Final Entry

The Literature

            The series of blogs that I have created have been about gender issues including sexism, heterosexism, and LGBTQ within a school.  I’ve addressed common issues that occur as well as what we can do as educators to create a welcoming environment in our classroom for all of the students we teach.  The blogs have followed my educational journey from the beginning where I didn’t know a whole lot about the issues of gender to now- where I have done a fair amount of research and have a good understanding.  I did not just research peer-reviewed articles; I went further then that.  I found amazing resources that allowed me to explore in a way that very beneficial for me as a young teacher.  However now I am going to back up all the thinking and growing that I have done through the blogs with academic peer reviewed journals.  It is amazing how they fit so perfectly with what I was saying throughout the course of the blog.

            I began the blogs with talking about sexism in general.  How anyone can experience it- men/women, teachers/students, young/old.  It is a scary thought, however sexism still occurs everyday; intentionally and unintentionally.  The scarier thought is that it is happening in our classroom, and without knowing the teacher could also be contributing to promoting socially constructed genderized norms.  How many teachers have based their seating arrangement on gender, determined groups because of gender, assigned roles because of gender?  Through my experience in the education system- far too many.  Sexism not only occurs through verbal communication, but nonverbal as well. Subtle interaction messages are less able to control consciously and less subject to self-monitoring and accountability (LaFrance, 1985).  Subtle genderized interactions in the classroom can include asking males to be the ones to lift heavy objects, letting girls go to the washroom but not allowing the males, and reprimanding the males in public while quietly confronting the females because they think it may hurt their feelings.  Generally males are the recipients of teacher disfavor because of classroom management, teachers are often more critical of boys (LaFrance, 1985).  As a physical education teacher, during my observation period I see intentional and unintentional sexism quite often, therefore it makes me determined to eliminate it from my own classroom.             

            An article by Klein & Markowitz focuses on the need to change teacher’s language for a more inclusive environment.  More often then not, heterosexist language is commonly embedded in teacher’s statements, and it is up to us to recognize it and replace those statements.  73% of teachers believe that creating a safe environment for all students is a teacher’s obligation, however what they don’t factor in is that using heterosexual language in the classroom contributes to a unsafe environment (Klein & Markowitz, 2009).  An unsafe environment is serious for LGBTQ students because it can affect those students’ educational attainment as well as their emotional and physical well-being.  We see an example of this in the blog titled ‘We’re All the Same Egg on the Inside.’  A grade 11 expresses her feeling where she felt as though she was being bullied by her teacher.  That teacher’s would whisper as she walked by and this resulted in poor academic grades and low attendance.  As teachers, we need to understand that heterosexist language happens intentionally and unintentionally. Emphasized traditional gender roles within the classroom do not make it inclusive for all students, it can leave certain students feeling uncomfortable and unwanted.  Creating a welcoming environment for the student reflects on their overall wellbeing including academic standing.   

            The LGBTQ community is more accepted now then ever before, especially within the schools with clubs such as the Gay-Straight Alliance.  Even though it is more accepting, there is still lots of room for improvement.  86% of LGBTQ students reported that they have been harassed verbally at their school, and 44% reported they have been harassed physically (Klein & Markowitz, 2009).  LGBTQ students are at a high risk for dropping out of school, suicidal thoughts and actions, depression, self mutilation, drug and alcohol abuse, feelings of isolation and unsafe sex (Stufft & Graff, 2011).   An equal and inclusive education is not possible for LGBTQ students when their physical and emotional safety is frequently compromised within the classroom, therefore as educators we always need to be a step ahead of the students, so we know how to control our classroom and create a welcoming environment for everyone.  Stufft & Graff gave suggests that teachers can make for improvement that I have also touched on in my blog entries.  Some of the common themes we both believe would make the classroom more inclusive are:  that educators should first work on themselves; examining their own prejudices and misconceptions, that teachers attitudes towards homosexually contributes significantly to the classroom environment, that teacher need to be aware of the language they use in a classroom, and that teachers need to seek a more diverse curriculum that is inclusive of all students and their families (Stufft & Graff, 2011).  Throughout my blogs I have included steps that you can take as a young teacher to create a more inclusive and welcoming classroom.  There are many different academic resources, and other resources for you to look for additional help.

            The majority of my blog reaches out to teachers, and discusses the importance of creating a welcoming, inclusive environment.  Meyer, Taylor, & Peter through their article also stress the importance of Canadian teacher addressing issues of diversity, human rights, and social justice in the classroom.  Many educators believe that LGBTQ rights are human rights and should be incorporated in diversity education efforts in the classroom (Meyer et al, 2015).  It is important to understand how classrooms can be seen as a hostile environment for LGBTQ youth, once you are able to understanding what is happening, teachers are able to make the change to help eliminate toxic school views towards diversity.  The teacher has so much power within the school, and it is up to them to use that power to create a safe and welcoming environment for all of the students.

