Girls and Boys, Men and Women: Understanding Gender

Gender is often a polarizing issue. Many people believe that men and women must be from different planets: Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. The various arguments around gender are numerous and often divisive, but both Lise Eliot and Susan Pinker showed that biologically the difference between men and women biologically is minimal, the majority of the differences being culturally trained rather than inherent from birth.

With women being historically repressed, there was a need for gender equality; however, this has come in the form of promoting positive masculine traits in women: strength, career ambitions, self-sufficiency, etc. The reverse of this has failed to happen though; rarely does society promote commonly perceived as feminine traits in boys, traits such as language development, empathy, and nurturing, all of which are positive attributes of women. If we are to raise great people, should we not promote positive traits in all children, regardless of what gender the child is or what gender the trait is associated with?

Personally, I am an exception to the gender norms. I am usually labelled a tomboy for my love of sports among other things. I am good at math, competitive, and exhibit many typically masculine traits. But at the same time, I am a teacher, a nurturer by nature, love cooking, "girl" movies, and exhibit many typically feminine traits as well. My hope is that my combination of both somehow makes me a good person and helps me to survive and thrive in the world.

How did it come to pass that I would take such an even mix of gender traits? I think I have always had a heightened sense of self. Despite many societal pressures to be more of a girl and being socially ostracized for my deviant choices, I continually chose to do what was right for me. To this day, I could not explain where I found the courage to be different, but I do know that it takes a lot of courage to not conform to the stereotypes of what it means to be a boy or a girl.

How do we teach children to have this courage to be themselves and take the best attributes of both genders? Or if that is impossible, to have the courage to be themselves? How can we influence the culture to be more accepting of those who are different? How can we nurture positive attributes in all children? The big idea is that we, as genders, are more alike than we are different, but the practical application of this new information was not discussed. It is a discussion that needs to happen. _________________________________________________________________Windows Live: Keep your friends up to date with what you do online.http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9691815

In Bed with the Word

It was lunch on a rainy Thursday afternoon. Cool and foggy, this was the sort of day you would picture for October, the sort that makes you want to curl up by the fire with cocoa, a warm blanket, and a good book, sentiments echoed in the opening remarks of the speaker of the day, Daniel Coleman, as he set out to address the room of avid readers on the value of reading. For each member of the audience, reading is treasured for a different reason, but what connected us all was the passion for the written word. Passion, because without that, why bother to brave the wind and cold to hear a professor talk about books?

Coleman made it easy for audience members to think back to their own reading experiences, relating to some, prompting questioning from others. He compares his view of reading to the slow food movement, a comparison that I do not share, but I do agree with his view of reading as quiet time. I treasure those few minutes each day when I crawl into bed and read a little before turning out the lights. Some days I have time to read in other quiet moments, first thing in the morning or the middle of the afternoon, but without fail, I read every night. But much as my own personal reading interests were invested in the talk, it was my role as an educator that really made this event a "must-attend" for me.

The big idea relates the idea of an education with the act of reading. The two at first seem clearly related, but on further inspection, it becomes less clear what that relationship might be. A person can be educated in some ways without reading a book, leading to the big question: What should be the role of reading in education? While it might seem obvious that reading is a critical life skill, how imbedded should it be in other subject areas. Some may argue that if students read about other subjects, they are not fully experiencing them, but merely being fed information and lacking original thought. While I agree that there is more to the subjects, especially science, than reading, reading multiple works on a single topic can help students to see multiple perspectives. The synthesis of this information is their original thoughts. Coleman quotes, "What I saw in a book confirmed what I knew in my heart." Reading completes the experience and allows insight into viewpoints we would not otherwise consider.

Personally, I enjoy reading across a wide range of genres, but sadly, for many youth, that simply is not the case. In fact, I also went away from reading for a while, at the time thinking that it was boring. I was able to come back to it, through the gift of a few good books, but many don't, turned off permanently by reading textbooks in which they have no interest, as I was. Others never do get into reading. Is this a problem? Is it any different than not liking sports or not wanting to do the arts? If it is a problem, what can we do to fix it? As a teacher, I enjoy introducing kids to books that are outside of their normal choices but within the range of what they will find interesting. This takes patience, practice, and intimate knowledge of the kids, not an easy thing to acquire.

