The images I saw of teachers today portrayed teachers as both men and women. The women, however, were sometimes sexualized. This was never true of the men. While these images showed an equal number of men and women teachers, the women portrayed in a demeaning way. This shows that while society accepts the fact that both men and women can be teachers, it views women teachers differently than men. This ties into feminism, in that there is not an equitable portrayal of teachers based on gender.
The images I found today represent a type of teaching that I do not want to be a part of. Most teachers were portrayed as being distant, uncaring and unconcerned in general with their students. The learning that takes place in these images is very passive learning. As I view and write about these images I am constantly wondering where the ideas the represent originated. These images also encourage me to be a teacher who changes these ideas for the better.
I think what you have to say is pretty sad. I am not surprised that people have abused the role of teacher and made it another sexualized outlet. School in general seems to be victimized by sexuality. Girls become women far too soon, and men are told what is attractive by a still somewhat neandethalic, and lecherous generation. There is no shame in being an attractive teacher, though. Being careful about how one appears to their students I'm sure must be on every teacher's mind.
ReplyDeleteI like your what your observation about the stereo type of teachers being "up at the board". It's true that when I sit down to draw a classroom the teacher is at the front and the students are in the seats. But I think that we have even found that our class today, as college students, was effective through a completely different style of learning. When I think back to memories of my days in the elementary classroom, the times when we were out of our seats interacting with the teacher and our peers are the lessons that I can really remember.
ReplyDeleteI think this view of teacher can be directly related to the talk my group had about feminism. It was so interesting to me because feminism started because of womens desire for social attention, then politcal justic, economical, and now it is to the point that the way women are social recognized is polar opposite of what it started as. Many times women because objects of lust and desire andin the begining women started out as objects that weren't to be seen or heard. So what happend? Why has this incredible changed occured? Is it media? I think it is sad that this is where our world is today.
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