School Girls Presentation

I have waited a long time to reflect on this presentation because I have lots of feelings and reactions to this literature circle presentation. Although all of the other presentations were interesting and I will take what I learned from them and use them when I become a teacher, this presentation hit home for me. I had never thought about how the differences in behavior could affect performance and learning in the classroom, but after hearing this presentation and looking back on my childhood education, I can see how my gender has affected my education. My only sibling is a sister, so I have never had the chance to see how my parents would treat a boy differently, but I think that I have been brought up to be more submissive, like what was talked about during the presentation. Because of this, I was more silent in the classroom and still am today. It’s not that I don’t like to participate in class- many times I have opinions that I’d wish to share, but I think that from my history in schools with boys, I have been taught not to speak. I wish I was as confident as some boys when talking in the classroom, but I’m still not. In one of my earlier journals I wrote about an article I read about creating more separate schools for both genders. At first I thought that was a ridiculous idea, but it sounds a little better after watching this presentation. I do, however, realize that not all boys learn and act an certain way, as well as girls. I still don’t think that this is the solution. When the group started talking about boys fulfilling the role of the stronger sex while girls were the weaker sex, I immediately thought about my experience working with Habitat for Humanity. I have worked with the program for three summers and have learned a lot about construction work, but every summer the adults on the worksite give the more difficult jobs to the boys, even if they have no experience working with tools. This not only bothers me, but most of the other women that work on the site. Last year, one of the adults asked if some of the ‘strong boys’ could carry shingles onto the roof. Needless to say, many of the girls were very insulted by this comment and decided that we could carry some shingles onto the roof as well. The packages weigh about forty pounds, which is almost half my weight and the weight of the other girls, but we did it. I don’t know if we were that strong or if we just wanted to prove ourselves to the men on our site, but we carried all of the packages of shingles onto the roof. I’ve started to realize the gender roles that men and women are supposed to play, and I’m trying not to play my role, but play who I am.

I was also really affected by the clip of Mona Lisa Smile that was played during the presentation. I had never seen the movie, but that was such a powerful speech that Julia Roberts gave. It makes me question what type of woman I want to be when I grow up. I’m proud to say that I didn’t come to college looking for a husband, but I have already found mine. Although we’re planning on getting married the summer after I graduate from college (I know it’s a little early to talk about things like that) I am going to start teaching and continue to teach while I raise a family. This presentation really affected me and my feeling about my responsibilities as a woman.