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  Case: No Women's Issues Please!
I am a novice middle school social studies teacher. When I was still a student in the middle grades education program, my professors taught me the importance of teaching students about the underrepresented groups such as minorities and women. I have been very sensitive to women's issues and their perspectives and contributions since I started my job two years ago. Last week, I was teaching my students how to conduct research using Internet resources. To practice their skills, I asked students to do research on accomplishments of a list of women I created. Students were allowed to pick whom they wanted to research. While my female students were very excited about this assignment, three of my male students openly protested the assignment and said that they did not want to waste their time researching about women. I have to deal with this behavior somehow because I will be integrating women's perspectives into my curriculum regularly in the future. I cannot tolerate this type of behavior continuously. I wonder if these children's home lives have something to do with their reaction to women's issues. What should I do?
Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!)
It is very difficult to deal with this type of behavior, especially if you suspect these boys' home lives may be supportive of this resistant behavior. I may assign these boys a specific influential male figure to research such as Franklin Roosevelt or Martin Luther King Jr. I would ask them to explore the most influential people in their lives and those that made their accomplishments possible. I would provide specific resources to lead them to discover that for example, Franklin Roosevelt wouldn't have been the same president without Eleanor Roosevelt. Martin Luther King Jr. may not have had such a successful impact if it wasn't for influential women such as Rosa Parks. Having these students discover this through researching these men's lives may help them realize the importance of studying women's issues.
 
     
     
  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 take on solving the problem that I wouldn't have thought of otherwise. It reminds me of the saying, "Behind every strong man is a stronger woman!"
Rated On: February 13, 2013 9:58 am
Rated By: Julia DiTillio
 
     
     
  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:
Rated On: February 19, 2013 12:36 am
Rated By: maWyZu
 
     
     
  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:
Rated On: March 3, 2013 8:15 pm
Rated By: yTuGyd
 
     
     
  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: If I were in this situation, I would exactly do this.
Rated On: October 18, 2014 11:39 pm
Rated By: Doniesha
 
     
     
  Rating
The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) No
The suggested solution is relevant to the case No
The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement No
The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue No
The suggested solution is original No
Comments: The assignment should not be changed just because they do not feel like doing it. Changing the assignment to focus on men completely defeats the purpose of the assignment.
Rated On: October 19, 2014 11:51 pm
Rated By: Lauren Hill
 
     
     
  Rating
The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) No
The suggested solution is relevant to the case No
The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement No
The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue No
The suggested solution is original No
Comments: I do not entirely agree on this solution so I would not use it in my classroom.
Rated On: March 2, 2016 5:40 am
Rated By: uBybuz
 
     
     
  Rating
The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) No
The suggested solution is relevant to the case No
The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement No
The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue No
The suggested solution is original No
Comments: The point is to teach the students about the accomplishments of women. They need to do the assignment on a women.
Rated On: March 2, 2016 11:07 pm
Rated By: daPaJa
 
     
     
  Rating
The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) No
The suggested solution is relevant to the case No
The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement No
The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue No
The suggested solution is original No
Comments: Wow. Atrocious. Young boys need to respect women and their accomplishments.
Rated On: October 16, 2016 4:24 pm
Rated By: etyWys
 
     
     
  Rating
The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) No
The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes
The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement No
The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue No
The suggested solution is original Yes
Comments: I think research is great but just because a student defies an assignment shouldn't mean they automatically get an alternative. This just reinforces the idea that only men can achieve. The teacher needs to stress the importance of women's achievements and the boys need to face repercussions if they don't do the assignment.
Rated On: October 15, 2017 10:30 pm
Rated By: QeZyqa
 
     
     
  Rating
The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) No
The suggested solution is relevant to the case No
The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement No
The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue No
The suggested solution is original No
Comments: This just reinforces the idea that woman can only support men.
Rated On: February 21, 2018 4:02 am
Rated By: uXysej
 
     
     
  Rating
The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) No
The suggested solution is relevant to the case No
The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement No
The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue No
The suggested solution is original No
Comments: This solution does not solve the issue, nor is it helpful as it does not teach the boys to be respectful. I do not like this solution.
Rated On: February 26, 2018 12:46 am
Rated By: Samantha Rey
 
     
     
  Rating
The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) No
The suggested solution is relevant to the case No
The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement No
The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue No
The suggested solution is original No
Comments: I would not do this.
Rated On: October 18, 2019 9:04 pm
Rated By: Lauren Toner
 
     
     
  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: i think this is a cool way for students to learn more about women's rights and become more educated on the topic. I also think that this will stop them from being rude because they will not want to do another one of these assignments
Rated On: March 8, 2021 3:11 am
Rated By: turyhu