Jake Ezzo Race Class & Gender

Classroom

Ism Paper Sexism in the Elementary

There are many problems that permeate society today. Among them are violence, drug trafficking, a rough economy, the threat of terrorism, just to name a few. One problem which has permeated society hundreds of years is sexism. To me, sexism is defined as prejudice or discrimination based on your sex. These can include stereotypes of societal roles, hatred or prejudice towards a gender as a whole, or making rash assumptions about an entire gender without consideration of the fact that everyone is different. The topic of sexism is too broad to cover in this short paper, so we will narrow it to sexism in the elementary school classroom. Again, due to the scope of this paper, this paper will mainly be taking broad strokes on this topic, and at times infusing personal accounts of perceived indirect sexism in elementary schools. Elementary School: A Womans Domain? When I signed up for my student teaching placement, I had a vague idea of what I was getting into. I knew that it was a small school, only 22 faculty members, and merely 80-85 kids. However, when I arrived there, I was shocked. I not only was the only music teacher (a story for a later paper), but I was the only male teacher there. I was so perplexed by this notion. Why was it, in a job market

full of teachers looking for work that only female teachers were applying for this job? According to the article, Sexism and Sex Discrimination in Education, 99% of superintendents, 97% of high school principals are male, while 84% of elementary teachers are female. When thinking back to my practicum experience, I realized that whenever we would split into groups of secondary and elementary schools, I would be the only male in the elementary school group. Why is it that women teach elementary school and men teach high school? Why is there not equal distribution among a K-12 school district? What is happening is exactly what societal norms and the status quo expects to take place. Women are classroom teachers in lower level schools while men are teacher in the administration and in higher level schools. Lets look why this happens. College: A White Mans Paradise. When attending college to become a teacher, undoubtly, you will realize that it is geared towards men. There are more male faculty members, deans, and professors on campus. Many of these faculty members may hold sexist attitudes and discourage female participation. When looking at the problem as to why women are being stuck in lower level schooling and not going for higher level jobs, it is quite clear. They are not being given the tools, the encouragement, or the instruction to do so. Faculty members that have sexist attitudes or allow sexist behavior discourage female students from taking classes with them, may lead to them dropping classes, majors, and maybe even the school. This almost complete

lack of a support structure for these women is quite discouraging for anyone seeking a teaching career. A Call to Action: Its the 21st century for Gods Sake! One of the most heart breaking things I realized when I was student teaching was that I was the only male influence in the building. While I was there, it was great. The male students had some sort of a model to look up to, especially the middle school boys. However, once I left, this role model disappeared. I think that having elementary school be so female heavy is not necessarily the best thing. I am not saying that they should not be allowed to be teachers, but I am saying that there needs to be some sort of balance. At such a young, impressionable age, we are just engraining into their heads (especially the boys), that women teach little kids, men teach bigger kids. They will carry this throughout their school lives, and before you know it, the sexist white male is born. For females, what does it say about their futures when their only female teachers were primarily in elementary school and male teachers and administrators in secondary school? I think there needs to be discussions and a call to action to equitize the teaching situation. I think not only should females be given high school jobs, but also that men should be encouraged to teach at lower levels. Its not a womans world out there, and it sure as hell is not a mans world either, and nor should it be. It is our world out there. We need to embrace a 21st century ideal of equality and provide the best services for all of future teachers. If

the people who are responsible for preparing the future generations of tomorrow are not given the right tools, support, or face sexism in their place of work, how can they do their job? The country needs to wake up, smell the new age roses, and embrace equitable treatment for all teachers. Article: Borman Kathryn, OReilly Patricia. 1984. Sexism and Sex Discrimination in Education. Theory into Practice >http://www.jstor.org/stable/1476439?seq=1&Search=yes&searchText=sexism&searchText=sc
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