Chapter 4-Group Differences

         Thinking about what types of groups will have an effect on my classroom, I can now see that all ethincities, races and genders will have some kinf of effect within my classroom. From doing a project on gender differences, it is apparent that boys and girls act differently and are wired to think a little bit differently too. Through this project I have discovered the characteristics that make boys and girls different, which often perpetuate stereotypes. As teachers we must be quick to understand their differences and first of all, understand the uniqueness of each gender. Girls are born one way while boys are born another, and that brings uniqueness to the classroom. But often times we reinforce behaviors that we feel are oriented more towards boys or girls and discourage students from trying or engaging in certain activities. We can encourage the right kind of gender equity by not giving more attention to one gender because students definitely notice and can feel insignificant because of it. Another great way to encourage crossing sterotypical boundaries is encouraging boys to engage in activities and subjects that are not typically "manly" and vice versa for girls. Approaching these barriers that society has deemed "not right" and setting the record straight is one way to start taring down barriers.
         The way me and my partner tried to approach addressing gender differences and stereotypes was by allowing students to discuss, act out, or draw stereotypes that are reinforced or broken in society. We wanted to emply a teaching style that was colloborative and interactive. We wante students to construct their own ideas about the topic and feed off of prior knowledge as well as other's thoughts and ideas. This opened the floor for discussion on how we address these matters and what holds people back from breaking stereotypes rather than following reinforced patterns. Throughout the rest of our presentation we wanted to present factual, research-based gender differences in the classroom ranging form elementary school to high school. Next we wanted to give future teachers the tools to combat reoccuring gender differences that might cause strife and negativity in the classroom. We wanted our students to understand that stereotypes are inevitable beacuse many of them are true, but that we need to be aware of two things: 1. We can help students overcome certain stereotypes that are barriers to them. 2. We must recognize that many stereotypes warrant different types of treatment for boys and girls.