Internet Exercises

Chapter 5

Chapter 5 provides some historical perspective on the schooling of girls and women in the United States. There continues to be debate about whether or not schooling and pedagogy "shortchange" girls, as both Myra and David Sadker's Failing at Fairness and the American Association of University Women's 1992 and 1998 reports charge. Interestingly, it seems as though current research is showing that while girls perform better in female-only classrooms, boys' achievement drops when girls are not present.

There is a great deal of information available on the Internet that speaks to gender equity and gender bias issues in the classroom, as well as sites with suggestions and lesson plans on how to try to promote an equitable classroom, especially in the areas of math, science, and computer technology. The sites below represent some different perspectives. Take a look at what they have to say, and think about your own experiences as a student. Do you think the problem of gender bias has been overblown? Is there any merit to the argument that boys lose out as much as girls do, just in different ways, in schools today? How do you want to approach the issue of gender in your own classroom?

• Gender Roles: Is Education the Problem or Solution?
• Are Girls Being Shortchanged?
• MenWeb: Men's Issues: The Myth That Schools Shortchange Girls
• 11/17/99–The Silent Gender Gap