Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 19:18:46 -0800 (PST)
From: Gene Thompson <gthompso@ccsf.cc.ca.us>
To: Pinhole Listserv <pinhole@exploratorium.edu>
Subject: Re: gender
In-Reply-To: <v01540b02b08ff3570e9f@[208.201.230.58]>
Specifically on the question about why less qualified males are teaching
higher level courses instead of much better qualified females -- there are
two things possibly in operation here, and they need to be sorted out
before you decide on appropriate action.
The first issue is seniority. Many, many, many schools and departments
operate on the formal or informal understanding that, if you stick it out
long enough, you have first dibs for whatever courses you want. This
isn't true in my school in the science dept BUT it is true in the English
dept, and seems to have nothing to do with gender and a lot to do with
personal relations and professional politics, etc.
The second issue -- gender discrimination -- can be tackled by using
academic qualifications and relevant training (especially if it's recent
training and educationally trendy -- like in microchem, or genetic
manipulation). If students, parents, school board members, the union
building rep, your dept head, the administration, the alumni, the PTA and
the contact responsible for certifying classes as meeting UC a-f list
requirements find out that the best qualified person is not teaching the
classes they should be teaching, they can put serious pressure for change
in places where it might cause change. If the issue of gender
discrimination is brought up in the discussion of qualifications --
especially with the PTA, the union and the school board -- I think they
will give the matter a little more serious attention then they otherwise
would.
Good luck no matter what you decide to do. Making waves isn't comfortable
or fun, but sometimes it is necessary.
Ellen Koivisto
George Washington High School
gthompso@ccsf.cc.ca.us
On Wed, 12 Nov 1997, Pinhole Listserv wrote:
> I have enjoyed reading all the discussions. Some heavy questions out
> there, many of which will probably never be answered. At the risk of
> sounding like "but what about ME?", let me ask the question: what do I
> tell girls when they ask why I am not going to be their teacher past the
> entry-level courses, why the men who have only undergraduate biology
> degrees are teaching them physics and chemistry instead of the woman with
> the master's in geophysics? How do we educate middle-aged men in
> administration to see discrimination and know how serious the long-term
> effects are for our female students?
>
> Deborah Rhodes, in her book called "Speaking of Sex: The Denial of Gender
> Inequality", says: Denial of sexual inequality comes in 3 forms. The
> first is denial of inequality: "It doesn't exist." The second is denial of
> injustice: "It exists, but it's not unfair." The third is denial of
> responsibility: "It exists, but there's nothing we can do about it."
>
> This is a great dialogue, and I'm sure there is much more to be
> contributed. Thanks again.
>
>
>
>