Home | How It Works | Stats Login | Register         Case: I Don't Discriminate My Girls As a teacher with 25 years of experience, I am regularly asked to mentor new teachers at my school. In my 25 years, I have taught every grade level from Kindergarten to 5th grade. One of the new teachers in our school is Ms. Smith who is in her second year at my school. She pays a lot of attention to teaching science using hands-on inquiries. She also wants to make sure that both boys and girls have good experiences in science. She strongly believes that schools push girls away from math and science. I observed one of her science lessons last week. She had her students conduct science experiments in small groups. Students, then, wrote an experiment report at the end. As she was walking around in the classroom, she commented on student work and praised students. What I noticed about her praise was that she praised the boys for using proper science skills, coming up with good hypotheses and predictions, conducting the experiments carefully while she praised girls for keeping the materials orderly, writing a neat experiment report, and being a good team member. When I talked to her about my observation, she became very defensive. She said that she was making sure that her female students were praised for the work they do and that she did not gender-discriminate. I have to find a way to show/convince her that what she is doing may actually hurt her female students. Am I right about these points? How should I explain to her my points? Do you think what she is doing is right? Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) I think that this teacher is on the right track, but needs a little more insight. When she says that she isn't gender discriminating, I think she is probably considering the fact that she praises both boys and girls equally as frequently. However, you raise a good point in talking about the content of her praise. She probably doesn't realize that her comments reflect different gender role stereotypes: girls are neat and organized followers, while boys are logical, analytical leaders. I would just point out the discrepancy to her in the most respectful way possible. Make sure you point out how great it is that she is using praise, but that she should be giving the same types of praise to boys and girls. She could try using a 1:1 ratio for each thing she praises: if she praises a girl for a neat report, she should also praise a boy. I think that this was an honest mistake that she probably didn't even realize she was making, and if you talk candidly yet respectfully with her about it, it will probably be resolved.                 Rating The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes The suggested solution is original Yes Comments: Great Idea! If I were in this situation, I would exactly do this. Rated On: October 17, 2014 8:39 pm Rated By: Doniesha                 Rating The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes The suggested solution is original Yes Comments: This solution properly identifies the error in which the new teacher made and respectfully presents the error to the new teacher. Using the 1:1 ratio is an effective way to eliminate gender bias and/or stereotypes. Rated On: October 14, 2015 2:25 pm Rated By: yJeXad                 Rating The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes The suggested solution is original Yes Comments: This is a great solution and one that I would use in my classroom! Rated On: March 2, 2016 5:38 am Rated By: uBybuz                 Rating The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes The suggested solution is original Yes Comments: Agree keep doing what youre doing. Rated On: April 3, 2023 2:15 am Rated By: TuVune