Beyond textbooks turning reading from pleasure-inducing experiences to knowledge-seeking chores, schools also lack the "quiet time" element of reading. There are always announcements on the P.A., the kid that needs to blow his nose, something happening outside, the teacher moving around, not to mention the uncomfortable desk chairs they must sit in. Combined, these elements make quality reading time difficult. Then, once the book has been read, rarely can it be enjoyed "as is." It must be analyzed, written about, acted out, logged, journalled, explained to classmates, or one of any number of other possible assignments, which end up being graded, shifting the focus from reading a good book to competing for an "A." While there is some value in these assignments, they are exactly the opposite of the beauty of reading: the quiet time alone with the book. There must be some way for schools to balance these two competing needs.

With all the pressures on today's teachers, reading for pleasure tends to get stuffed to the bottom of the pile under all the "measurable outcomes." It is this loss of the value of pleasure reading in schools that leads kids to believe that reading is "boring" and should only be used as a means to an end, a message reinforced by a lack of reading in the home. Or perhaps it is the other way around. Either way, many people are missing out on the joys of reading. While I do not know if this is a problem, I do know that reading has enriched my life and that everyone should, at minimum, have the opportunity to read a few good books and decide if it enriches their lives too. _________________________________________________________________Eligible CDN College & University students can upgrade to Windows 7 before Jan 3 for only $39.99. Upgrade now!http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9691819

Illusions and the end of Literacy

To a packed, standing room only crowd, Chris Hedges kicked off the Ottawa International Writers Festival in a big way. For a presentation billed as "Big Idea: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle," Hedges spent very little time talking about literacy and its demise. In fact, the subject came up only twice. As an educator with an interest in literacy, both personally and from the perspective of "what do we teach our students?" I was disappointed. But when it comes to the Big Idea, Hedges delivered.

For me, and hopefully for others, the festival represents a forum to discuss the big ideas facing society from a multitude of different angles, bringing together writers of many persuasions, but more importantly, thinkers who view the big ideas in a variety of ways. Often the topics include international affairs, the environment, religion/God, poverty, discrimination, politics, war, what it means to be Canadian, and any one of the many current local and world issues. Hedges, in his address to the crowd, touched on all of these big ideas, connecting them through an unrestrained, slap-you-in-the-face-with-reality orientation to the world as we know it.

Hedges's view of reality is blunt, grim, confrontational, and haunting if fully understood. He describes the world as being pornographized in the sense that, within certain channels, it is acceptable to exploit others. He depicts the United States on the at.verge of collapse from decades of corruption and gave evidence that Obama is no different. Globally, he showed how the liberal, religious mainstream has failed society, leaving the corrupt, dogmatic religious right to gain popularity. He also talked about the environment and our failure collectively to do anything about it.

What does all this have to do with literacy? While people can read, many choose not to, opting instead for the illusionary world of the internet rather than face reality. By not reading, people are not thinking, instead buying into the illusionary world of images, created by those with power in order to maintain the status quo and thus their power. Others are not bothering to learn to read, feeling that they can get by with marginal literacy skills and what they see on TV.

He accused the people of clinging to our illusions that none of this is happening, leading to a complete failure to solve the problems. But really, with all that is apparently wrong with society, can you really blame the common person for wanting to cling to the illusion of prosperity? In many ways, I must admit to avoiding thinking about all the problems in the world because it can be stressful and depressing to think about that when you feel powerless to change it.

I like to find and believe in what is good in the world because despite the impending global doom, I believe that there is humanity left and I choose to cling to that and nourish it. Oddly enough, Hedges also sees and values this humanity as a way to conquer evil in the world. He needs to see the reality as it is to get to hope. I find that his reality is a little scary, so I run to hope, hide behind hope, and look back only when necessary to remember what it is that I hope for and make sure that I guide myself through wisely. Like Karen Armstrong, Hedges considers compassion, the selfless giving of ourselves to the greater good, to be the key to the survival of humans on the planet. Given that both Hedges and Armstrong spoke to packed crowds, this bodes well for humanity, that perhaps others share this view and desire to see more from the human race.

But while the crowds appear receptive to the big idea, the big questions of "how?" and "what can I do to make a difference?" go largely unanswered. It is important to selflessly give to others, but how much? And what if you are so poor that you have nothing to give? Hedges promotes non-cooperation with the powers that be, but this is much easier said than done, especially given that these powers RUN THE WORLD. While all the well-meaning people fight over the answers to these questions, the powerful gain more, the poor sink farther, and the world continues on its current course.

As for me, I believe in humanity, help others as much as I can, aim for environmental responsibility, read, think, and teach the next generation to do the same, and hope for the best. _________________________________________________________________Save up to 84% on Windows 7 until Jan 3—eligible CDN College & University students only. Hurry—buy it now for $39.99!http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9691635