?
“Who Gets Hurt?”

Conservatives would say that Sarah should stick to her individual class-
room rather than making it an issue for the whole school. Sarah should en-
force a strict and comprehensive rule against all kinds of name-calling in
her own classroom, but she should maintain the traditional curriculum and
not let the students’ misbehavior dictate what she teaches. Sarah also
could not and should not interfere with the peer culture of the school be-
yond her class. Although conservatives would be disgusted with the be-
havior of the football team, they would mainly expect Sarah to enforce the
rules of civility and discipline so that her class could get on with learning
the curriculum—in this case, Macbeth—to the best of their abilities.
“A Woman’s Career?”
A conservative would probably argue that teaching still makes a lot of
sense for a woman, as it allows for a combination of work and family life
that still ranks family considerations high. As for the water unit, Marina is
right: Science class is for science, and politics takes away from learning.
Another issue concerns the educational needs and abilities of Helen’s stu-
dents and the opportunity to turn them on to scientific knowledge and
skills. How should she be thinking about her students’ progress? After all,
Helen is a teacher and not a community or social worker, and so the stu-
dents’ intellectual development should be her primary concern. A conser-
vative would have Helen primarily focus on excellent students such as
Marina, regardless of their gender, class, and culture, with the idea of en-
couraging their ambitions to “rise above” and go beyond the limitations of
their backgrounds.
A “LIBERAL-PROGRESSIVE VIEW” 83
A “LIBERAL-PROGRESSIVE VIEW”:
EDUCATION FOR EQUALITY AND DEMOCRACY
Introduction
As U.S. citizens, we believe that all Americans should have equal social,
political, and educational rights and that our public institutions have a
broad responsibility to guarantee those rights to all. Our schools and
workplaces should be places where individuals are encouraged and re-
warded to do their best, regardless of racial, ethnic, disability, age, or gen-
der differences. Unfortunately, our past has bequeathed us a legacy of dis-
crimination and inequality that our laws, public policies, and educational
systems have often reflected and perpetuated. As with other settings, our
schools must become places where all students, boys and girls, are helped
to do their best, where they are treated foremost as individuals, and where
the discriminatory practices of the past have no place.
Schools often fall prey to the political and ideological conflicts of the
larger society, and gender issues are no exception. Conservatives want to
ignore students’ individual needs and concentrate on a “one size fits all”
curriculum based on traditional models of the past. On the other hand,
many reformers, reflecting the cultural and political battles of the 1960s,
want to emphasize the ways in which students are different from each
other because of the societal and cultural groups these students belong to.
Reformers think that girls and boys have special interests and concerns,
which cause them to think and learn differently. Of course there are differ-
ences among students, but the best way to approach these differences is to
begin with students’ own needs and interests as individuals first, and then
build a curriculum and a school community that attends to and fosters both
individual and community growth. This is how we can prepare thoughtful
and informed citizens, both men and women, to work toward a wider in-
volvement in our democratic society.
Gender Equality in American Society
The women’s movement in American history has been through many im-
portant phases, and each phase resulted in significant advances for the po-
sition of women in our country. Today, more than ever before, women en-
joy the same rights and privileges as men in all areas of society. The
contemporary women’s movement, which began alongside of and as a re-
sult of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, was spurred on by the publi-
cation of Betty Friedan’s classic, The Feminine Mystique in 1963. Friedan

argued that women who stay at home with their children suffer from bore-
dom, depression, and a sense that their lives are meaningless: the “prob-
lem that has no name.” The solution, taken up and advocated by organiza-
tions such as NOW, the National Organization for Women, is for women
to gain full access to the worlds of work, politics, and community life as
equal participants with men. Another major event propelling women into
the work world was the 1974 Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, which
legalized women’s access to abortions. Coupled with the widespread use of
the birth control pill beginning in the 1960s, this has meant that women can
now choose when to have their children and how many; the “right to
choose” is an important slogan of the women’s movement.
Congress and state legislatures responded to this newly awakened con-
stituency. Women were included in the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, both of which forbid workplace discrimination on
the basis of race and gender. No-fault divorce laws were passed in many
states. Many businesses instituted child-care programs and maternity leave.
And Title IX, which was passed in 1972, provided for equal treatment for
girls and boys in school programs. The result of all of these reforms has
been an unprecedented participation of women in the labor force, which is
now half women (including both part- and full-time workers). There has
been an increasing number of women in male-dominated professions, such
as medicine and law, as well as in science and engineering. More and more
women are entering the political arena as well.
However, there is still much to be done. The “glass ceiling” still exists
in many professions, and only a few women have become CEO’s or ten-
ured professors in science and engineering. There are still women’s and
men’s jobs—for example, the overwhelming majority of teachers are still
women, although there are encouraging signs of more men showing inter-
est in becoming teachers, nurses, and social workers. Above all, the “dou-
ble day” persists. All women, even those who work full-time, are charged
with the major responsibilities for housework and child care. Also, be-
cause women still make on average only two-thirds of a man’s salary, it is
still more likely that their careers will be more vulnerable to family re-
sponsibilities. In a fully gender-equal society, neither women nor men
would be hindered by lingering sex role stereotyping from pursuing a life
that draws on their individual talents and leads to personal satisfaction and
fulfillment. Our society can only benefit from encouraging all its members
to fully explore a range of options and choices, away from the traditional
limitations of gender.
Schools and Gender Stereotypes
Children learn appropriate gender roles very early, first by the way they
are treated in the family. Parents hold female children facing them, en-
couraging them to relate to the caretaker, whereas they tend to hold boys
outward to face the world. Girls are praised for being sweet and accommo-
dating, boys for being adventurous and aggressive, and boys in particular
are dissuaded from girlish traits. Unfortunately, in spite of the passage of
Title IX, school practices have tended to exacerbate these gender differ-
ences rather than challenge them. Thus, teachers emphasize differences in
the ways that they treat their students. Elementary school teachers give
boys much more attention than they give girls, of both positive and nega-
tive kinds. This is partly because boys “act up” more than girls, but they
are allowed and encouraged to do so: “Boys will be boys.” Sex-typed be-
havior is rewarded, and “drawing outside the lines” is not: Boys are
praised for initiative and imagination, girls for obedience and conformity.
Teachers have “girl” lines and “boy” lines for lunch and recess and sepa-
rate play areas outside. Often the boys’ area is much bigger, as the girls are
expected to play hopscotch and the boys to play competitive games.
Teachers usually discourage cross-gender play, partly for fear that the
girls will get hurt. As for the curriculum, literature texts include many
more male heroes than females, and social studies materials emphasize
male exploits over female lives and experiences. Girls are expected to do
better in reading and languages, boys in math and science.
In the upper grades these patterns persist, with girls traditionally avoid-
ing math and science courses that are, incidentally, required preparations
for many advanced careers. Conversely, girls often do better in English
and foreign languages. The curriculum within these high school courses is
often gender-biased as well, with few female authors in English and few
female topics in social studies and history classes. Teacher–student inter-
action patterns still favor the boys, partly because it is the boys who are
more disruptive in classrooms and thus claim more teacher attention. In
spite of Title IX, many schools and school systems emphasize boys’ sports
at the girls’ expense. The popular boys play football, and the popular girls
are cheerleaders for them. Junior high and high school girl students are of-
ten victims of sexual harassment, although many schools are now institut-
ing sexual harassment policies. Finally, at all levels of schooling, women
are the teachers and men are the administrators. Although there are more
male elementary schoolteachers than there used to be, gender bias per-
vades choices of careers in education. The vast majority of elementary
school teachers are women, and high school teachers tend to be split along
gender lines by subject, with women more common in English and men in
math, science, and social studies. The leadership of most school systems,
principals, and superintendents, is still predominantly male.
Schools and Classrooms for Equity and Democracy
Many feminist writers on the subject of educational reform want to insti-

tute policies and curriculum innovations that would favor the female stu-
dents and protect them from the effects of male dominance in the class-
room and throughout the school. They emphasize girls’ victimization at
the hands of boys, the lack of women’s perspectives in the curriculum and,
above all, the competitive world of the classroom that puts girls at a disad-
vantage. They want to build a more “nurturing” classroom community.
Many conservatives, on the other hand, want to emphasize academic
achievement for both girls and boys, at the expense of individual differ-
ences. They are concerned with high standards for all students and bemoan
reformers who want to make the curriculum more “accessible.” They
think the classics offer the best education for everyone.
We disagree with both of these positions. Although we also advocate
strong sexual harassment policies and high behavioral standards, our phi-
losophy emphasizes equality, not differences, and creating classrooms that
are responsive to all students as individuals. We want to remove the barri-
ers that have kept women and other groups back from full participation in
their education and from equal opportunities to succeed. Thus, we believe
teachers should use a whole range of techniques and pedagogies to draw
all students into active participation, including small collaborative groups
where students with different learning styles can thrive. They should prac-
tice inclusive discussion management techniques so that no one group
dominates day after day. They should confront gender and other forms of
stereotyping through exploring these issues with their students. As Judy
Logan (1993), the author of a book on her own teaching called Teaching
Stories, put it, “In order to keep teaching about gender from falling into the
males versus females trap, I believe it is important to begin by letting stu-
dents focus on their own attitudes, ideas and feelings. Students need to re-
alize their own habits of stereotyping before they can understand them in
the larger society.” (p. 21)
We want to include women’s perspectives in the curriculum, because
we believe that all groups should be represented in literature and in his-
tory, as they are in life itself. In language arts and literature classes, stories
and heroes should reflect a whole range of human and cultural experiences
and topics, including an equal measure of female heroines. In history
class, if the textbook is biased, teachers should bring in materials on girls
and women, famous and otherwise, so that all voices are represented. Ele-
mentary school teachers should become well versed in ways of breaking
down the distances and differences between boys and girls—in the class-
room and on the playground as well. Lines can be formed alphabetically,
not by gender. Students can learn in cross-gender groupings and be given
assignments that place boys in the playhouse and girls in the block area.
Teachers can organize coeducational activities in recess as well.
We strongly advocate programs to bring women and girls up to speed in
math and science, so that they may take advantage of the career opportuni-
ties open to them that were not there before. We urge the development of
women’s leadership in school settings, because female administrators can
be role models for teachers and for students. Title IX must be stringently
enforced, as athletics is a primary setting for the growth in self-esteem
needed for women to compete on an equal basis with men in our society.
Ultimately, it is not that we believe that all children are alike but that we
believe they are different—that is, they are all individuals and have unique
talents and interests that teachers have a responsibility to develop in each
one. Gender stereotypes of any kind interfere with the range of activities
that can spark any child and make him or her interested in learning. We
agree with John Dewey, the father of progressive education in our country,
who believed in creating pedagogies and curricula that are responsive to
the needs of children at different stages of their development and their in-
terests. (See Dewey’s classic book, The Child and the Curriculum/The
School and Society [1902/1956] for a fuller exposition of these seminal
ideas.) When each child brings his or her full self to the learning setting,
then all will learn from each other, all will benefit, and the shackles of gen-
der stereotyping will fall away. Classrooms organized in these ways will
produce both men and women able to take advantage of the full range of
opportunities in our society.
“The Liberal-Progressive View and You”

General Questions


Specific Questions
1. How can teachers work on removing gender and other cultural ster-
eotypes and barriers without focusing on them to some extent? How
can we create a more equal society if we don’t pay specific attention
to the differences that have made us unequal?
2. What is the best way to handle gender differences? Should they be
downplayed in favor of thinking about students as individuals, or
should they be confronted in order to change them?
3. What about academic standards? For example, doesn’t making math
and science “more accessible” to some students mean watering it
down? Isn’t keeping a common standard for achievement in all sub-
jects, and helping all students meet that standard, the real way to show
progress for girls (and others)?
4. How can teachers manage to balance the needs of the individual stu-
dents with the concerns of the classroom community, the school, and
the society?
In the next few paragraphs we return to the case studies and begin
briefly to analyze them according to the perspective we just outlined. Do
you think our analysis fits how a liberal-progressive would view each
case? When you look at the specific case analyses that follow, do you
agree with them or not? After thinking about these analyses, do you still
feel the same way about the liberal-progressive view?

