Gender Issues in the Classroom

In one of my classes this past week, we started talking about gender issues in the classroom. One issue my teacher brought up was about boys being interested in acting and dressing up. She gave us this example:

“Maria's preschool classroom contains a vast array of developmentally appropriate materials. Her environment is rich and varied and challenges the children in all areas of their development. Recently, Maria welcomed a new child into her classroom. "Aamir" was active and interested in the other children as well as all the opportunities the classroom had to offer. It became evident over time that Aamir's favorite area of the classroom was the dramatic play area. Aamir would spend an entire morning pretending, dressing up and carrying out elaborate scenes with whoever was in that area.

After a few months of being in the classroom Aamir's father came to pick him up. One look at his son in the dramatic play area with high heels and a skirt on sent him into a flurry of embarrassment. He demanded that his son take off what he was wearing and chastised him for playing with "girls toys."  He told Maria "I do not want my son playing like that."

Maria tried to explain the value of this type of play for Aamir but Aamir's father left too quickly for any real dialogue to take place.

What should Maria do? What can she say? How would you handle this situation?”

I think this is a very important situation for all teachers to think about.  There really is no specific answer for every situation.

While dealing with parents can be very difficult, creating a non-gender specific classroom is not.  There are many ideas to help teachers reduce stereotypes in the classroom.

·         Monitor your own behavior as a teacher.  Kids pick up on adults actions and words.  For instance, when a child gets hurt, make sure you treat the girls and the boys the same.

·         Recognize each child’s individual abilities without considering their gender.

·         Encourage the boys and girls to do the same activities and even work together.  Such as encouraging the girls to play basketball and the boys to play house.

Below I have included some resources for finding non-gender books to use in your classroom.

Children'sBooks that Break Gender Role Stereotypes

GenderEquality Bookstore

                Amazon.com:Gender Equality Kids Books