There have been significant changes in the American education system over the centuries. Initially, only men and boys could get educated, and women were excluded for biological reasons, but over time they were allowed in school (Kimmel, 2012). In the past century, the number of women in school has surpassed that of men even in Universities (Kimmel, 2012). Female students are better achieving in school as compared to male students (Roberts, 2013). Classes are also more hospitable to female students as compared to when women were first allowed to join schools (Kimmel, 2012). Women were excluded from education because there was rampant gender inequality. They were also perceived to be weak and dependent, which were the results of gender inequality that existed (Kimmel, 2012). Gender inequalities are perpetuated in the classroom by teachers, peers, and materials. These are seen when teachers and peers assign women secondary roles while giving male students primary roles to play (Kimmel, 2012). Materials such as textbooks also depict men taking up primary roles such as leadership and problem solving, while women are shown as dependents of men who stay at home and take up secondary roles (Kimmel, 2012).
The elements of media in education have reinforced gender stereotypes in the classrooms. Men are shown as leaders and problem solvers when they go to work to provide for their families. Women are shown as helpers and nurturers of the family (Kimmel, 2012). Females are also seen as either being nice girls, girlies, tomboys, or spice girls (Reay. 2013). Although women are nowadays shown as providers when they go to work, men are never shown as nurturers, thus sending the idea that nurturing is a feminine thing (Kimmel, 2012). Through the gendered dynamics in the classroom, I had come to believe that men were supposed to be providers, and they should not indulge themselves in nurturing activities as they will be perceived as being feminine. I was also affected by these dynamics where I would not focus on sciences as I believed they were masculine subjects; thus, I ended up performing poorly in them.
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References
Kimmel, Michael. (2012). Chapter 9. The gendered world of work. In M. Kimmel, The gendered society (5th ed., pp. 189-221). New York: Oxford University Press.
Reay, Diane. (2013). “Spice girls,” “nice girls,” “girlies and tomboys”: Gender discourses, girls’ cultures, and feminism in the primary classroom. In M. Kimmel & A. Aronson (Eds.), The gendered society reader (5th ed., pp. 249-260). New York: Oxford University Press
Roberts, Steven. (2013). “I just got on with it”: The educational experiences of ordinary, yet overlooked, boys.” In Michael Kimmel and Amy Aronson, (Eds.), The gendered society reader (5th ed., pp. 249-260). New York: Oxford University Press.