The liberal-progressive perspective would support “equal access” to all
areas of the curriculum and classroom life. Nina should make sure that she
calls on the girls as often as she calls on the boys and that the readings
have an equal number of male and female heroes and heroines. She should
arrange for a variety of ways of putting the girls and the boys together in
learning situations. As for the boys’ resistance, she should prevail against
it on the basis of fairness and equity and not give in to them but rather in-
sist on inclusion of different perspectives in the stories they read. But the
most important goal for Nina is to think of her students as individuals and
to encourage each one’s educational development. That means a delicate
balance between protecting the girls and not squelching the boys too
much, so that all the students can learn.
Liberals would support the idea of trying to manage Charlie’s behavior

within the class, arguing that labeling and separating children from the
regular classroom setting contributes to stigma, shame, social rejection,
and diminished self-esteem. However, they would be concerned with the
other students, too. When a child has been carefully, fairly, and appropri-
ately assessed as being in need of specialized educational services, those
services should be available and well staffed with teachers who have par-
ticular expertise in instructing children with learning and behavior prob-
lems. Liberal-progressives do not challenge the appropriateness of testing
to assess students but believe in the careful examination of standardized
tests for gender, race, linguistic, and cultural bias. Amy’s concern should
always be to balance the needs and potentialities of all her students, seeing
each one as an individual with particular learning needs and capacities.
Sarah should pursue an active classroom policy to protect marginalized

students like Holly and Frank. She should work out general class rules of
fairness and respect with the students and look at her curriculum to make
sure that materials on women, gays, and lesbians, as well as other minority
groups, are included. Many teachers have learned to emphasize famous
women in English and history courses and look for examples of famous
authors, politicians, and scientists who are or were gay and lesbian. Sarah
should also look into establishing a support group for gay, lesbian, and bi-
sexual youth in the school, in order to counter their low self-esteem, con-
fusion, and isolation. After all, much of gay and lesbian students’ oppres-
sion occurs outside of the classroom, and they need a place to be
themselves. Sarah should also, with like-minded colleagues, push to estab-
lish adequate and enforceable sexual harassment policies. They could pro-
mote schoolwide curricular and extracurricular interventions to create a
more accepting community that tolerates difference. There could be as-
semblies and special events to promote diversity.
Liberal-progressives might be in favor of Helen’s taking advantage of
all the new opportunities open to women of her generation. They would
want to see more qualified women in formerly male careers, such as sci-
ence, and would welcome more men in teaching. As for her classroom
choices, advocates of this perspective would embrace an inclusive cultural
pluralism, wanting Helen to stress all the different sides of the water con-
troversy. Another issue concerns the educational needs and abilities of her
students. How should she be thinking about those gifted in science and
those not—girls especially, but boys as well—in relation to her hopes for
them and her concerns about understanding their families and communi-
ties? How should she be thinking about their development as individuals?
Helen should encourage Marina and the other talented students in their
scientific skills, to help them get into the college track in high school. But
her major concern should be for the majority of her students and their in-
tellectual progress in relation to science. She should do all she can for the
girls previously denied access to science and math skill development.
A “WOMEN-CENTERED VIEW”:
CELEBRATING DIFFERENCE
Introduction
We believe that our society and our schools must begin to recognize the
importance of gender differences and give more attention to women’s per-
spectives on the world. In our society, as in almost all others, women and
men have always inhabited different spheres of activity and different
frames of reference. In the preindustrial era, when most people worked at
home, both men and women had important economic roles and family re-
sponsibilities, even though men have always been family heads and con-
trolled the public institutions of church and state. Ever since the Industrial
Revolution, however, the division between the sexes, up until recently, has
widened. Women have been solely responsible for the private sphere of
home, family, and relationships, and men have been responsible for the
public sphere of work, politics, and public affairs. Moreover, women’s in-
ferior place in society and our long association with mothering and child
rearing has rendered us universally vulnerable to male dominance in all
aspects of our lives: from economic and political hegemony to domestic
A “WOMEN-CENTERED VIEW” 91
violence to the manipulative controls over our bodies in the form of re-
stricted access to birth control, media exploitation, and pornography.
Going along with these societal divisions and exploitations have been
sharp differences in men’s and women’s psychological development,
philosophical and moral orientation, and basic attitudes toward life. For
example, men have derived their identities from achievements in the pub-
lic sphere, and women from their relationships with others. Yet because
men have dominated the worlds of work, education, and intellectual life
for so long, it has been their viewpoints and their knowledge that have
shaped the ways we have come to view the world. For example, mothering
is demeaned as a “natural activity” that anyone can do, and competition is
more valued than connections with others.
These dynamics have profoundly shaped our educational system in
myriad ways. Schools have always been places where children are social-
ized into the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that they will need to succeed
in our society—a society where male traits and activities predominate.
Thus schools emphasize competition and individual achievement in the
ways that educational practices are organized and students rewarded. The
curriculum is similarly male centered: Topics in literature and social stud-
ies emphasize male exploits in the public sphere. Teachers, who are pri-
marily women because their particular qualities of nurturance well fit
them to work with children, are prevented from responding to the interests
of all their students, particularly girls, by this overwhelmingly male bias.
Female students are also victims of sexual harassment and male bullying
in classrooms and playgrounds. We believe that curricula, pedagogies, and
school atmospheres all have to change, not only to give voice and support
to female students silenced in educational settings but also, more impor-
tantly, to educate all children in the values of caring, connection, and com-
munity. These values are missing not only from schools but also from all
our public institutions, to their great harm. If we start in our schools, we
can use the qualities and values associated with women to build a more hu-
mane society.
Uncovering the Experiences and Worldviews

of Women
Although many feminists trace the origins of their movement back to The
Feminine Mystique (Friedan, 1963), others begin their stories with the ex-
periences of women as activists in the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War
movements. While men wrote the policy statements, confronted the me-
dia, and led demonstrations, women were in charge of offices, mimeo-
graph machines, and coffee; even when they were the ones who had gone
door to door, listening to constituents and identifying issues, men received
the credit. Helped by the groundbreaking works such as Simone De
Beauvoir’s (1953) classic treatise The Second Sex, women in the early and
mid-1970s began to argue that the oppression of women was older,
deeper, and perhaps more fundamental than race and class oppression, as
it was based on biological connections to childbearing and rearing. While
women were homebound for specific periods of time, men could hunt,
amass property, and make war, as well as making sure that they controlled
women as the mothers of their offspring. Human societies were patriar-
chies, organized around male control of economic resources and political
power.
Delving into the implications of these insights about the continuing op-
pression of women in our society, feminists began to look at a range of is-
sues. Besides working for equal access to education and jobs, they wrote
about rape, domestic violence, and pornography, and they worked for laws
against marital rape, built battered women’s shelters, and began antipor-
nography political campaigns. They also began to challenge the centuries
of male domination of the academic disciplines and the education system.
As feminist scholars looked at the works of women in literature and the
lives of women in history, a growing number began to move away from
the previous narrow focus simply on women’s oppression. They began to
see that one of its chief aspects was the ignoring and demeaning of the ac-
tivities, experiences, qualities, and values associated with women. Why,
for example, are paintings, and not quilting or needlework, considered
great art? Why has the literary canon emphasized the epic and the “great
novel” over the personal essay and the lyric poem? Why does history re-
cord the exploits of great men in the public sphere and not the daily lives
of women and men who make up the texture of our past and present lives?
Taking these questions up in the fields of psychology and moral devel-
opment, scholars such as Nancy Chodorow (1999) and Carol Gilligan
(1982) have argued that women and men have a different, and distinctive,
orientation to the world. Whereas men develop a morality of justice
through their the public sphere activities, women, oriented more to rela-
tionships, are more likely to make moral decisions based on care for oth-
ers. Whereas men focus on rights, women are more concerned with re-
sponsibilities. It is not that one of these orientations is better, but that they
are different; both are needed for society to work. It has been men’s con-
trol over the ways we think about the world that has rendered these
“women’s ways” unnoticed and inferior. It is time, these theorists argue,
for a society that pays attention to the values of caring and responsibility.
We need to build community and relationships rather than simply promot-
ing competition, achievement, and rampant individualism.
Schools and “Women’s Ways of Knowing”
The connections between these ideas and the problems of our schools are
obvious. Whether we look at curricula, or children’s learning styles, or the
value systems in classrooms and schools, the patterns of male dominance
hold sway. Schools, like our larger society, are places where too often
competition is the primary motivator for learning and where achievement
is rewarded according to very limited and limiting standards. Instead of
being able to respond to children as individuals, teachers are often forced
to impose a standardized curriculum on everyone. Because the hard work
of teaching is demeaned by being thought “natural” to women and not re-
quiring much imagination and skill, predominantly male administrators
and curriculum specialists take the power out of teachers’ hands and dic-
tate what and how they will teach. In elementary schools, where obedience
and conformity are often stressed along with competition, girls often do
better academically because they tend to be more docile. Teachers pay
more attention, both positively and negatively, to boys because they tend
to be more active. Nevertheless, elementary school classroom environ-
ments have been criticized as being “too feminine,” as if boys are op-
pressed by their female teachers. Actually, it is the personal relationships
teachers build with students that help mitigate the harsh demands of a stan-
dardized curriculum.
In the higher grades, when sex role stereotypes become much stronger,
girls are at an increasing disadvantage academically. Carol Gilligan has
shown that, beginning with puberty, girls “fall silent” as they try to meet the
contradictory expectations of pleasing others, accommodating male stan-
dards for female attractiveness and docility, and yet succeeding academi-
cally. Not only do the curricula favor and emphasize the perspectives and
achievements of males, but also traditional teaching methods encourage
male participation with their emphasis on Socratic questioning and the
search for the single “right” answer. Pedagogies built on competitive hand
waving silence the quieter students, particularly girls. Mary Belenky, Blythe
Clinchy, Nancy Goldberger, and Jill Tarule, in their book Women’s Ways of
Knowing (1986), suggested that women and girls may learn and think dif-
ferently from men. Whereas males may prefer to engage in argument and
detached analysis, women are more likely to want to make personal connec-
tions to a topic and seek to understand it on its own terms.
The value systems and atmospheres of schools reinforce the competitive
classroom patterns of male dominance. Many teachers, particularly in ele-
mentary classrooms, often strive to create a homelike atmosphere. But the
divisions among students, teachers, and administrators and the imper-
sonality of school cultures run against the goals of people who would
make schools more democratic and responsive to everyone in them.
Schools are hierarchies, and the most responsible people in schools, the
ones most connected to children, have the lowest status and are the most
likely to be women: namely, the teachers. Teachers’ connections to the
children, one reason many go into teaching, are often sacrificed to the dic-
tates of the administration and the local curriculum coordinator. Teachers
are also isolated from each other. Moreover, school cultures also reinforce
student hierarchies based on gender oppression: Football is often the high-
est status activity and the main public face of the high school, and sexual
harassment among students is common and commonly ignored by adults.
Teachers need more control over what and how they teach. They need
time with each other to share their experiences, and they need some say in
how the school functions as a whole.
Women-Centered Classrooms
and Schools for Everyone
We argue that the curriculum content, learning styles and, above all, the
relational values associated with women and their activities and experiences
in the world should form a basis for rethinking our educational systems.
When we look at the lives and perspectives of women, a new world of
knowledge and creativity opens up to us, from the whole range of literary
and artistic achievements, to a rich and complex history, to different per-
spectives on a number of issues. What were women’s lives like on the fron-
tier, as immigrants, as slaves? Did the prospect of leaving children behind
restrain female slaves from running away? If girls are turning off of science
in the second grade, could it be that they are not as enthusiastic about dino-
saurs as boys are? What science topics would appeal to everyone? In the
celebration of Thanksgiving, what were the different activities carried on by
men and women in both cultures? Both sexes can learn the skills of home-
making, just as both can learn woodworking. For many, sex equity seems to
entail opening up boys’ activities to girls, but boys have as much to learn as
girls from encountering a wider world of human experience and from tran-
scending traditional gender role limitations. Indeed, a curriculum built on
human difference opens up cultural, racial, and ethnic diversities as well.
A women-centered approach goes way beyond curricula, however. Stu-
dents have different learning styles, and female students in particular often
benefit from working in collaborative groups and learning from each
other. Girls are often more afraid of speaking up when they do not know
“the right answer”; teachers need to encourage their more tentative explora-
tions toward understanding. In the realms of science and math, some students,
particularly girls, learn more from approaches that are concrete and grounded
in real-world issues, rather than based on memorization of abstract principles,
and again many boys would benefit from such methods. Belenky et al. (1986)
discussed the role of the teacher as “midwife” and explained how teachers
may practice “maternal thinking,” in Sara Ruddick’s terminology.
In maternal thinking . . . the primary concern is the vulnerable child. The

midwife–teacher’s first concern is to preserve the students’ fragile newborn
thoughts, to see if they are born with the truth intact, that they do not turn
into acceptable lies. . . . The second concern is to foster the child’s growth.
Connected teachers support the evolution of their children’s thinking. . . .
Midwife–teachers focus not on their own knowledge (as the lecturer does)
but on the students’ knowledge. (p. 218)
Another issue is teachers themselves. Teaching is a low-status and low-

