It seems like this week is book week on this blog! I’ve been waiting for years to see if there would be a new edition of the classic book Failing at Fairness by the groundbreaking gender equity researchers Dr Myra Sadker and Dr. David Sadker. Well, it has arrived.
Called Still Failing at Fairness: How Gender Bias Cheats Girls and Boys in School and What We Can Do About It, the book tackles the ways that gender bias (intentional and unintentional) are stifling girls AND boys in classrooms from pre-school to college. Plus, the authors (who now also include Dr. Karen Zittleman) provide solid suggestions for teachers, administrators, parents and policymakers to fix the problems and improve learnng for our sons and daughters.I have little patience for the arguments asserting that gender equity is old news, not longer a problem, or that it shortchanges boys by giving girls special treatment. To ignore gender in education is like trying to teach with a blindfold on. In some esoteric, ivory tower debate somewhere, that might sound like a good idea—but in practice it’s pretty dumb.
Anyway, I encourage you to read this book—it’s very readable and has tons of material that’s incredibly useful for parents.
2 comments:
As the father of a four-year-old daughter, I have already had to re-teach her that hitting boys is wrong, because her pre-school teachers simply don't agree. They punish boys when they hit girls, but the opposite is not true (yes, I'm looking for another school, but she's done in June, so I can hardly see the point). She, and the other girls in her class, *do* receive special treatment. My daughter was not born a victim, and I will not raise her to believe otherwise. I have read quite a bit about gender inequality in schools of all levels, and I think maybe you should take another look at that research.
PS: Couldn't agree more with your choice for worst toy of the year, and I appreciate your work! Thanks :)
Gender bias is not a one way street: boys too can be victims. When it comes to discipline, they often are. Dr. David Sadker & Dr. Karen Zittleman, the authors of "Still Failing at Fairness," discuss a doctoral dissertation that surveyed middle school boys and girls. The vast majority of girls and boys agree that boys are punished unfairly by the teacher, and girls "get away with" similar behaviors. Using physical force to resolve problems, whether a girl or a boy, is not a strategy we should be teaching our children.
Thanks for the kind words about our work!
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