Gender in Mr. Dube’s class

[Price Nicholas]

Overall, I haven’t noticed any extreme gender imbalances in Mr. Dube’s classes. That isn’t to say there aren’t any differences in behaviour based on gender, though, because there definitely are. The girls in the class, for example, tend to participate and engage much more frequently than the boys. Of the maybe four or five students who participate the most in the 10th grade class, only one of them is a boy, and his classmates clearly think he is “weird.” The same dynamic exists in the ninth grade class, where all but two of the regular participants are girls. I’ve also noticed that I work one on one mostly with male students, as the ones who fall behind on work usually seem to be the boys. I think there is definitely an expectation for the boys to be too cool for the class, so there is a lot more motivation for them to be disinterested and there is more social risk in them engaging than for the girls. This isn’t, of course, a totally universal observation; I already mentioned that some boys participate regularly and I sit right behind a girl who watches hockey highlights on her ipad all class.

My gender identity has definitely influenced my own educational experiences. First, I definitely spent a lot of time in middle and high school trying to be cool and not do work or pay attention in class. Because of this, I think I developed some bad classroom and study habits (zoning out, procrastinating) that I still struggle with today, even though I’m over the whole too cool for school act. I also think that because of my gender (and race) I was alway held to high expectations and teachers always assumed that I was smart and capable. Of course, this has been a huge privilege overall, and early on in my school experience it gave me a sense of self confidence and trust in my intelligence that carries over even to today. The gendered nature of this is especially evident when you compare my experience with that of my twin sister. Although we’ve had almost identical school experiences for our whole lives, and are equally competent, she has always talked to me about feeling insecure in her intelligence and abilities, and feeling the need to prove to others and herself in school environments that she can do things.

This past week in Mr. Dube’s classroom was probably the most I’ve worked with the whole class. Usually I work one on one with students, and they usually come from a group of three or four kids who need the most help. But the class is now really starting to do their writing unit, and I spent my time reviewing everyone’s outlines for their essays. It was really interesting to see in how many directions the students took their answers, and I enjoyed reading through them. Additionally, it was interesting to notice that some of the students who act disengaged during class actually put a lot of effort into their outlines. The gap between the best outlines and the worst ones was definitely pretty jarring, but it was nice to see that most students seem to all be at around the same level when it comes to thinking about these essay questions and articulating at least the start of an answer.

[Paul Fairchild]

Price, I think your observation about the participation rates of boys and girls is very interesting. I can definitely envision an environment where boys who participate in class are looked at as weird. I, myself, can remember attitudes like that in my high school days. Do you think Mr. Dube could be addressing that more head on?

I can relate a lot to your recollection on your school attitude. I, too, wanted to fit in badly and didn’t really apply myself much in high school, at least on a level where my classmates could see.

I’m jealous you ended up with Mr. Dube. I really wanted to tutor in his class, but I’m happy with my assignment. Thanks for your insight and I look forward to reading more from you.

[Thomas White]

Hi Price,

I am intrigued by your observation about how your high school experience differed so dramatically from your sister. I agree with you that my male identity has certainly influenced my confidence in school. Like you, I have rarely doubted that I belong in an academic setting for not being intelligent enough. Confidence in school seems like something that is a factor of the way you are treated by teachers, peers, parents, and maybe other sources like media. I wonder to what extent this treatment can be boiled down to gender? My guess is more than I would imagine.

It’s exciting you’ve been able to work more with the students in the last week. I hope it continues to go well for you!

[Author]

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