paying profession, as is the whole field of education, partially because
most teachers are women. Underneath this, however, lies a deep societal
contempt for activities, such as teaching and mothering, commonly asso-
ciated with women. These qualities are deemed to be natural, intuitive, and
inherently feminine, unlike masculine activities, which have to be
“learned” and “mastered.” In reality, teaching, like mothering, is a com-
plex set of skills that must balance nurturing and encouragement with dis-
cernment and detachment. It is time to celebrate the inherent value of the
work that teachers do, work that is women’s work precisely because it is
concerned fundamentally with children’s growth as individuals.
Finally, it is time that our classrooms and schools recognized the inher-
ent benefits, to our schools and to our whole society, of values and quali-
ties long relegated to the private sphere and ignored as irrelevant to soci-
ety’s public activities. Feminist scholars such as Jane Roland Martin and
Nel Noddings have applied their theories of women’s familial and rela-
tional orientation to school settings to argue that these values would help
boys as well as girls grow and thrive in school. Nel Noddings has argued
that schools and teachers should ground their approaches in caring rela-
tionships for children: “The teacher thinks with her students, placing at
their bestowal the benefit of her knowledge, skill and sympathy” (quoted
in Thompson, 1997, p. 327).
Jane Roland Martin (1985) has pointed out that schools prepare stu-
dents only for the productive, and never for the reproductive, aspects of
society. Schools teach children to learn, and sometimes to think, but not
how to feel and respond to each other. In many classrooms, the rules are
based on standards of fairness and equal treatment; few emphasize empa-
thy and listening to one another. Schools teach children how to be public
citizens but not necessarily how to be responsive members of families and
communities. Martin wants teachers to build the qualities of the “3 Cs”—
care, concern, and connection—into their curricula and classroom prac-
tices, and she wants teachers to work with each other to transform school
cultures beyond the classroom. To conclude, whereas liberal feminists
want to remove the barriers from women entering into the public sphere,
women-centered feminists want to bring to the public sphere, and to the
schools, a badly needed emphasis on the connections among people
needed for democracies to thrive. Diversity can be valued only if all mem-
bers of the community are fully heard and learn to care for one another.
“The Women-Centered View and You”
General Questions

Specific Questions
1. How does this viewpoint compare with the liberal-progressive view?

What issues does it raise that liberals seem to ignore?
2. Conversely, about what issues does this viewpoint seem silent? How
would the proponents of women-centered feminism deal with race,
culture, and class differences among women? How about similarities
to men?
3. What about academic standards? For example, doesn’t making math
and science “more accessible” to some students mean watering it
down? What would teachers attached to this viewpoint do differ-
ently in their classrooms and their schools?
Again, we now return to the case studies and briefly analyze them ac-
cording to the women-centered perspective. Do you think our analysis fits
how people with this perspective would view each case? When you look at
the specific case analyses that follows, do you agree with them or not? Af-
ter thinking about these analyses, do you still feel the same way about the
women-centered view?
The proponents of the women-centered view would want to promote

the values of caring, concern, and connection, thought of as women’s vir-
tues, throughout the curriculum and classroom practices. They would want
Nina to have not only girls reading about boy heroes but also boys reading
about girls. Nina should not only make sure that the girls are protected and
represented, however; she should also work on transforming the whole at-
mosphere of the class. Women-centered teachers would be careful about
setting up the whole classroom collaboratively and about getting the chil-
dren to learn habits of responsibility and caring toward one another. They
would be concerned not only about equity and fairness but also about
building the classroom as a warm and supportive learning community.
A woman-centered approach would emphasize the capacity of the

teacher to build a supportive environment in which Charlie and other
students like him could flourish. Such an approach would entail asking
questions about the actions teachers can take in their classroom to reduce
harmful competition and help the other students and Charlie to understand
and care for each other. They would emphasize the development of collab-
orative groups and other changes in the atmosphere of the class to draw in
students like Charlie. They would attend to how to build the classroom
community relationships that would keep Charlie in the class. Beyond the
classroom, they would advocate for policies that promote the most possi-
ble inclusion of special-needs students in the school community.

A women-centered, feminist teacher would want Sarah to create a
classroom policy of fairness and respect. Sarah should also emphasize the
lives and experiences of women and gays in her curriculum materials. She
should work on setting up support groups for gay, lesbian, and bisexual
youth, to counter their low self-esteem, confusion, and isolation and to
give them a community where they could be themselves. Sarah should
also be concerned with the whole school culture. The school should adopt
sexual harassment policies and other measures to enforce an atmosphere
of acceptance and safety for all students. Women-centered teachers would
want to sponsor assemblies and special events to promote diversity and to
organize faculty and staff, as well as students, to support gay and lesbian
students and teachers to feel at ease and safe about being “out.”
Women-centered feminists would want Helen, whatever path she chose,
to keep gender issues in mind—either to focus on women’s health in her sci-
ence career, for example, or to make gender issues and her female pupils a
special concern in her teaching. Women-centered advocates might also
want Helen to use the water unit to look at the gender relations in the life of
the community. In her classroom, she should pay particular attention to the
girls in relation to science topics and make sure her teaching techniques
and curriculum interventions are designed to enhance their participation.
A “RADICAL-MULTICULTURAL VIEW”: GENDER,

CULTURE, AND SOCIETAL TRANSFORMATION
Introduction
The most important challenge teachers face today is to reach children in

terms of this basic understanding: that all children have gender, race, cul-
tural, and class positions; that they live in cultural contexts; and that these
A “RADICAL-MULTICULTURAL VIEW” 99
contexts are shaped by societal dynamics of power and privilege. Teachers

must engage with their pupils, not only as individuals but also as people
with gender, racial, class, and cultural identities. They must build demo-
cratic classroom communities that are grounded in these diversities as well
as emphasize high standards of academic performance. Many of us are
taught to treat children as individuals first, and this is very important. But a
focus on individual potential may obscure the important cultural and societal
sources of many children’s relationships to school cultures and demands. On
the other hand, many advocates of multicultural approaches ignore gender to
focus on race or cultural issues, treating girls and boys from the same culture
as a single unit, whereas feminists, emphasizing gender, ignore other differ-
ences. We think teachers ought to engage with the whole child, build dem-
ocratic classroom communities based on the perspectives the children of-
fer, and confront societal inequalities to help their pupils envision a more
just and equitable society. And indeed, many educators have described
how such approaches can be used in the classroom (see Adams et al.,
1997; Bigelow et al., 1994; Levine, Lowe, Peterson, & Tenorio, 1995).
Our position is in direct opposition to the conservative one. Conserva-
tives think that the problems in our society are caused by its victims,
namely our most impoverished members. Therefore, they lay the blame
for poor public schools on the children themselves. They say schools
should be emphasizing the basics and “high standards,” measured by stan-
dardized tests that judge everyone by a White, middle-class, male yardstick.
As for gender equality, they think that feminists’ demands for equality
would ruin the family. They criticize non-European races and cultures for
their refusal to assimilate to the American way. They want to preserve the
economic and political status quo, whereas we want to change it.
However, we also disagree with major aspects of the liberal position.
Like ourselves, liberals want a more equitable society, where the so-called
“playing field” is made level for all. They are concerned with the ways in
which families and schools engage in sex role stereotyping at early ages,
because stereotypes interfere with girls and boys reaching their full poten-
tial. But liberal and progressive educators focus too much on individual
children and teachers. They downplay gender differences, think the prob-
lem is mainly about stereotypes, and ignore the sex-based power arrange-
ments on which gender difference and inequality rest.
Women-centered theorists are concerned with women’s oppression and
gender difference in ways that liberals are not, but they ignore differences
based on race, class, and culture, as feminists of color such as bel hooks
and Patricia Hill Collins have pointed out (see hooks, 1989, and Collins,
1990). We think diversities of gender, race, and class must be addressed in
the classroom and connected to issues in the wider community.
Indeed, schools and classrooms are great places where children can
learn about the demands and possibilities of living in a democratic society.
Although many of our classrooms and schools are all too homogeneous,
given the social class and racial segregation of so many of our communi-
ties, almost all educational settings represent some varieties, of gender at
least. Teachers working with girls and boys, even from different neighbor-
hoods, can start with the children’s lived lives, exploring how they intersect
and how children may learn from each other. And every teacher ought to go
beyond his or her classroom to introduce students to the richness of other
cultures in this country, as many writers on multicultural education have
shown (see our Bibliography, especially Bigelow et al., 1994; Grant &
Sleeter, 1989; and Schniedewind & Davidson, 1998). Every teacher can use
his or her classroom to address the dynamics of power and privilege in our
society, including racism, sexism, and homophobia (Adams et al., 1997;
Logan, 1993; Wheeler, 1993). Teaching about differences of all kinds
ought to inform one another; indeed, in order to teach well, teachers must
relate to the cultural and gendered features of children’s lives.
Some Essential Facts
At no time in American history has there been such a gap between the rich
and the poor. Most of these are the “working poor,” not the prototypical
women on welfare. They are poor because most blue-collar jobs are in the
low-paying service sector of our economy. Families need two and three in-
comes to make ends meet, so that women have to work; it is low wages,
rather than feminism, that take women away from home and children and
threaten our so-called “family values.” In the educational arena we face
disintegrating public schools in many communities, a loss of public
money and support for public education, and a burgeoning charter school
movement that is threatening to privatize our public school system and pit
different groups of teachers, parents, and children against each other. As
documented by Jonathan Kozol (1992) and others, community and state
funding to support public schools adequately is notoriously lacking, often
because of property tax inequities. Yet the groups blamed are often
women, such as poor women of color who have too many children, female
A “RADICAL-MULTICULTURAL VIEW” 101
teachers who don’t know how to teach, and working mothers who spend
too little time with their children.
Schools, indeed, are places where such prejudices are nurtured.
Teachers, themselves derided in the public consciousness, are encouraged
to see many children as primed for failure; little boys like Charlie who act
up are cast as future gang members, the girls as future teenage mothers.
Through their tracking systems and other practices, schools reinforce
rather than challenge long-standing social class, race, and gender hierar-
chies (Spring, 2000). Such scapegoating conceals the fact that it is not the
children’s or teachers’ fault that schools are falling apart. The educational
status quo rewards only competition and individual achievement, ignores
the societal context that explains the persistence and growth of inequality,
and blames the hardest-hit victims of poor schooling for their educational
failures. We need schools that get appropriate resources and where teach-
ers are trained to teach all the children. Schools in a democracy should pre-
pare students in every kind of setting to work on solving these problems.
Our Plan for Transformation
What do we propose? We want our schools to produce boys and girls, men
and women, who are safe, self-confident, and able to see themselves as
both potentially successful and responsible for making a difference in the
world. For this we need pedagogies and curricula that “center” all chil-
dren, not just those in the mainstream. Teachers, their instructional prac-
tices, and the curriculum materials they use must engage with gender dif-
ferences, as informed by culturally specific gender dynamics, in order to
educate children to understand and celebrate themselves and others. To
these ends, teachers must be culture- and gender-sensitive and be open to
all forms of diversity. They must be aware of their own journeys, their
own struggles, and their own limitations as gendered, raced, and classed
members of our society. As one of our respondents put it, “It is important
to understand our own journey, beliefs, level of sexist (and racist and ho-
mophobic) awareness, and our sense of who we are in the world as we turn
around to teach children to understand themselves as well.”
Teachers need tools for practicing classroom democracy in an atmos-
phere of sensitivity to gender and cultural differences. Although children’s
feelings are important, democracy is not just about letting kids express
themselves but realizing, as in several of our cases, that some students’
behaviors may be unfair to some and may silence others. Teachers need to
establish classroom practices and pedagogies of respect and encouragement
for all pupils. They need to think not only about their children as individuals
but also about how to integrate issues of gender, race, class, and culture as
they intersect in children’s lives. Curriculum materials should analyze soci-
etal inequalities as reflected in gender, race, and class dynamics. Curricula
should reflect the fact that cultural locations and psychological identities are
different for boys and girls within any culture and different across cultures
as well. We need curricula that center all children, enabling them to see
themselves reflected in what they learn. Rather than relying solely on stan-
dardized tests, assessments should be multiple and various, including port-
folios and other examples of students’ original work. Assessments should
reflect the best of what pupils can do and capture the variety of their tal-
ents and achievements in a number of areas.
At present, many school subjects are gender-, race-, and class-segregated,
reflecting and reinforcing societal status hierarchies. In the case of mathemat-
ics, for example, women and members of racial minority groups are routinely
assumed to be incapable of and uninterested in the kind of advanced work
that is a prerequisite for many prestigious occupations. We believe that all
students should have access to all types of subjects, so that girls should be
encouraged in math and science and boys in English and foreign languages.
In each of these areas, pedagogies and curriculum materials should be de-
signed to incorporate students’ varying learning styles and interests so that
these subjects will become relevant and attractive to all students.
Both inside and outside the classroom, we think that teachers should
help their students understand how gender structures kids’ lives in all ar-
eas of school. As educators we need to take on the hidden curricula of gen-
der differences and sexism in the broader school culture. We need to un-
derstand that kids reflect and reproduce the gender and racial–cultural
roles they learn through family, school, and the culture at large. We need
to take on such issues as the toleration of sexual harassment and homopho-
bia, the valorization of traditional masculinities and femininities in the
guise of football and cheerleading, and the way gender and other stereo-
types structure school life and limit kids’ potential. Indeed, a power analy-
sis of these dynamics could be central to the curriculum. How do gender
differences provide a template and a justification for other forms of in-
equality? How do race and gender stereotypes intersect, so that White
girls’ passivity is set against the supposed aggressiveness of Black girls
and all boys? By forcing all kids to deal with such expectations as they ne-
gotiate their identities, such prejudices limit all children’s potential.
CONCLUSION 103
CONCLUSION
Differences of gender, race, class, and culture should be understood as

