As a child in school, I never had really seen gender in the teaching profession other than that the majority of teachers are women. I do though have an excellent example of a male teaching figure in my life; my father. Growing up, I had always seen my mother and father in the teaching profession, so I never really associated a gender with it until I never had a male teacher until I was in middle school. Now looking back, I do see how the majority of teachers are female and portray a very feminine lifestyle. I can look back and remember being very affectionate with my female teachers and it was okay with society to be that way. Whether it was hugging after class or generally spending more time with them, it was something that could not be equal to a man. Some teachers I follow on TikTok happen to be gay men. They have shared some of their hardships with not being accepted or approved by their student's parents, and explaining that they make people uncomfortable with their femininity. I think changes like this can be great for students to experience and learn to accept as they are growing up.
In the Protecting Trans Youth article, it is expressed that it is up to the teachers to protect trans youth in their classrooms. I like how it was stated that "It also means building classrooms and curricula that resist the dehumanization of LGBTQ+ people that these attacks engender. It means always using our students’ correct pronouns and names; normalizing Queer stories and people through the books on our shelves, the films, podcasts, stories, and poems in our curricula; addressing gender and sexuality across the curriculum, not just in ELA or health class; teaching the history of social movements, including the LGBTQ+ movement; supporting student efforts to organize against homophobia and transphobia — QSAs or banned book clubs or rallies; and it means recognizing the deadly stakes if we don’t." I know that was a very long quote, but I truly think it embodies what our job is as future teachers to protect our students! There are many steps to be taken along the way, but the small changes we can make in the classroom can create large changes in the future!
Hi Channing! As always, I loved reading your post and learning from you about what you think! I agree with you that in the teaching profession, most of us teachers do happen to be women. I like that you thought about other aspects of these gender differences while teaching. For an example, I never have thought about the fact that students are affectionate with women teachers like they feel like they can go up and hug the teachers or whatever that man be. You stated that that was not the case for male teachers, and they did not get that same effects from students only based on their gender. I love that you follow teachers on tik tok and are listening to what the teachers have to say and sharing that with us. My question would be, how are you going to make your coworkers who can be men feel equal to women teachers? Again, thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteHi Alex! Thank you for commenting on my blog! I am glad that we can agree that most teachers in the profession are women. I always remember being way more affectionate with a female teacher than with a male teacher. I think that stems from students seeing their teachers as a motherly figure. That could even be the reason why some kids accidentally slip and call their teachers "mom". I think gender roles play a huge part in the classroom as a teacher. I think we have a lot to learn from teachers on social media as a lot of them are new to the profession. They have a fresh set of eyes and have fresh opinions on today's real world issues. As a future teacher, I will try to make male teachers equal to myself and other female teachers by expressing to my students that there are other ways to be affectionate with your male teacher. A high five, a fist bump, a hand shake, all of these things are appropriate to do with your male teacher!
DeleteHi Channing! I first wanted to say that I like how you used your dad and mom as an example. That completely explains why you didnt think of or saw those stereotypes between women and men when it comes to teaching.Another thing was that I loved how informative your post was. Specially becuase it didnt just talk or compare between both men and women.It also tocuhed basis and focused on many things that are happening in the real world, for example the teachers from tiktok and how you connected it to the Protecting Trans Youth article. I personally think that there is so many more elements to being a teacher that do not involve sexuality. To me it is very disappointing that there is still people out there who dont respect one another.Regardless to gender and sexuality a teacher should be passionate about being in a classroom and being able to teacher and gender shouldnt affect it.Why do you think that there is parents who have trouble accepting the trans teachers? At the end of the day parents should only care about their students learning.
ReplyDeleteHi Mariela! Thank you so much for commenting on my blog post! I am very lucky to have two great examples of educators in my family. Funny enough, my grandparents on both sides are educators as well! I do too agree with you that being a teacher involves so much more than involving sexuality. I do too think that it is so sad that some people do not respect one another. Does it come to a point where it is our job as teachers to teach the kids to respect one another because they do not have good examples at home? I think the reason that some parents do not accept trans or LGBTQ+ teachers is due to their roots and beliefs. I think some people must learn to look past those factors and learn to appreciate what is on the inside and all of the good that they are providing for their children.
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