The Chilly ClimateBernice R. Sandler, Senior Scholar in Residence Nati - PDF document

The Chilly ClimateBernice R. Sandler, Senior Scholar in Residence National Association for Women in Education Over the last twenty-five years we have eliminated many of the overt barriers that deprived girls and women in education. We thought that was all we had to do: open the doors and everything would be equal. We were wrong, for there are still many hidden barriers, especially in the classroom. Men and women sitting side by side in p erson that he has more thin g s to sa y , that his intellectual effort is worthwhile. Men are called b y name Pa e 1of 7 y Climate, Bernice R. Sandle r 7/13/2005 g more often—it makes people feel good in conversation when they are called by name, particularly by a p There is some evidence that males and females may remarkably consistent: articles that have a male name attached to them get hifemales. Studies of how women’s success is perttern: men’s success is attributed to talent; women’s success is at statement: "Is it cold in here?" Females are more sentence—making it sound like a quesway that many men speak. When researchers noticed these differences in men’s and women’s speech, speak because women are devalued in the classroom. p same reason ma y be viewed sim p l y as "blowin g off steam." Pa e 2of 7 y Climate, Bernice R. Sandle r 7/13/2005 g women’s issues mamothers if they are to fulfill themselves;" "most women go to college to catch a husband;" "women are p icked up by the press and we got the most negative mail we ever receive d —including threats such as "God will get you for this." At a very deep level people understand that language is not trivial and that it shapes our thoughts and values. Courtesy and politeness may be used as a way to patronize women students, particularly when used in a p shifts the focus away from intellectual activities toeously trivializing women N can also create a chilly climate. neralizations are always subject men b ehave in a certain wa y , and certainl y not all women behave in a certain wa y . But it is j ust as true to sa y , e 3of 7 y Climate, Bernice R. Sandle r 7/13/2005 g for instance, that many behave in one way more often than men [or many women]. Such generalizations can help us understand some of the classroom behaviors faculty members and students engage in, and how gender often (but not always and certainly not solely) shapes what happens in the classroom. Expectations the reasons Hillary Clinton is oftedoesn’t meet our expectations asclassrooms with these expectations for themselves and intimacy. Women are more likely to seek ininformation in a way that invites others’ opinions ra p onse first and then raise their hand. You can see, then, how the tendenc y to call on the first Pa e 4of 7 y Climate, Bernice R. Sandle r 7/13/2005 g hand that goes up will have a detrimental effect on women’s participation in the classroom. Harassment What I want to talk about next is the way in which students often treat each other, particularly male students harassing female students. Do you remember when it was OK for the boys to tease the girls? People laughed—or at least the boys laughed. The girls may have been uncomfortable, but no one took this kind of teasing seriously. In fact, many people thought of it—and some still do—as cute, as "boys will be boys," as normal, natural behavior. Remember the rhyme: Georgie Porgy, pudding and pie, kissed the girls and made them cry." Well, this kind of behavior, a kind of sexual bullying—is not OK anymore. When big boys do it, in the workplace, or in colleges and in public elementary and secondary schools, it is illegal. Georgie Porgy is a sexual harasser. Sexual harassment, whether it occurs in the classroom or outside of it, makes coeducation less equal for girls and women. One study of college students showed that between 70-90 percent of women students have experienced at least one incident from one or more males which they viewed as serious and to which they reacted negatively. In the classroom, male hostility may show itself in denigrating or rude remarks about specific women or women in general or even by hissing and booing when women talk about women’s issues. It gets worse, too, when faculty ignore male student behaviors which denigrate or demean women students. Thus faculty may consciously or unconsciously collude with individuals or certain behaviors when they fail to take action as when male students roll their eyes or indicate annoyance by their behavior or body language when women students speak or when male students make sexist or sexual remarks about individual women. Women students who are hissed or ridiculed by other students when they raise women’s issues in the classroom may also be ignored by faculty. Blatantly sexist remarks about women in general may be overlooked; there is no discussion or other response. The message to men and women in the classroom is clear: such behaviors are acceptable. Thus men are often allowed to denigrate, act rudely, ridicule or express hostility to women in class. The impact on women students is strong; it can affect their sense of psychological well-being. The behavior is upsetting and often demeaning. When it happens in fields where females are relative newcomers, such as in science, some women may change their major and their career plans. They may also be angry at men and believe that all men are like this. I’ve talked today only about some of the ways in which colleges are not yet truly coeducational and equal. Our report talks about teacher style and pedagogy, including feminist pedagogy, and the curriculum which often ignores women as authors or contributors or as subject matter. I remember one p sychology textbook which showed only pictures of men until they got to the section on neurosis, and then only there did they show women’s pictures. The report also discusses how women faculty, p articularly if they engage in non-traditional teaching methods, may be evaluated more harshly by their fellow faculty members and by students. What can we do about the chilly classroom climate? There is much we can do. Our new report (The Chilly Classroom Climate - A Guide To Improve The Education of Women, published by the Washington-based National Association for Women in Education) provides a comprehensive blueprint for change. It has more than 270 specific recommendations for administrators and faculty, including over 100 which are aimed at helping faculty members make their day-to-day teaching more effective and fair. Pa e 5of 7 y Climate, Bernice R. Sandle r 7/13/2005 g Faculty Behaviors helping teachers become better teachers; others are aimed specifically at ensuring that women receive class. men, as well as some international erless to stop it. g e women individuall y to p artici p ate in some of the wa y s discussed in the Pa e 6of 7 y Climate, Bernice R. Sandle r 7/13/2005 g difficult for some stWashin ton, DC 20036-6511, p hone: 202-659-9330, FAX: 202-457-0946, or e-mail: e 7of 7 y Climate, Bernice R. Sandle r 7/13/2005 g