bases for the strength and vitality of any culture and any community. In
our schools today, they represent differential positions in societal hierar-
chies of inequality. They are used as excuses for why children don’t do
well, and they form the bases for hierarchies within the school, whether in
terms of the tracking system or the grounds for popularity on the play-
ground. Thus schools reinforce inequalities and provide excuses for them,
through a rhetoric of competition and achievement that says success is
only up to the individual.
This situation has to change. Schools and teachers must begin to center
children in curricula, pedagogies, and school cultures. Within the school,
teachers, students, and administrators can work for reforms such as
detracking and heterogeneous grouping, as well as setting up commit-
tees devoted to multiracial and anti-homophobia training and other ini-
tiatives (see Oakes, 1985; Wheelock, 1992). Moreover, schools based
on such principles can also begin to reach out to parents and citizens in
the wider community, who can then begin to see the schools as centers
for community building and renewal. Administrations, school boards,
and social welfare agencies in the wider community should take respon-
sibility for rejuvenating interest and support in our public schools, begin-
ning with pushing for equal district funding at the state level. Our
schools can be places where students learn to understand and value our
tremendous range of gender, race, and cultural perspectives. They can
not only give students practice in creating a truly multicultural democ-
racy but also equip them to envision larger social changes and work for
social justice.
“The Radical-Multicultural View and You”

General Questions

Specific Questions
1. How does this viewpoint compare with the liberal-progressive and

women-centered views? What issues does it raise that these views
seem to ignore?
2. Conversely, about what issues does this viewpoint seem silent? Is
there enough attention to the specifics of gender differences and to
women’s special qualities and strengths? Doesn’t this viewpoint ig-
nore all the progress that has been made in terms of gender equity
and cultural diversity?
3. What about academic standards? How can a curriculum be culture-
and gender-sensitive and still prepare all students to meet common
high academic expectations?
4. What would teachers attached to this viewpoint do differently in
their classrooms and their schools?
Again, we now return to the case studies and begin briefly to analyze
them according to the radical-multicultural perspective. Do you think our
analysis fits how people with this perspective would view each case?
When you look at the specific case analyses that follow, do you agree with
them or not? After thinking about these analyses, do you still feel the same
way about this viewpoint?
Like women-centered teachers, radical-multicultural teachers would be

concerned about equity and caring and would see it as important to call on
all children equally and to create collaborative classroom arrangements.
However, they would want to locate gender inequity within a larger con-
stellation of societal inequalities. They would see gender, race, class, and
culture as interlocking categories of discrimination, oppression, and po-
tential empowerment. Students would learn from all kinds of people in all
types of communities doing all manner of different things, including tradi-
tionally female and male activities. Gender differences would be down-
played in the arrangement of classroom seats, the lines to the bathroom,
the assignments of classroom duties, and so on. A variety of family forms
might be looked at and celebrated, so that the traditional family becomes
only one model. The curriculum would be organized around social and
CONCLUSION 105
community issues, and readings and activities would emphasize the activ-
ist roles of both women and men.
Radical-multicultural teachers would attend to a number of issues

raised in this case. They would identify Charlie’s situation in this school as
exemplifying a whole culture of exclusionary practices encompassing a
set of subjective and highly questionable beliefs about sorting, ranking,
and categorizing students. Race and gender relationships raised in this
case and the problems that arise in cross-racial interactions would also
elicit concern. The examination of the relationships between White
women who are teachers and other teachers of color, as well as between
White teachers and male students of color, show the importance of the in-
tersection of race and gender dynamics in the classroom. Such teachers
would view these relationships as sites of contestation and opportunities
for intervention. Multicultural educators would attend to the need to sensi-
tize classroom teachers, special-education specialists, and administrators
to cultural differences in their student body, introducing programs de-
signed to overcome the lack of accurate information about low-income
minority populations in particular. Current data on the effects of specific
educational practices on non-White children would be critically examined
and shared with other educators in the hope of avoiding the damaging ef-
fects of poor practices. They would familiarize themselves with models
for working with diverse student populations that highlight best classroom
instruction and behavior management practices for all children. Standard-
ized testing would probably raise a number of questions for these educa-
tors. Because culture and gender bias concerns them deeply, these educa-
tors would need to be assured that when standardized tests are used they
have been normed on appropriate populations, with questions drawn from,
and familiar to, the students tested. These educators would probably prefer
the adoption of alternative assessment techniques, such as portfolio as-
sessment and “authentic assessment.”
Radical-multicultural teachers would make sure that general course

themes of oppression, resistance, and societal power relations included
sexuality as well as gender, race, and class, emphasizing the intercon-
nectedness of all these social issues. Outside the classroom, they would be
in favor of support groups for gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth, realizing
that much of gay and lesbian students’ oppression occurs outside of the
classroom. Also, they would push for the establishment of adequate and
enforceable sexual harassment policies. They would want to organize fac-
ulty and staff, as well as students, to support gay and lesbian students and
teachers to feel comfortable and safe about being “out.”
However, for them the issue would be larger than the marginalization of
only gay and lesbian students. They would emphasize schoolwide curricular
and extracurricular interventions to create a more open and accepting com-
munity for everyone. Rather than accepting a sexist, racist, or homophobic
peer culture, they would want to challenge their school and school system to
adopt measures to enforce an atmosphere of acceptance and safety for all
students. To this end, they would want Sarah and her colleagues not only to
protect marginalized students but also to confront the football team and the
school practices and policies that valorize them. Sarah should work for a
school built around the positive celebration of all kinds of diversity and fig-
ure out how to examine and challenge the oppressive power relations that
hinder all marginalized groups from thriving in school.
Advocates such as Helen’s professor, Jane Dexter, would see the

chance for Helen, in becoming a teacher, to be a real change agent in her
classroom and school and to make a direct difference in her pupils’ lives
and in the life of the school community. They would argue that such teach-
ers are rare, unfortunately, and always sorely needed. Helen should ex-
amine the whole range of power relations between the dominant culture
and groups marginalized by culture, race, gender, and class discrimina-
tion. Proponents of this view would ask what Helen needs to know about
the communities her students are from, and about herself, as a White per-
son, when she prepares to work with students different from her. She
must learn to think about her own position as a representative of the
dominant culture, as she simultaneously learns more about theirs.
Finally, proponents of the radical-multicultural position would locate the
students’ progress in science within a wider project of understanding the
ways in which the dominant culture has historically locked marginalized
groups out of science and math. Programs such as Robert Moses’s Algebra
Project help African American and working-class middle schoolers learn
algebra through the mobilization of teachers and parents throughout entire
CONCLUSION 107
schools (Moses et al., 1989). This is a political as well as an educational is-

sue, demanding conscious organization of the resources of the commu-
nity, because mastery of algebraic skills means access to college-track
courses and a whole range of future careers commonly denied working-
class students and students of color as well as young women.
The issues in this case are not black and white; rather, the case is meant
to illustrate the need for female teachers in particular to reflect on the ways
they think they can “make a difference” with students and with a commu-
nity. The case directly attacks the idea that simply “loving children” and
“settling for” teaching over “a real career” can be a basis for this career
choice. There is no other career that more effectively combines intellec-
tual, social, and moral choices and responsibilities and no other that calls
for more reflection—both at the point of entry and all the way through.
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
III
FINAL ARGUMENTS, AND
SOME SUGGESTIONS AND
RESOURCES FOR FURTHER
REFLECTION
THE CENTRALITY OF GENDER FOR REFLECTIVE

TEACHING AND LEARNING: UNDERSTANDING
THE INTERPLAY OF GENDER, RACE, CLASS, AND
CULTURE IN EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS
In this final section we accomplish three tasks. We present briefly the

main elements of our own considered points of view in terms of the public
arguments you have just read. We outline some activities and questions that
should help you think further about the issues raised so far. Finally, we provide
an annotated bibliography that should provide resources for discussion, reflec-
tion, and your own research. Most teachers obviously find valuable features in
all four of the public arguments we have offered. Indeed, most of us, including
teachers, carry around complex and even contradictory views about children,
about schooling, and most particularly about gender issues. One of the most dif-
ficult aspects of our thinking about gender, especially, is that much of what we
think and do comes from largely unconscious assumptions about ourselves, our
gender, and what is appropriate for men and women, boys and girls. Yet all of
us—the authors, our respondents, our readers, and teachers everywhere—act
on both conscious and unconscious ideas when we make decisions in class-
rooms, in schools, and in our own lives. We have chosen our cases, their
responses, and our public arguments partly to try to examine and uncover
some of these ideas that we usually assume without thinking what they
might mean to ourselves and others.
109
110 III. FINAL ARGUMENTS, SOME SUGGESTIONS, RESOURCES
Our own perspective may be summed up by saying that we believe in a radi-

cal social reconstructionist view, probably most like the radical-multicultural
view elaborated in Part II, with admixtures of all the others. Our main concern
is the manner in which larger cultural, social, and political dynamics, in class-
rooms, in schools, and in the wider society harm and distort the education we
offer our children, particularly children of color and working-class and poor
children. Unlike many writers from this critical reconstructionist perspec-
tive, however, we think that gender, too, is a tool for enforcing varieties of
inequalities in schools. Gender interacts with and often exacerbates the
other forms of discrimination and silencing that many children face, and
gender discrimination and prejudices hurt everyone. We want to foster edu-
cational settings that reflect and promote the shared and distinct understand-
ings of people from varied backgrounds. This means different gender posi-
tions as well: gays and lesbians as well as heterosexual pupils and teachers.
There are several reasons for articulating our own views in this way.
Because we put this text together we thought we owed you a more direct
and complete presentation of our own perspectives and assumptions. You
should know where authors—all authors—stand. Because we believe it is
important for you to begin to articulate your own viewpoint, we offer our
understandings as one way to think about the issues of gender and teach-
ing. Our views—like everyone’s, we hope—are evolving and changing
and are by no means identical to each other’s. Although working together
on this book would not have been possible had we not deeply agreed in our
basic orientations, we nevertheless also have different experiences of and
perspectives on all these issues, Janie as an African American educator,
and Frances as a European American one. This volume is part of our ongo-
ing and evolving conversation with each other about these matters.
Another way to think further about the issues outlined in this volume is
to inquire into the world around you. Visits to classrooms, playgrounds,
and athletic fields—anywhere you can see girls and boys living their lives;
or observations in courts, school board meetings, and social service agen-
cies; or analyses of the media and texts: All such explorations can reveal
aspects of the gendered, raced, classed, and cultured world in which we
live. We next outline some activities in the hopes that you will be encour-
aged to try some, inquire, and reflect further.
Education Through the Lenses of Gender
The issues raised by the intermingling of gender, cultural, and racial–eth-

nic issues with education and schooling seem to lack any simple or ready
solutions. Numerous questions come to mind. How does one create a more
CENTRALITY OF GENDER FOR REFLECTIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING 111
equitable and just educational system in a society that we believe is essen-

