Sexism in the Classroom

There are many stereotypes assigned to boys and girls, especially when it comes to education. However, how much of these stereotypes are actually true? In my opinion, the more young children are exposed to these stereotypes, the more they believe they are expected to act accordingly. If every child followed the image boys and girls are expected to be, the future of education and America would be very dim. 

What instances of sexism exist at school?

According to an article by the Teaching Resource Center, many studies have shown that teachers are "more likely to call on male students, even when female students raise their hands or when no one does, remember and use the names of male students, and wait longer for male than for female students to respond to questions." The author also explains that female students are less likely to "raise their hands immediately, demand the teacher's attention, receive feedback, and more likely to be interrupted when they speak."Another article, "Sexism in our schools: Training Girls for Failure?" by M. Conroy, states that girls are given less attention in the classroom and both male and female teachers interact more with boys because "teachers praise and criticize boys more" and because "boys and girls in grade school usually compete instead of working together as equals."

How can it be eliminated?

According to M. Conroy, teachers can promote equality by hanging pictures of both male and female athletes and politicians on the billboards. Other studies suggest having the teachers take courses against favoring one gender over the other could help as well. If teachers learned not to assign boys and girls with certain expected attributes, they would have nothing to live up to and could be recognized as individuals, rather than separate genders.

Racism in the Classroom

It is obvious that the majority of a child's education comes from the classroom itself, but in turn, so do their experiences with racism. Although schools are no longer segregated, children are still faced with racism at school. Launi E Dahl, author of the article, "Racism in Elementary Classrooms in America," believes the reason children are being exposed to racism is "the categorizing of the non-white students as 'special needs' students, the overwhelming shortage of non-white teachers, and the textbook and curriculum's emphasis on white perspective."I believe Dahl makes a valid idea here, because as I recall my elementary years, there were very few non-white students in the upper level classes and the lower level classes were predominantly Hispanic and African American. For the majority of my time in elementary school, I was placed somewhere between the lower and higher level classes, so I had a pretty even mixture of ethnic groups. However, when it came time to read or do mathematics, I remember noticing the Hispanics and African Americans struggled more and were given extra tutoring sessions. I do not doubt that I was not the only one that noticed this, thus the root of many children's stereotypes.

How early do children develop ideas of racism?
A study developed by researchers Katz and Kofkin showed that infants are able to non verbally categorize people by race and gender by six months old. The researchers argued that because this was very common in six month olds, "initial awareness of race probably begins even earlier." In an article, "Children are not Colorblind," by Erin N. Winkler, the author states that children as young as two "use racial categories to reason about people's behaviors and numerous studies show that three to five year old not only categorize people by race, but express bias based on race."

How does this happen?
While most people would believe children develop their ideals of racism from their parents, many studies disagree. Winkler mentions in her article that children likely develop these views based on "cultural and social norms." In other words, they develop a sense of conformity at an early age. She goes on to explain that children assign people of the same color to hold the same dimensions, in other words, stereotyping; also, she says that society as a whole teaches children that "race is a social category of significance." Children may notice that others come from different neighborhoods, wear different clothes, and speak differently, thus separating them into different categories rather than looking at them as individuals.

What can be done to prevent this?
While there is no sure way to completely eliminate racism in schools, some things can be done to prevent children from thinking like this. One article on the internet titled "How to Raise Tolerant Children" says that parents should be a good role model, be careful what they say, speak to their children about racism while they are young, speak about one-another's differences, and read books that exemplify diversity. There are a few books that could help, such as, "We're Different, We're the Same," by Bobbi Kates or "The Jacket" by Andrew Clements. Most importantly, Winkler expresses in her article, is that parents speak to their children about the matter.

Racism and Sexism in Disney Movies

The majority of adults in America today watched Disney films growing up, as do their children now. While Disney prides itself on teaching valuable lessons to young people, some films are tainted with racist portrayals and sexist acts.

Aladdin

The 1992 movie follows a young Arabian man named Aladdin as he tries to escape poverty and falls in love with Princess Jasmine. It teaches young people valuable lessons about love and fighting for what you want. However, the film sparked much controversy over its semi-racist elements. For example, the opening song, "Arabian Nights" contains lyrics that describe Arabian lands "where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face. It's barbaric, but hey, its home."Also, the film depicts the evil character, Jafar as a stereotypical Arabian man with dark skin and dramatic eyes, while Aladdin, the good character, is seen as more Americanized with lighter skin.

