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  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 you made the right decision to talk to her about what you observed. What she is doing is wrong. It's possible she did not realize what she was doing and that could possible explain why she was defensive. It is very important for teachers to give equal praise to all students on their academics. Try meeting with her in a mutual setting and talk to get to know her and then discuss your concerns.
 
     
     
  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 8:38 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:
Rated On: October 19, 2014 1:40 am
Rated By: uZyvaP
 
     
     
  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 agree. Even advocates need to realize that they are not perfect. This does mean that many feminists are often sexist without realizing it. It's good to point out shortcomings in a respectful way so people can improve. Maybe you could offer to video tape the teacher or give very specific examples of the praises she gave and to whom she game them. She will probably be appalled at first, but if she is mature, she should realize her mistakes.
Rated On: March 3, 2016 12:53 am
Rated By: daPaJa
 
     
     
  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 agree, sometimes we can be blind to the think we do.
Rated On: October 17, 2016 2:15 am
Rated By: Raven B
 
     
     
  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 point.
Rated On: July 7, 2019 9:35 pm
Rated By: Brenda Perez Prieto