tially inequitable and unjust? How does one openly explore inequalities in
the classroom when these inequalities will put some children at a persis-
tent disadvantage? For example, how can a teacher emphasize the impor-
tance of including materials by women without admitting that most history
and literature books have been about, and been written by, privileged
men? What should all students experience that is part of our common cul-
ture, if anything, and how can such commonalities be arrived at in a soci-
ety as divided and unequal as ours is today?
It is true that education is behind almost every success story in this soci-
ety, from the tales of the immigrants in the last century to the increasing
numbers of students, especially women, who are making it to college to-
day. At the same time, however, a lot of research has shown that, rather
than being agencies for promoting social equality, schools instead tend to
reinforce, exacerbate, and provide an official justification for the very in-
equalities they are supposed to overcome. Whether through the overt or
the hidden curriculum, traditional gender, race, and class stereotypes pre-
vail. It is the very pervasiveness of these stereotypes and assumptions that
allow people to think of them as desirable and “the norm.” People like
Frank, Charlie, or the female students in Nina’s and Helen’s classes are the
victims. If we began looking at schooling through the lenses of gender
awareness, coupled with attentiveness to race, ethnic, and cultural factors,
we could see schools in a completely different way. Sexist assumptions
and practices, enforced by gender differences and gender expectations,
shape the ways we think about our schools, our teachers, and our children
in schools, and some of these assumptions need to change.
Gender, Teaching, and Teachers
First, what would happen to our ideas and hopes about schools and class-
rooms if we understood the multiple significance of the fact that most teach-
ers are women and that, furthermore, the idea of the teacher in our society is
that she is a woman? (About 80% of our elementary teachers are women,
about 50% of high school teachers are women, and the majority of school
administrators are men.) In the first place, we could begin to see why teach-
ers are poorly paid and devalued by most people. After all, teaching is a
women’s profession, like nursing and, of course, mothering. Many people
believe, without even realizing that they hold this belief, that teaching is
easy and comes naturally to women because of their inborn capacities for
caretaking and nurturance. Therefore, the training that they need is mini-
mal, and the pay they deserve is the same. Indeed, the only real kind of
training teachers need is in their subject matter (the rest is innate). So col-
lege professors, who are of course teachers as well (and are mostly male)
are respected for what they know, not for how well they convey it. One au-
thor commented:
Most accounts of the “good teacher” [don’t take account of any idea of]
professionalism at both ends of the spectrum: the scholar, because his call-
ing is based on his own gifts and passion for the subject; the mother/teacher,
because in her own way she is doing what comes naturally. It is also re-
markable that both extremes of the “good teacher” make any sort of [peda-
gogical] training appear unnecessary. (Miller, 1996, pp. 106–107)
In other words, good teachers are either experts in their field who know
their subject matter, which is what males who dominate the upper grades
and colleges are noted for, or kindly nurturers, which is what women who
dominate the younger grades are noted for.
What are some results of this kind of thinking on our teachers and our
schools? You may be wondering how some people’s prejudices and lack of
understanding of how demanding teaching is, intellectually as well as socially
and psychologically, could actually affect educational policy. Surely the peo-
ple who are in charge of schools know better! But consider the following.
1. Education courses are looked down on by other faculty, students,

and departments, and degrees in education are seen as second-class
degrees.
2. In many schools, the curricula and even the pedagogies are determined
not by the teachers but by districts and curriculum coordinators. Teachers
are not presumed to be knowledgeable and skilled enough to plan cur-
ricula on their own.
3. Chances are high these days you will have to take a teacher test to be
certified. Although in many states the teacher test has items on peda-
gogical issues, in many others only subject matter knowledge is tested.
People with no training in education whatsoever are being recruited
and certified as long as they can pass a subject matter test only.
4. Teachers are the least well paid of any professional group, and none
of the current reform initiatives is addressing this issue.
Perhaps most harmful of all is that if teachers were supported and re-
spected for the work they do then there might be more attention given to
the actual challenges they face in schools. The shocking conditions in ur-
ban schools might come into view: the persisting patterns of segregation
(both between schools and within schools because of the tracking system),
sharply unequal funding, burgeoning class sizes, and inferior materials
and equipment. Indeed, this emphasis on teacher testing as the main facet
of today’s “education reform” initiatives might lead one to think that edu-
cation reform is not about what schools really need; it is about blaming
teachers, who are mostly female, for the failures in our schools. The result
of these kinds of prejudices and policies is that teachers are not given the
support and the training they need to function as thoughtful and autono-
mous experts in helping all their students learn. To see teachers as
“transformative intellectuals,” as the educator Henry Giroux (1998) put it,
is to begin to see how they can bring the necessary combination of intel-
lectual rigor, culturally relevant knowledge, and personal sensitivity to all
their pupils.
Who Is a Good Teacher?
Fortunately, however, there are many, many teachers, as you know, who
have transcended the limitations of the ways that their job has been de-
fined and the ways that the public has been taught to view what they do. It
is central to our perspective to emphasize that in spite of the odds, good
teachers in all kinds of classrooms, all over our country, are making suc-
cessful learning communities for all their students. Such teachers emphasize
not only academic rigor but also the need for supportive classroom commu-
nities where everyone is at home and has something to gain and to give.
They also help their children understand the need to work to make our soci-
ety a better and more equal place: Such teachers have a strong social justice
agenda. Indeed, for teachers of children of color and working-class children,
these three goals are interdependent: To foster academic achievement is to
overturn the overwhelming societal odds against their children.
Let us think again in this context about the qualities associated with
women and female teachers, such as caring, nurturing, and the fostering of
supportive learning communities. It becomes clear that these qualities and
practices are in fact extremely important, but not because they are natural
and instinctive; caring must be learned. And they are not “soft,” not the
“opposite” of, or at another extreme from, academic rigor. Rather, they are
a central quality of a demanding and successful teacher, whether male or
female. As Deborah Meier, a prominent education reformer, put it:
Care and compassion are not soft, mushy goals. They are part of the hard
core of subjects we are responsible for teaching. Informed and skillful care
is learned. Caring is as much cognitive as effective. The capacity to see the
world as others might is central to unsentimental compassion and at the root
of both intellectual skepticism and empathy. . . . Empathetic qualities are
precisely the habits of mind that require deliberate cultivation—that is,
schooling. If such habits are central to democratic life, our schools must be-
come places that cultivate, consciously and rigorously, these moral and in-
tellectual fundamentals. (Meier, 1995, p. 63)
Although critics have often distorted their messages as an exclusively

woman’s viewpoint, feminist authors such as Carol Gilligan, Mary
Belenky, Nel Noddings, and Jane Roland Martin have all argued force-
fully for education in just these qualities and ways of knowing in our
schools and in the conduct of our public life.
In the next section of our perspective-taking we discuss briefly what
kinds of approaches such successful teachers build, but before we do that we
first urge you to read one or more of a number of books that focus on suc-
cessful teachers. These books will not only give you a good sense of how
many and varied they are but also help you learn from their methods, mate-
rials and approaches, and their mistakes! The books in the Bibliography by
Judy Logan, Mike Rose, Gloria Ladson-Billings, Michelle Foster, Carla
Rensenbrink, and Kathleen Weiler are all portraits of such teachers.
What are the approaches that these teachers share? In spite of their dif-
ferences—and they are female and male, Black and White, elementary and
secondary, urban and suburban and rural, experienced and young—they
all firmly believe, in the words of Tamara Beauboeuf-Lafontant (1999),
“that formal education has a responsibility to prepare students to take an
active role in making society truly democratic” (pp. 703–704). It is proba-
bly no coincidence that many of the teachers described in these books are
African American women. As Beauboeuf-Lafontant explained in her arti-
cle on African American female teachers, what is necessary is “politically
relevant teaching”:
Because of the political understanding of education held by these educators,

their actions are sensitive to and supportive of the anti-racism and anti-
oppression struggles of students of color generally. . . . In other words, re-
gardless of their culture of origin, culturally relevant teachers appear to share
an understanding of systemic inequality—that is, the political, economic
and racial structures that disproportionately limit the opportunities of chil-
dren of color. (Beauboeuf-Lafontant, 1999, p. 704)
We believe that this model may fit any teachers who help their children
understand the unequal power relationships in our society, which privilege
some students (such as Whites, middle-class children, and males) at the
expense of others and use their classrooms as laboratories to name, chal-
lenge, and change these dynamics by looking at them directly. For White
children this means introducing the idea of White privilege and the re-
sponsibilities and challenges that go along with this. All teachers can learn
from how the African American female teachers in the traditionally Black
segregated schools that Beauboeuf-Lafontant described worked with their
pupils.
When teachers from the former County Training School talk about their stu-
dents and their day-to-day interactions with them, they frequently described
. . . how they wanted to “make the children believe they were somebody.”
. . . This caring that the students perceived to be at the root of their interac-
tions with the teachers made them feel they could relate to the teachers,
made them want to be like their teachers, and made them believe what the
teachers told them about their potential for success. (Beauboeuf-Lafontant,
1999, p. 711)
These comments resonate with the work of many others as well. Carla
Rensenbrink included the following teacher, a White woman, in her study
of three feminist elementary school teachers. She, too, worked to make her
classroom hospitable to diversity by insisting on challenging the societal
inequalities and prejudices behind gender, heterosexual, and racial privi-
lege. This teacher told Carla:
Gender roles have to break down—you know, girls don’t have to be a cer-
tain way, boys don’t have to be a certain way . . . in terms of gender roles,
never mind of homophobia, that there are a million little suicides that can
happen, you know, like when boys say, “I can’t join chorus because I am a
boy.” (Rensenbrink, 2000, p. 156)
Rensenbrink added,
[This teacher] worked to deal with the gender differences in her classroom
by controlling the atmosphere in which these differences played out.
Working towards a society in which “It’s ok to be who you are,” she insists
that the children in her class deal with and learn from each other’s differ-
ences. She keeps that conversation going. She works to empower her stu-
dents so that they can take their place and speak their mind. (2000, p. 173)
We have included these quotes to show how successful teachers, whether

male or female, combine an ethic of care and a rigorous attention to aca-
demic excellence with a commitment to diversity in the name of challeng-
ing societal inequalities. We think sexist and racist prejudices against
teachers obscure and distort the work they do, allowing schools to further
deteriorate and making the obstacles they face that much greater.
Girls and Boys in Classrooms
How do such teachers accomplish their goals? We now turn to some im-
portant features of the classroom communities that such teachers create for
their students. In the first place, teachers need to be aware of and knowl-
edgeable about their own and their students’ gender and cultural identities
and assumptions. This includes a keen and informed understanding of their
own race and gender positions and the likelihood that, as middle-class pro-
fessionals, they inhabit a privileged status in relation to many of their stu-
dents. Teachers should also become deeply familiar with the communities
their children come from—their parents, their neighborhoods, and the role
of the school in the community. Beauboeuf-Lafontant remarked of the
teachers she studied:
These educators became part of students’ extended families, as they re-

sided, worshipped and worked in the same communities as their students.
. . . Black teachers were able to create home-like atmospheres in schools,
where students experienced a continuity of expectations and interactional
patterns between their homes and schools, their parents and their teachers.
(p. 710)
Looking back on our cases, we see that community and school awareness
and knowledge could be an important factor in our teachers’ approaches to
solving their dilemmas. Nina should learn how the parents of her class as
well as their Hispanic community feel about the issues that come up in her
class; she cannot assume that because she too is Hispanic that she knows
what they think and feel. Amy could find out about Charlie’s family and
the larger context of how Black children are viewed and treated in her
school. Both Helen and Amy must learn to take account of their own racial
privilege. Sarah should take some measure of community attitudes and
learn about the role of the high school in the town. And all of them need to
find allies among their colleagues, to break down the isolation that they,
along with many other classroom teachers, face.
How about inside the classroom? We agree with the conservative posi-
tion that schools must pay attention to character development and citizen-
ship, but we see it in a different way. To us citizenship is about teaching to
build a democratic society, which we do not yet have, not about blind loy-
alty to a common culture based on the viewpoints of the privileged. Charac-
ter development is about helping all children respect each other’s differ-
ences and contributions, both personal and cultural, in the context of caring
and supportive classroom communities. This kind of teaching is not a blind
acceptance of student differences, the kind that simply makes sure that all
cultures are represented on Thanksgiving Day or allows children to act out
because “boys will be boys.” Teachers must also work to challenge the soci-
etal inequalities that operate in each and every classroom, because they op-
erate in the culture. Teachers who are social reconstructionists make sure
the curriculum contains explicit references to inequality and resistance.
For example, Thanksgiving may become an occasion not to exoticize
Indian culture but to explore the historical record in all its complexities
and present-day political struggles. As for gender differences, an example
might be Judy Logan, whom we quoted earlier, whose proactive approach
enlists both boys and girls in a consideration of what gender identities and
differences might mean to them. One day, she had the students close their
eyes and had them imagine being the other gender, with all its benefits and
burdens. In the discussion, she told the girls to listen to the boys, and vice
versa, so that “we can begin to understand what they think being female
(or male) is all about.” For a project on Women’s History Month, Logan’s
students all studied a woman’s life, choosing from a wide diversity of
women from many cultures, including family members. They could
choose any woman but they did have to choose a woman (Logan, 1993,
pp. 10, 22–24). One of the teachers Carla Rensenbrink studied helps her
class design and carry out social action projects, based on newspaper arti-
cles discussed in their daily current events lesson. As in Helen’s water unit,
they learn to pursue their learning outside the classroom. In these examples,
the teachers do not simply allow diverse viewpoints to flourish; they build
diversity and the social analyses necessary to understand the power relations
of various forms of diversity into their curricula from the start.
The dilemmas faced by the teachers in our case studies are common is-
sues in such classrooms, where social and cultural differences are not
swept under the table or repressed but in fact are confronted and dealt
with. Feminist teachers who are social reconstructionists would make such
crises part of ongoing journeys of exploration with their students. To quote
Judy Logan (1993) again:
In each class, I have children with a diversity of interests, abilities, talents