References:

Klein, N. A., & Markowitz, L. (2009). 'Rewind and replay:' changing teachers' heterosexist language    to create an inclusive classroom environment. American Journal Of Health Education, (6), 329.

LaFrance, M. (1985). The school of hard knocks: nonverbal sexism in the classroom. Theory Into   Practice, 2440-44. doi:10.1080/00405848509543144

   

Meyer, E., Taylor, C., & Peter, T. (2015). Perspectives on gender and sexual diversity (GSD)-inclusive education: comparisons between gay/lesbian/bisexual and straight educators. Sex Education-Sexuality Society And Learning, 15(3), 221-234.

Stufft, D. d., & Graff, C. M. (2011). Increasing Visibility for LGBTQ Students: What Schools Can Do To Create Inclusive Classroom Communities. Current Issues In Education, 14(1), 1-26.

The Reflection & Implications The Knowledge Has for Me as an Educator

            As you know from following along with my blog, it has been full of reflections for each post.  I put a lot of thought into my journey about learning about gender.  However now I’m going to take a step back and reflect on the overall process; the things I have learned by writing this blog, and where I still believe there is room for improvement.  The three major ideas that I learned through the process of my blog are; the power of resources, that heterosexism & sexism can be done intentionally and unintentionally, and that a teachers actions mean everything to a student, that we always have to have our eyes on the prize; developing a safe and inclusive classroom.

            One thing that I have learned is that there is an abundance of resources out there that will help us as teachers.  They can help with the whole process; from big ideas, deciding how to go about the topic, and even step-by-step lesson plans that we are able to use.  You are never alone as a teacher, with all the resources that are available for us to use with a click of a button these days.  I am a big believer of using videos in the classroom, I believe that they are an excellent source to allow the students to learn visually while usually providing them with an expert on the topic.  Someone that has a lot more credit for teaching the students something specific then I do.  There are a number of amazing videos that I have found while creating this blog that I believe will be very beneficial to use in my classroom.  I started out my first blog with a music video by Miranda Lambert, and I wouldn’t want to start it out any other way.  The song is called ‘All Kinds of Kinds’, and that is exactly what it is about.  That not two people are the same, we are all different and that’s what makes life so exciting and fun.  It is a great way to get this message across to students, to show them a video of someone they can relate to in Hollywood and allow them to make connections with.  There are so many opportunities as teachers to relate whatever you are trying to teach with pop culture, which in most cases gains students respect, as you are able to relate to their interests.  In many cases you do not want to draw close attention t  pop culture, but there are so many inspiring celebrities that their actions would be beneficial to bring up  a conversation about diversity in the classroom.

            Another major theme that I have learned and gained knowledge on throughout my blog is that sexism and heterosexism occurs intentionally and unintentionally.  There are so many cases where our unconscious actions have the potential to exclude and hurt a student.  Something as simple as saying ‘Happy Fathers Day’ has the potential to emotionally hurt a student as much as verbal bullying from a peer.  You never know how students will react to the genderized norms in our society.  As a teacher you want to do whatever you can to bring the conscious mind out in full force for the entire school day to ensure that none of your actions and words will cause harm to the students. 

            The final important theme that I believe to have a complete understanding of is that teacher’s actions mean everything to their students.  Teachers are looked up to as role models within the school.  One of the videos that I shared on my blog showed how a student felt bullied by a teacher because the teacher was whispering about her, this caused the student to not pay attention in class, have no respect for the teachers and therefore this lead to the student doing very poorly academically.  It is up to us as teachers to include every student.  We cannot act in a way that would make them feel unsafe, whether it be intentionally and unintentionally.  Our actions within the school affect every student, regardless of their sexual orientation.  We need to act as role models and set up an example for every person in the building on how to be inclusive and welcoming.  

            This blog has opened my eyes on a wide variety of levels.  From generating my awareness of gender issues within a classroom, to providing myself with resources to teach my students about the issues, this blog has tracked my journey from grasshopper to master.  I can confidently say that I understand many of the issues about gender more then I ever have before, and I understand what steps to take in order to make my classroom inclusive regardless of the student’s sexual orientation.  I know who I want to become as a teacher and have a plethora of materials that I can utilize in order to become the teacher that I strive to be.  This blog allowed me to explore a topic that I did not know a whole lot about and definitely did not feel comfortable teaching.  Now I want to teach students about this topic.  I feel as though it is very important to address these gender issues early on in order to raise awareness and express the importance of not only having an inclusive classroom but also living an inclusive life.