The Little Mermaid
This classic movie about Ariel, a young mermaid princess that gives up her voice and tail to meet a human prince on land. While it shares valuable lessons about going after one's dreams, it also shows racism through some of the characters. For example, Sebastian, one of Ariel's friends, is a Jamaican sounding crab. The lyrics he sings at one point in the movie suggest that he is lazy and does not want a job, one of the stereotypes we assign to black people in America.


Cinderella
Perhaps the most famous Disney film, Cinderella portrays a young princess whose wicked stepmother forces her to be a servant to herself and the princess's two evil step sisters until she marries the Prince. It is a cute story that shows the importance of honesty, however, it is quite sexist. Cinderella's character is seen as the perfect woman, but upon analyzing her traits and values, one can see the true view of how a woman is expected to be based on this story. Not only is she thin, blonde, pale, and blue-eyed, but she cooks, cleans and sings. Her "evil" stepsisters are shown as ugly, fat and lazy with darker hair and big feet. One can see that the film suggests a woman should be pretty and thin and do housework.

The Jungle Book

The 1967 film is centered around Mowgli, a young boy who has been raised by wolves in the Indian jungle and the friends he makes while living there. The movie is somewhat racist because, while all other animals in the jungle speak in British accents, the monkeys speak with strange gibberish accents. While this only lightly suggests racism towards black people, the monkeys also sing about wanting to become "real people."

Disney films will forever be classic children movies because they combine music and visuals to teach valuable lessons and morals. However, many of the films contain racist and sexist suggestions. Not only are there very few heroic and courageous women, but the way that women are shown is demeaning. Also, it is clear that Disney favors white people due to their lack of respectable characters of color. But because these films teach children so many vital things in an entertaining matter, they should not be banned or boycotted. Instead, parents must instill in their children the correct values, and point out the flaws in the films and explain to their children what is wrong. Hopefully, by doing so, a child would be more able to view a film and understand the racism and sexism and why it s not acceptable.

Racism and Sexism in Children's Books

The Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
This classic story is a series of books about author Laura Inglalls Wilder's childhood growing up during the 19th century in the Midwest. While the story teaches valuable lessons about growing up and the struggles each family faces, racism is clearly present. Because the family lived in Indian Territory for some time in their lives, there are a few instances of poor treatment of the Indians. It is arguable that because this story is not fiction that it is simply portraying how racism was accepted at the time, children reading it today may not have that explained to them.

Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

Winnie the Pooh is a beloved children's classic about the adventures of a teddy bear and his friends. While the book will forever be loved, it contains sexist undertones. The majority of the characters in the story a male, in fact, a study found that in 57 percent of all children's stories, the main character or hero is a male. This teaches children that only men can be courageous heroes. 

 
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
This fictional series is a classic children's book centered around the adventures of a group of children in the fictional world of Narnia. While the books contain much less noticeable racist tones, there are a few instances. There are two different groups of people in the story, Calormen, the people described having dark skin, and the Narnians, the people with extremely white skin. Not surprisingly, the two groups of people do not get along.




Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni
Leo Lionni's children's book Little Blue and Little Yellow is all about two colors that become friends despite their differences. The book is a good example of racism because little blue and little yellow are very different and aren't supposed to be friends. However, the book is a positive influence because it shows little blue and little yellow becoming friends anyways, overcoming racism.



I'm Glad I'm a Girl! I'm Glad I'm a Boy! by Whitney Darrow
This old classic children's book is about the many differences between boys and girls, it is the perfect definition of sexism. It includes lines such as "Boys are doctors. Girls are nurses." and "Boys can eat. Girls can cook." While some of them may prove to be more true than others, it teaches children that women are subordinate to men. In a society where more and more women are becoming doctors or lawyers, books like this teach children those things aren't possible.

While the majority of these books were written sometime in the mid nineteen hundreds, children continue to read them today. Reading is a major component in a child's education, but what they read affects them more than how often they read. By allowing children the read books like the ones listed above, we are teaching them stereotypes that they will bring with themselves into the real world, thus continuing the issue of racism and sexism. If we wish to improve the way our society views different races and genders, we must teach the future generations to accept one another and erase all stereotypes. With that being said, it does not mean children shouldn't be allowed to read such classic books, but they must also be taught that what they are reading is a lesson, not necessarily a way to act.