and learning styles. . . . When I think of curriculum, I think of a journey. In
traditional curriculum, everyone is supposed to be on the same journey at
the same time, and the teacher’s role is like that of a sheep dog, trying to
keep everyone together. . . . And I think of feminist curriculum as a journey
that acknowledges that while everyone needs to be moving forward, most
of us are in different places at different times.
Some people are filling out passport applications; some people are tour-
ing beautiful cathedrals and famous monuments; some people are sitting in
cafes having bread and cheese and intense conversations; some people are
learning Japanese; some are homesick, writing letters home; some are put-
ting together their photo albums. The teacher’s role in this vision becomes
one of keen observer. After all, it is inappropriate to speak Japanese to
someone who is filling out a passport application, and it is inappropriate to
hand a photo album to someone eating and visiting in a cafe. (p. 45)
This implies that the football players in Sarah’s class, no less than Holly
and Frank, needed to understand the significance of their social position
and privilege, and it is part of her responsibility to find some tools for them
to do so.
If we didn’t know about such teachers as Judy Logan, and all the teach-
ers that Beauboeuf-Lafontant and others write about, we would think that
our perspective was an unrealistic and utopian one. As it is, we know how
difficult it is to teach in this way but also how difficult and costly it is to
teach as if sexism, racism, and other forms of prejudice and unequal treat-
ment did not exist. In spite of today’s barriers and obstacles, we still think
that it is in the classrooms of individual teachers, helped by allies in their
schools and communities, that our best hopes for building democracy lie.
EXERCISES FOR FURTHER REFLECTION
In the paragraphs that follow we have tried to supplement our written text
with suggestions for different kinds of learning experiences, ones that
might facilitate further reflections on gender and teaching. All of the fol-
lowing exercises involve your powers of observation as well as interpreta-
tion. Many people who look at children, classrooms, and other situations,
whether for the first time or with long association, react and judge on the ba-
sis of an immediate appraisal. Maybe this is especially true in classrooms,
because unlike, say, a juvenile court, all of us have been in classrooms, at
least as students. So it is easy to think that this scene is familiar, that we
know “what is going on.” Similarly, if we look at boys and girls interact-
EXERCISES FOR FURTHER REFLECTION 119
ing, we often think we “get” the scene in front of us; we may see a little
boy grab a toy from a girl and say to ourselves, “Aha! There goes mascu-
line aggression!” But maybe the little girl had snatched the toy away from
him the minute before, when our backs were turned.
Although we are not going to suggest that you can observe without hav-
ing reactions, we do want to suggest that you find ways to record what you
are seeing as objectively as possible, including your own responses at the
time, in such a way that you can return to your initial experiences later. This
is what being a reflective and thoughtful observer is about, and it is a key
feature of becoming a thoughtful and self-aware teacher. What is important
here is to learn how to disentangle our own interpretations from what we
are seeing and the feelings we are having. Other interpretations always ex-
ist for the scenes we observe and the experiences we encounter. Try to jot
down notes on what you are seeing, and when you have noticeable per-
sonal reactions, questions, or interpretations, jot those down separately.
Then, later, you can react to both the events and your initial responses.
Second, the best way to observe any setting is to settle down in it a bit
rather than just “traveling through.” School observations, including those
on playgrounds and sports fields, can be combined with practicum time in
schools. In some other places it might be best to become a volunteer, if
that is possible, if only for 12–16 hrs during the semester. We hope you will
be able to spend some time attempting to understand people and settings
very different from your own. Finally, take these suggestions as just the be-
ginning and think of places and questions you can explore by yourself.
Classroom Settings
Who talks and who doesn’t? Find or design a coding scheme (many are
available) to mark the frequency of children’s responses; it is very hard to
get the actual amount of talking right unless you have some kind of coding
system. Think of some questions to ask about girls’ and boys’ behavior,
including the degree of their interaction with each other. What questions
can you ask about the teacher’s behavior? Who has special needs, and how
are they treated? Finally, examine the curriculum materials, the texts, and
the classroom walls for evidence of gender, cultural, and racial awareness.
School Settings
Observe patterns of gender, race, and class interactions in classrooms, in

the cafeteria, on the corridors. Who “hangs” with whom? How are children
treated by each other? Do you see harassment? Bullying? Cliques? In spaces
where children are allowed to interact more or less freely, what roles do
adults play? Try to observe the same groups of children in different settings
to see if their behavior changes. Make sure you look at boys and girls, White
kids and kids of color. Can you tell anything about social class differences
among the students? What are the grounds for becoming a member of the
“popular” crowd? What happens to students like Charlie at recess? Make
up your own questions. It is key to make your observations over a period
of time, not just 1 day, so that you can see patterns emerging.
Community Settings
Go to sports practices, Little League and soccer games, for both genders.
Make an observation form for player–player interactions and coach and
parent interventions. Compare girls’ and boys’ sports; different age
groups; and urban, suburban, and rural settings. What are the commonali-
ties and differences? Pick a sport you play or used to play; this will help
you understand better what is going on. Go to a local mall and watch the
scene. Pick a few kids to follow. Where do they go, what do they buy,
what do they talk about, how big are their groups? Do their activities vary
by age, by race, by gender?
Community Organizations
There are of course many community organizations, from halfway houses,

homeless shelters, and battered women’s shelters to school boards and
branches of the juvenile court system. Volunteer work in a battered women’s
shelter will teach you more about gender relations than many books on do-
mestic violence. Visits to the school board and juvenile court will show you
how policies toward young people are carried out. It is important before you
visit a school board meeting or a courtroom that you understand the proce-
dures followed; if you go to a school board meeting or meetings, familiarize
yourself with the topics under consideration beforehand.
CONCLUSION
People “do” or “perform” gender, as well as race, class, culture, and many
other aspects of their identity, in every waking moment. Many of the iden-
tities that people inhabit are ignored, demeaned, and stereotyped by the
CONCLUSION 121
operations of our culture on their lives, their opportunities, and their sense
of themselves as people. Schools are a crucial place for the development
of knowledge, character, and citizenship in all our children, and it is up to
our teachers to engage in the “politically relevant” pedagogies to help
them thrive. We hope that this book has helped you to think about these is-
sues in your own life—as a family and community member, as a citizen,
and as a teacher—and to maintain a commitment to all students’ learning.
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The following list includes both works referred to in the text and addi-
tional articles and books we thought might be beneficial. We have ar-
ranged our suggestions by category and have tried to keep the list manage-
able and short. Works marked with an * are those that are cited in this
volume.
General Texts on Education, Women, and Women’s Education
*Belenky, M., Clinchy, B., Goldberger, N., & Tarule, J. (1986). Women’s ways of know-
ing: The development of self, body and mind. New York: Basic Books. The classic work
on women’s different and unique ways of learning, epistemologies, and outlooks on ed-
ucation. Articulates a model of “connected” as opposed to separate knowing.
*Chodorow, N. (1999). The reproduction of mothering: Psychoanalysis and the sociology
of gender (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. How women’s roles as
mothers shape their psyches and help create daughters who themselves “mother.” A
feminist view of Freudian theory.
Collins, P. H. (1990). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness and the politics of
empowerment. Boston: Unwin Hyman. Black women’s unique ways of knowing, com-
bining feminist, African, and African American roots.
*De Beauvoir, S. (1953). The second sex. New York: Knopf. Treatise on the psychological,
social, and philosophical bases for women’s inequality throughout history.
*Dewey, J. (1956). The child and the curriculum/The school and society. Chicago: Univer-
sity of Chicago Press. (Original work published 1902) An accessible introduction to the
educational philosophy of the founder of progressivism.
123
124 BIBLIOGRAPHY
*Finn, C. (1991). We must take charge. New York: Free Press. A book-length discussion of
the ways our schools must change to focus on academic excellence.
*Friedan, B. (1963). The feminine mystique. New York: Norton. A major book that helped
launch the modern women’s movement by describing “the problem that has no name”:
women’s depression and isolation as 1950s housewives.
*Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women’s development.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Women’s moral development: an ethic of
care as opposed to an ethic of justice.
*hooks, b. (1989). Talking back: Thinking feminist, thinking Black. Boston: South End. A
Black feminist challenges White feminist pedagogical theory.
Martin, J. R. (1985). Reclaiming a conversation: The ideal of the educated woman. New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press. How western philosophers from Plato to Charlotte
Perkins Gilman have constructed women’s thought and education.
*Miller, J. (1996). School for women. London: Virago. The paradoxes—current, historical,
political, philosophical—of educating women and being a female teacher.
Noddings, N. (1992). The challenge to care in schools. New York: Teachers College Press.
How an ethic of care could transform curricula, pedagogies, and school practices.
*Ravitch, D. (2000). Left back: A century of failed school reform. New York: Simon &
Schuster. A critique of the progressive education movement that calls for getting back
to a traditional curriculum and a common American culture in our schools.
*Spender, D. (1983). Invisible women: The schooling scandal. London: Writers and
Readers. An early work documenting girls’ silences in the classroom and other issues of
sexism in education.
Stone, L. (Ed.). (1994). The education feminism reader. New York: Routledge. A collec-
tion of classic (mostly 1980s) texts on the education of women, including writers such
as socialist–feminists Valerie Walkerdine, Madeleine Arnot, and Linda Nicholson as
well as Jane Roland Martin and Carol Gilligan.
Taylor, J. M., Gilligan, C., & Sullivan, A. M. (1995). Between voice and silence: Women
and girls, race and relationship. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Woyshner, C., & Gelfond, H. S. (Eds.). (1998). Minding women: Reshaping the educa-
tional realm. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Educational Review. Reprints from the Har-
vard Educational Review on all aspects of women and education; includes classic arti-
cles by Carol Gilligan and Jane Roland Martin and sections on feminist pedagogies,
girls and young women, histories, and identities.
Girls, Boys, and Gender Issues in Schools
*American Association of University Women. (1992). How schools shortchange girls.

