"Teachers bring into classrooms the stereotyped messages that we were taught," says Dolores Grayson, a former CTA member who founded Generating Expectations for Student Achievement (GESA), which conducts equity workshops across the country.
"Our ways of behaving toward students reinforce what our students learn about roles at home, in the community, with their classmates and in the workplace. Once teachers have examined their own biases — as demonstrated by their behavior toward all students — necessary curricular and environmental changes can be more easily accepted."
To help school employees become aware of behavior that might favor one gender over another, she encourages them to read the statements below, and check how often they apply to them — always [A], sometimes [S], rarely [R] or never [N].
- I do not refer to all doctors as "he" or all nurses or secretaries as "she."
- I avoid generalizations that employ stereotyping — "You throw like a girl" or "You think like a man."
- I address all inappropriate behavior with a calm, respectful and courteous approach, regardless of the gender, race, ethnicity or socioeconomic class of the student.
- I help students explore all vocational interests, not only those traditionally associated with their gender.
- I act as a model of unbiased behavior by performing activities traditionally thought to be more easily done by the other gender.
- I do not expect chivalrous behavior only from males, tolerate language from males that females may not use, or require neatness from females but not from males.
- My grading patterns reflect individual accomplishments.
- I expect comparable academic performance from all students.
- I permit all students to show their emotions without regard to gender or ethnicity.
