Gender

[Isaac Fried]

Prairie Creek does a fairly good job at navigating gender segregation within their classes. Michelle told me last week that she “tries to mix up the partners and group the kids with the opposite gender,” but she also said she doesn’t want to make her students uncomfortable and knows that generally kids make friends with others of the same gender. I think that this is a question of gender but also just an effort to make the whole class feel cohesive and like one large group. There will always be cliques and groups of kids who are more comfortable with some peers, but Michelle does a nice job of mixing up the groups enough so that everyone knows everyone else. I think Prairie Creek in general has a very community based attitude, and I am impressed with the kids openness to working with anyone.

Kids at Prairie Creek also seem to be slightly resistant towards gendered expectations regarding presentation. There are several boys who have long hair, and most of the girls in the class would likely be considered tomboys, or at least are more comfortable with the outdoors and the prospect of getting dirty while at school. The students also have had zero reservations about my own gender, while I have had experience with children questioning whether I am actually a boy, nobody at Prairie Creek has brought up the subject. The students here are more concerned with the color of my hair and what school I go to.

The fact that nobody at Prairie Creek has questioned or doubted my gender is really encouraging to me. The camp I worked at this past summer was a good place, but the kids there were frankly quite disrespectful of my identity, and my coworkers did not have the ability to advocate for me. Kids laughed or seemed confused when I told them that I was a boy, and one of them literally referred to me as “it.” I know that this isn’t their fault, that many children haven’t learned much about gender and don’t really mind what I identify as, but it still hurts. It makes me feel better and more optimistic about teaching that Prairie Creek is different. It proves to me that children learn from their environment, and can be taught to be more respectful and open minded about things such as gender.

This week, I was at Prairie Creek on Wednesday, October 20. The Herons spent their morning class time reading an article about photography, and then were partnered up and instructed to take pictures with their iPads and print one out for an art show. Michelle pointed out to the students that a year ago on the same date, it had snowed six inches in Northfield. It was a shocking but true fact that made it feel a little bit warmer even on a chilly day. The morning had begun with rain, but it had cleared up so that the Herons were able to have a relatively normal morning. It wasn’t until recess time that some clouds had rolled back in, and as we heard thunder and saw a big lightning bolt off in the fields, Michelle told her class that they would be having indoor recess, and I took my leave in order to beat the rain. The students had two other activities that day: a short lesson on probability involving dice rolling, and then an orienteering exercise led by another class, the Robins.

I really enjoyed the photography focus for the day. I was paired with a girl named Sylvia, whose excitement at using the iPad trumped her ability to spend much time composing her photos. I studied photography in high school, and so it was fun for me to see the fourth and fifth graders learning about rule of thirds and other compositional techniques. I took this photo:

[Angela Ellis]

Hey Isaac! I really appreciate your observations about how gender is displayed in the classroom. I had a hard time discerning binary gender displays in my classroom because I am still new to this language. Being at Carleton, I sometimes forget that long hair is considered feminine. Hair is hair, right? Your notes on gender constructs in place in your classroom have helped me reflect on the ones in my classroom. Also, what a beautiful picture! And another side note, I love how the classes are called different bird names; that is so cute.

[Author]

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