Washington, DC: Author. A report based on a national survey about the ways girls suf-
fer discrimination in schools.
Brown, L. M. (1998). Raising our voices: The politics of girls’ anger. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press. Middle school girls in two Maine towns, one working-class
and one middle-class, talk about their lives and hopes.
Kenway, J., & Willis, S. (1998). Answering back: Girls, boys and feminism in schools.
New York: Routledge. How gender reform practices affect teachers, male and female
students in a range of Australian schools, rendered through ethnographic accounts.
Uses themes of success, knowledge, emotion, and power.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 125
Orenstein, P. (1995). School girls: Young women, self-esteem and the confidence gap. New
York: Anchor Books. A detailed account of how middle school girls in two schools—
White, African American, and Hispanic—face and cope with sexism in school and fam-
ily settings.
*Sadker, D., & Sadker, M. (1994). Failing at fairness: How America’s schools cheat girls.
New York: Scribners. Popular indictment of sexism in American schooling, document-
ing discrimination against girls in curriculum, teacher treatment, and school policies.
*Sommers, C. H. (2000). The war against boys: How misguided feminism is harming our
young men. New York: Simon & Schuster. Argues that feminists have been misleading
the public about girls’ failures in schools, making girls into victims and ignoring the
worse problems that boys face.
Thorne, B. (1993). Gender play: Girls and boys in school. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers
University Press. A noted sociologist of gender looks at patterns of interaction at the el-
ementary school level, exploring the largely segregated worlds of girls and boys.
Walkerdine, V. (1990). Schoolgirl fictions. London: Verso. Intersecting with autobio-
graphical musings on becoming a woman teacher, a collection of essays on the con-
struction of femininity in educational settings, how “good girls” and “bad girls” are
made, and the costs of the construction of “the child” as male.
Special Education, Tracking Systems, and Educational Inequalities
Harry, B., & Anderson, M. G. (1990). The disproportionate placement of African Ameri-
can males in special education programs: A critique of the process. Journal of Negro
Education, 63, 602–619.
*Chinn, P. C., & Harris, K. C. (1990). Variables affecting the disproportionate placement
of ethnic minority children in special education programs. Multicultural Leadership,
3(1), 1–3.
Heward, W. L. & Orlansky, M. D. (1994). Exceptional children: An introductory survey of
special education/Keys to success. Columbus, OH: Merrill. Textbook that discusses is-
sues involved with special education programs and minority children.
*Kozol, J. (1992). Savage inequalities: Children in America’s schools. New York: Harper
Perennial. Visits to poor Black and rich White school districts expose the severe inequi-
ties of school finance across the country.
*Oakes, J. (1985). Keeping track: How schools structure inequality. New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press. Description and analysis of the causes, conditions, and effects of
tracking and ability grouping in our school systems.
*Wheelock, A. (1992). Crossing the tracks: How “untracking” can save America’s
schools. New York: New Press. Shows the costs of tracking and how tracking systems
can be undone.
Schools and Racial and Ethnic Diversity
Banks, J. (1988). Multiethnic education: Theory and practice. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. A
comprehensive introduction to the issues in the field, including resources and practical
material for teachers.
*Beauboeuf-Lafontant, T. (1999). A movement against and beyond boundaries: “Poli-
tically relevant teaching” among African-American teachers. Teachers College Record,
126 BIBLIOGRAPHY
100, 702–723. Using material from segregated Black schools, develops concept of po-
litically relevant teaching, rooted in utilizing knowledge of social inequalities to em-
power marginalized students.
*Delpit, L. (1995). Other peoples’ children: Cultural conflict in the classroom. New York:
New Press. An African American teacher challenges the student-centered basis of
White middle-class progressive education. Working-class and minority children need
to explicitly learn the dominant culture’s codes as well as their own.
Eitzen, S., & Baca-Zinn, M. (1997). Social problems. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. A sociology
text emphasizing race, class, and gender issues.
Fine, M., Weis, L., Powell, L. C., & Wong, L. M. (Eds.). (1997). Off-white: Readings on
society, race and culture. New York: Routledge. A collection of essays on the workings
of Whiteness and the assumptions of privilege as the “norm:” how such ideological
frameworks shape classroom dialogues and educational settings and what teachers may
do.
Ginorio, A., & Huston, M. (2001). Si, se puede! Yes we can: Latinas in school. Washing-
ton, DC: American Association of University Women Educational Foundation.
hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to transgress. New York: Routledge. Lessons on teaching
about diversity from noted African American feminist theorist. Essays on multicultural
education, Paulo Freire, feminist pedagogies, and other topics.
Leadbetter, B. J. R., & Way, N. (1996). Urban girls: Resisting stereotypes, creating identi-
ties. New York: New York University Press. Useful and diverse collection of essays on
various aspects of the lives of urban adolescents, both girls and boys, of various ethnici-
ties and social classes.
*Liston, D. P., & Zeichner, K. (1996). Culture and teaching. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates. The second volume in this series, which focuses on issues of cul-
tural diversity in school and classroom settings.
Maher, F. A., & Tetreault, M. K. T. (1998). Learning in the dark: How assumptions of
Whiteness shape classroom knowledge. In C. Woyshner & H. S. Gelfond (Eds.),
Minding women: Reshaping the educational realm (pp. 411–438). Cambridge, MA:
Harvard Educational Review. How students’ construction of gender, class, ethnicity,
and race are shaped by unconscious assumptions of Whiteness as the cultural norm.
Martin, J. R. (1985). Becoming educated: A journey of alienation or integration? Journal
of Education, 167, 871–884. A comparison of women’s alienation from androcentric
Western education with that of Richard Rodriguez in Hunger of Memory as he moves
from Spanish to English and from home to the public sphere.
McKintosh, P. (1988). White privilege and male privilege: A personal account of coming
to see correspondences through working in women’s studies (Working Paper No. 189).
Wellesley, MA: Wellesley College Center for Research on Women. A groundbreaking
essay on all the privileges that White people enjoy because of the color of their skin;
widely quoted and used.
*Meier, D. (1995). The power of their ideas. Boston: Beacon Press. A noted urban educator
and the founder of the Central Park East High School in Harlem shares her ideas about
democratic and culturally relevant schooling for all students.
*Moses, R., Kamii, M., Swop, S. M., & Howdud, J. (1989). The Algebra Project: Orga-
nizing in the spirit of Ella. Harvard Educational Review, 59, 423–443. Description of
community-based nationwide project, begun in Cambridge, MA, to teach working-
class and minority children algebra in middle school to prepare them for advanced high
school classes.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 127
Nieto, S. (1992). Affirming diversity. New York: Longman. Biographies, interviews, and
ideas about how to create a diverse curriculum, school system, and society.
*Spring, J. (2000). Deculturalization and the struggle for equality (3rd ed.). New York:
McGraw-Hill. A history of the struggle of people of color for an equal and inclusive ed-
ucation for their children.
Tatum, B. D. (1998). Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? And other
conversations about race. New York: Basic Books. Essays on the formation of racial
identities for children and youth of Black, White, and other ethnic groups. Spells out
implications for educators and other concerned adults.
Thompson, A. (1998). Not the color purple: Black feminist lessons for educational caring.
Harvard Educational Review, 68, 522–554. A critique of the “colorblindness” found in
theories of caring in education and psychology.
Ward, J. V. (2000). The skin we’re in: Teaching our children to be emotionally strong, so-
cially smart, and spiritually connected. Free Press. Based on in-depth interviews with
Black parents and teens, Ward explores how parents foster healthy resistance against
racism.
Schools and Lesbian and Gay Issues
Epstein, D. (Ed.). (1994). Challenging lesbian and gay inequalities in education. Philadel-
phia: Open University Press. A collection of essays on aspects of being gay and lesbian
in educational settings; examples are from the United Kingdom.
Epstein, D., & Johnson, R. (1998). Schooling sexualities. Philadelphia: Open University
Press. How school settings in the United Kingdom construct sexual identities for teach-
ers and students, enforcing codes of heterosexuality; how gay and lesbian teachers and
students cope and construct their own discourses.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in education [Special issue] (1996). Har-
vard Educational Review, 66(2). A broad collection of essays on lives of lesbian and
gay students and teachers, both White and of color, in schools and universities. Includes
student voices, histories, and curriculum and policy initiatives.
Letts, W. J. IV, & Sears, J. T. (1999). Queering elementary education: Advancing the dia-
logue about sexualities and schooling. Lanham, MD: Rowan and Littlefield Publishers,
Inc.
*Lipkin, A. (1996). Resources for education and counseling faculty. Project for the Inte-
gration of Gay and Lesbian Youth Issues in School Personnel Certification Programs,
210 Longfellow Hall, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA 02138.
Resources for teachers and counselors.
Rensenbrink, C. W. (1996). What difference does it make: The story of a lesbian teacher.
Harvard Educational Review, 66, 257–270. An in-depth portrait of an “out” lesbian ele-
mentary teacher; how she makes diversity work in her class.
Sears, J. (Ed.). (1992). Sexuality and curriculum: The politics of sexuality education. New
York: Teachers College Press. Essays on the inclusion of gay and lesbian perspectives
in the curriculum and the political context surrounding these efforts.
*Stein, N., & Sjostrom, L. (1994). Flirting or hurting: A teacher’s guide on student-to-
student sexual harassment in schools. Washington, DC: National Education Associa-
tion. Resources and advice for teachers and administrators.
128 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Stein, N. (1999). Classrooms and courtrooms: Facing sexual harassment in K–12 schools.
New York: Teachers College Press. How school systems throughout the country are
dealing with sexual harassment and sexual harassment cases. Useful material for teach-
ers and administrators about how to design and implement policy.
Teaching and Teachers
Biklen, S. (1995). School work: Gender and the cultural construction of teaching. New
York: Teachers College Press. Examines the experiences of women teachers from
many angles: career choice and autonomy, history, and conversations about mothering,
community and conflict.
Casey, K. (1993). I answer with my life: Life histories of women teachers working for so-
cial change. New York: Routledge. In-depth portraits of several female teachers with a
social justice orientation.
*Foster, M. (1997). Black teachers on teaching. New York: New Press. Black teachers in a
variety of settings talk about the challenges of their teaching. Each chapter is devoted to
a given teacher.
*Freedman, S. (1990). Small victories: The real world of a teacher, her students and their
high school. New York: Harper & Row. The story of one demanding and tumultuous
year in the life of a New York City high school English teacher.
*Giroux, H. (1998). Interview with Henry Giroux. In C. A. Torres, Education, power and
personal biography: Dialogues with critical educators (pp. 129–157). New York:
Routledge. Interviews with contemporary educational theorists.
Goldstein, L. (1997). Teaching with love: A feminist approach to early childhood educa-
tion. New York: Lang. Based on the work of Carol Gilligan and Nel Noddings, an ex-
ploration of the work of two primary grade teachers concerned with the enactment of
“loving relationships.”
Grumet, M. (1988). Bitter milk: Women and teaching. Amherst, MA: University of Massa-
chusetts Press. Examining the lives of teachers in the light of women’s experiences as
mothers and nurturers. Suggests caring as an antidote to the “categorical and competitive
character of schooling.”
Hoffman, N. (1981). Women’s “true” profession: Voices from the history of teaching.
New York: Feminist Press and McGraw-Hill. A collection of teacher narratives from
the 19th century in both North and South; shows the excitement and challenges of early
female teachers’ lives.
*Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American
children. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Interviews with eight successful teachers, orga-
nized around common themes such as the importance of culture and culturally relevant
knowledge, and the roles of family and community.
Maher, F. A., & Tetreault, M. K. T. (2001). The feminist classroom: Expanded edition.
Boulder, CO: Rowan and Littlefield. Portraits of seventeen feminist college professors
in a variety of fields and ranges of higher education instititutions who are teaching
about gender, race, and ethnic diversity.
*Rensenbrink, C. (2000). All in our places. Boulder, CO: Rowman and Littlefield. Ethnog-
raphy of three feminist elementary school teachers, showing the wide range of feminist
goals, practices, and challenges possible in the elementary setting.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 129
*Rose, M. (1995). Possible lives: The promise of public education in America. New York:
Houghton Mifflin. The author journeys throughout the country and describes the ways
that talented, committed, and successful teachers in many diverse communities work
with children of all ages, races, and cultures.
Thompson, A. (1997). Surrogate family values: The refeminization of teaching. Educa-
tional Theory, 47, 315–339. Discusses the historical and contemporary uses and mis-
uses of the concept of “caring”: Women teachers are made to feel responsible for social
problems that schools can’t solve.
*Weiler, K. (1988). Women teaching for change: Gender, class and power. South Hadley,
MA: Bergin and Garvey. Interviews and observations of eleven high school feminist
teachers and administrators, describing how they became feminists, their goals for
teaching, and the dynamics of gender, race, and class diversities in their classrooms.
Feminist and Social Justice Education
*Adams, M., Bell, L., & Griffin, P. (1997). Teaching for diversity and social justice: A
sourcebook. New York: Routledge. Theoretical and pedagogical frameworks and cur-
riculum designs for social justice courses and approaches, created for the college level
but relevant to other levels as well.
*Bigelow, B., Christensen, L., Karp, S., Miner, B., & Peterson, B. (1994). Rethinking our
classrooms: Teaching for equity and justice. Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools. Les-
sons and activities for use in the K–12 classroom, including documents, poetry, and
videos.
*Grant, C., & Sleeter, C. (1989). Turning on learning: Five approaches for multicultural
teaching. Columbus, OH: Merril. A series of lesson plans for all subjects and grades in-
corporating different approaches to multicultural education.
*Levine, D., Lowe, R., Peterson, B., & Tenorio, R. (1995). Rethinking schools, an agenda
for change. New York: New Press. Essays from the magazine Rethinking Schools about
curriculum, tracking, and other school policies from a social justice perspective.
*Logan, J. (1993). Teaching stories. St. Paul: Minnesota Inclusiveness Program. A veteran
successful feminist middle school teacher shows how she works with students to pro-
mote gender and other forms of equality and diversity.
*Schniedewind, N., & Davidson, E. (1998). Open minds to equality: A sourcebook of
learning activities to affirm diversity and promote equity (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn &
Bacon. Activities for elementary, middle school, and high school teachers.
*Wheeler, K. (1993). How schools can stop shortchanging girls (and boys): Gender equity
strategies. Wellesley, MA: Wellesley Center for Research on Women. Strategies for
teachers and administrators inside and outside the classroom.
Journals
Feminist Teacher, Dept. of English, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, WI 54702. Arti-
cles about feminist theory and feminist pedagogies in the classroom.
Gender and Education, Carfax, 875-81 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts
02139. A British journal focused on sociological studies of gender issues in schooling.
Radical Teacher, P.O. Box 383316, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02238. A socialist–femi-
nist journal on the theory and practice of teaching, emphasizing the college classroom
130 BIBLIOGRAPHY
but with K–12 articles as well. Recent special issues have focused on disability educa-
tion, working-class studies, media studies.
Rethinking Schools, 1001 East Keefe Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212. A journal for
teachers devoted to issues of race, class, and gender inequalities, particularly in inner-
city schools, and what teachers can do.
INDEX
A professional response to, 62–64

general response to, 67–70
Abortion, 84 overview, 54
Activism professional development, 54, 59
civil rights movement, 83–84, 91–92 professional response to
liberal-progressive view, 83–84 community responsibility, 62,
women-centered view, 91–92 64–65
women's movement, 83–84 gender impact, 62–64
American Association of University overview, 61
Women, 77, 78–79 race impact, 64–65
Americans With Disabilities Act, 74 school responsibility, 64–65
teacher commitment, 61–62
B public arguments
conservative view, 82
Belenky, Mary, 93, 94 liberal-progressive view, 90
Bilingual Education Act, 74 radical-multicultural view,
106–107
C women-centered view, 98
race impact, 54–55, 56
Career decisions professional response to, 64–65
case study, 54–59 school responsibility, 55, 56, 58–59
community responsibility, 54, 58–59 professional response to, 64–65
professional response to, 62, social class impact, 54–55, 56
64–65 study questions, 67
gender impact, 54 summary, 67
131
132 INDEX
teacher action, 55, 56–59 G

teacher attitude, 54–55, 58–59
teacher background, 55–56
teacher commitment, 54 Gender stereotypes
professional response to, 61–62 case study, 2–6
Civil Rights Act (1964), 84 classroom dynamics, 1, 2, 3, 4–5
Civil rights movement, 83–84, 91–92 professional response to, 8–11
Clinchy, Blythe, 93, 94 community responsibility, 1, 4
Conservative view professional response to, 10–11,
career decisions, 82 15–16
curriculum, 78–79 cultural expectations, 1, 4
defined, 74–75 professional response to, 11,
educational plan, 79–80 12–15
family values, 76–77 general response to, 67–70
gender inequality, 77–78 overview, 1–2
gender stereotypes, 81 professional response to
gender victimization, 79 classroom dynamics, 8–11
homophobia, 82 community responsibility, 10–11,
overview, 75–76 15–16
race, 81 cultural expectations, 11, 12–15
self-esteem, 78 overview, 8
sexual harassment, 82 race impact, 13–15
social class, 82 school responsibility, 15–16
special education, 81–82 teacher action, 8–11
study questions, 80–81 teacher attitude, 11–13
Curriculum teacher background, 11, 12, 13
conservative view, 78–79 public arguments
gender stereotypes and, 9, 10, 11, conservative view, 81
78–79, 86–87 liberal-progressive view, 88–89
liberal-progressive view, 86–87 radical-multicultural view,
104–105
women-centered view, 97
D race impact, 1, 3, 4
professional response to, 13–15
De Beauvoir, Simone, 92 school responsibility, 2
Dewey, John, 87 curriculum, 9, 10, 11
E social class impact, 1
study questions, 18
Equal Pay Act (1963), 84 summary, 18
Equal Rights Amendment (1972), 73, teacher action, 1–2, 4, 5–6
74 professional response to, 8–11
teacher attitude, 1–2, 3–4, 5, 6
F professional response to, 11–13
teacher background, 3–4
Family values, 76–77 professional response to, 11, 12,
Feminine Mystique, The (Friedan), 83–84 13
Friedan, Betty, 83, 84 Glass ceiling, 84
Goldberger, Nancy, 93, 94
INDEX 133
H Moses, Robert, 106, 107
Homophobia, see also Sexual harass- N

ment
classroom dynamics, 36–38 National Organization for Women
hate crime defined, 48 (NOW), 84
professional response to, 43–49 Noddings, Nel, 6
public arguments
conservative view, 82 P
liberal-progressive view, 89
radical-multicultural view, Public arguments
105–106 conservative view
women-centered view, 98 career decisions, 82
school responsibility, 39, 40–41, curriculum, 78–79
46–49 defined, 74–75
summary, 52 educational plan, 79–80
family values, 76–77
L gender inequality, 77–78
gender stereotypes, 81
Learning styles, 93–94 gender victimization, 79
Legislation homophobia, 82
Americans With Disabilities Act, 74 overview, 75–76
Bilingual Education Act, 74 race, 81
Civil Rights Act (1964), 84 self-esteem, 78
Equal Pay Act (1963), 84 sexual harassment, 82
Equal Rights Amendment (1972), social class, 82
73, 74 special education, 81–82
no-fault divorce law, 84 study questions, 80–81
Title IX (1972), 74, 84, 85, 87 liberal-progressive view
Liberal-progressive view career decisions, 90
career decisions, 90 curriculum, 86–87
curriculum, 86–87 defined, 74, 75
defined, 74, 75 educational reform, 86–87
educational reform, 86–87 gender stereotypes, 85–86, 88–89
gender stereotypes, 85–86, 88–89 historical activism, 83–84
historical activism, 83–84 homophobia, 89
homophobia, 89 overview, 83
overview, 83 race, 83, 84, 89
race, 83, 84, 89 sexual harassment, 89
sexual harassment, 89 social class, 83
social class, 83 social inequality, 83–84
social inequality, 83–84 special education, 89
special education, 89 study questions, 87–88
study questions, 87–88 race
Logan, Judy, 86 conservative view, 81
liberal-progressive view, 83, 84, 89
M radical-multicultural view,
98–107
Morality, 92–93 social inequality and, 73–74
134 INDEX
women-centered view, 92 liberal-progressive view, 83, 84,

radical-multicultural view 89
career decisions, 106–107 radical-multicultural view,
defined, 74, 75 98–107
educational plan, 101–102 social inequality and, 73–74
gender stereotypes, 104–105 women-centered view, 92
homophobia, 105–106 reflective teaching and, 114–116
overview, 98–100 special education and, 19, 21, 22
race, 98–107 professional response to, 24,
sexual harassment, 105–106 25–27, 28, 29, 30–33
social class, 98–107 Radical-multicultural view
societal context, 100–101 career decisions, 106–107
special education, 105 defined, 74, 75
study questions, 103–104 educational plan, 101–102
summary, 103 gender stereotypes, 104–105
social class homophobia, 105–106
conservative view, 82 overview, 98–100
liberal-progressive view, 83 race, 98–107
radical-multicultural view, sexual harassment, 105–106
98–107 social class, 98–107
social inequality and, 73–74 societal context, 100–101
women-centered view, 92 special education, 105
women-centered view study questions, 103–104
career decisions, 98 summary, 103
defined, 74, 75 Reflective teaching
gender stereotypes, 97 classroom dynamics, 116–118
historical activism, 91–92 educational equality, 110–111
homophobia, 98 overview, 109–110
learning styles, 93–94 professional careers, 111–113
morality, 92–93 professional qualities, 113–116
overview, 90–91 race and, 114–116
race, 92 radical social reconstructionist
school responsibility, 94–96 view, 110
sexual harassment, 98 study exercises, 118–120
social class, 92 classroom dynamics, 119
special education, 97–98 community dynamics, 120
study questions, 96–97 community organizations, 120
school dynamics, 119–120
summary, 120–121
R Roe v. Wade (1974), 84
Race
S
career decisions and, 54–55, 56
gender stereotypes and, 1, 3, 4 Second Sex, The (De Beauvoir), 92
professional response to, 13–15 Self-esteem, 78
public arguments and Sexual harassment
conservative view, 81 case study, 37–41
classroom dynamics, 36–37, 38
INDEX 135
homophobia, 36–38 special education and, 19

professional response to, 43–46 professional response to, 24, 28
community responsibility, 41 Special education
professional response to, 49–50 case study, 19–22
defined, 48 classroom dynamics, 19
general response to, 67–70 professional response to, 26–28
homophobia community responsibility, 31–33
classroom dynamics, 36–38 gender impact, 19
hate crime defined, 48 professional response to, 24, 25,
professional response to, 43–49 28, 29, 30, 31–32
school responsibility, 39, 40–41, general response to, 67–70
46–49 overview, 19
summary, 52 professional development, 30–31
overview, 37 professional response to
professional response to classroom dynamics, 26–28
classroom dynamics, 43–46 community responsibility, 31–33
community responsibility, 49–50 gender impact, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30,
homophobia, 43–49 31–32
overview, 43 overview, 24
school responsibility, 46–49 professional development, 30–31
teacher action, 43–46 race impact, 24, 25–27, 28, 29,
teacher attitude, 43–44 30–33
public arguments school responsibility, 25, 28,
conservative view, 82 30–31
liberal-progressive view, 89 social class impact, 24, 28
radical-multicultural view, student assessment, 28–30
105–106 teacher action, 24–26
women-centered view, 98 teacher attitude, 24, 25, 26–27
school responsibility, 39–41 public arguments
homophobia, 39, 40–41, 46–49 conservative view, 81–82
professional response to, 46–49 liberal-progressive view, 89
study questions, 52–53 radical-multicultural view, 105
summary, 52 women-centered view, 97–98
teacher action, 36, 38 race impact, 19, 21, 22
diversity poetry, 40, 45–46 professional response to, 24,
professional response to, 43–46 25–27, 28, 29, 30–33
teacher attitude, 37, 38–41 school responsibility, 19
professional response to, 43–44 professional response to, 25, 28,
teacher background, 37 30–31
Social class social class impact, 19
career decisions and, 54–55, 56 professional response to, 24, 28
gender stereotypes and, 1 student assessment, 19–22
public arguments and professional response to, 28–30
conservative view, 82 study questions, 35–36
liberal-progressive view, 83 summary, 35
radical-multicultural view, teacher action, 24–26
98–107 teacher attitude, 20–21, 22
social inequality, 73–74 professional response to, 24, 25,
women-centered view, 92 26–27
136 INDEX
teacher background, 20 historical activism, 91–92

homophobia, 98
T learning styles, 93–94
morality, 92–93
Tarule, Jill, 93, 94 overview, 90–91
Teaching Stories (Logan), 86 race, 92
Title IX (1972), 74, 84, 85, 87 school responsibility, 94–96
sexual harassment, 98
social class, 92
W special education, 97–98
study questions, 96–97
Women-centered view Women's movement, 83–84
career decisions, 98 Women's Ways of Knowing (Belenky/
defined, 74, 75 Clinchy/Goldberger/Tarule),
gender stereotypes, 97 6, 93–94

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Gender and Teaching

Zeichner/Liston · Reflective Teaching: An Introduction

Liston/Zeichner · Culture and Teaching

Maher/Ward · Gender and Teaching

Janie Victoria Ward

LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOCIATES, PUBLISHERS

Copyright Ó 2002 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers

Cover design by Kathryn Houghtaling Lacey

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

ISBN 1-4106-0434-9 Master e-book ISBN

I. CASE STUDIES AND REACTIONS 1

Reader Reactions to “Who Gets Hurt?” 51

General Responses to the Four Case Studies 68

II. PUBLIC ARGUMENTS 73

A “Conservative View”: Upholding Traditional

III. FINAL ARGUMENTS, AND SOME

The Centrality of Gender for Reflective Teaching

Exercises for Further Reflection 118

AN ESSENTIAL SERIES INTRODUCTION

IMPACTS OF THE SOCIAL CONDITIONS

Prospective teachers need to be prepared for the problems and challenges

EXAMINING THE SOCIAL CONDITIONS

UNDERSTANDING AND EXAMINING PERSONAL

ABOUT THE BOOKS IN THIS SERIES

The first work in this series, Reflective Teaching: An Introduction, intro-

the series, Culture and Teaching, encourages a reflection on and examina-

Two individuals have been essential to the conception and execution of

differences, or should we emphasize the distinctive qualities of each group

culture—as you continue your explorations into the social conditions of

CONTENT AND STRUCTURE

The Case Studies

The cases in Part I explore different aspects of gendered experiences in

The Public Arguments

personal and familial contexts; to our educational and work environments;

Our Own Views

CASE 1: “SEXISM AND THE CLASSROOM”

nized and decorated her second-grade classroom. She is especially pleased

particularly in terms of gender equity. At the preschool there were many

“Be quiet, Jimmy. You’re so immature,” calls Marlene as she glances at

REACTIONS TO “SEXISM AND THE CLASSROOM”

Many respondents focused on Nina’s actions in the classroom environ-

Many people saw the problem as one of inadequate classroom manage-

My first reaction was that of frustration. I have experienced some of the

Nina should begin to build a community of learners in her classroom. The

Whereas the foregoing section includes general comments and criti-

The most important issues are

It is difficult to not be sexist as a teacher. Even though I feel that my genera-

One of the mistakes we make as teachers is that (because of the attention to

strated by the reactions of some of these young Hispanic children. There

The Cultural Community

pursue educational dreams. If anything, women are encouraged to handle

Outside of the Classroom

I think Maria is right by encouraging gender-neutral activities and by edu-

Regardless of how innocuous these comments might have seemed, I would

SUMMARY AND ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS

CASE 2: “GENDER, RACE, AND TEACHER

With that, the principal leaves the room.

Mrs. Johnson describes Charlie Robinson’s classroom behavior as fre-

REACTIONS TO “GENDER, RACE,