Gender equity in the classroom

With globalization and improved international relations in the world today, there are many changes occurring in each nation to adapt to the new socio-cultural environment created by the influx of people from other countries into their own. One such change that can be observed is that classrooms are becoming more and more heterogeneous in their cultural composition, requiring educators to modify their teaching styles in order to impart education in a fair and efficient manner to their students. The role of an educator in an intercultural classroom is to ensure the each and every student in the classroom is able to communicate and amicably work with people from other cultures with tolerance, understanding and respect. The educator has to not only impart information about his / her subject to the student, but they must do so in such a way that every student, irrespective of cultural background can understand what is being taught and does not feel left out or belittled. One aspect that is often left unnoticed in education is gender inequality, which can definitely leave certain students feeling left out or neglected. Whether they are aware of it or not, there is always some discrimination based on gender in every school and by every teacher. Each person has a stereotypical idea of the behavior that should be exhibited by boys and girls and this idea influences their interaction with their students. Numerous studies have revealed that boys are encouraged to be straightforward and unreserved and are praised more often for academic performance than girls. A girl is expected to be good at studies while boys do not have the same level of expectations from their teachers. This assumption of a non-physical distinction in their abilities is exactly the bias that needs to be rooted out of educational institutions. A girl is criticized for speaking loudly, while a boy is excused for doing so. There are many derogatory terms such as ‘ throwing like a girl’ that makes girls feel different or inferior to boys. Also, boys are encouraged to go for sports involving strenuous exercise and physical contact while the attention given to girls for the same is a token amount. Cases of sexual harassment can be ignored or dismissed, causing significant trauma to the victim and leaving them demoralized. Unless these inequalities are dealt with, it could seriously impair or color the learning experience of each gender, leaving them inept in one or the other dimension, instead of facilitating an all round development in the students (Essortment 2010). I also agree with the author of the document provided that language is an important aspect of intercultural competence. While dealing with a classroom full of students from diverse cultural backgrounds (such as migrants from Mexico, exchange students and others whose families have moved to the USA from less developed countries to ensure a good education for their children), it is important for an educator to recognize the fact that language can be an impediment for students who are not fluent in the native tongue (English in the case of USA). There are often many students who have an aptitude for certain subjects, but are either impaired because they cannot properly understand the subject being taught in a language foreign to them or are unable to express themselves because of a language barrier. To overcome this barrier, educators need not necessarily know all the languages in the civilized world. Innovative tactics such as pairing native students with foreign students (to help each other out in projects and study groups), providing translated versions of texts or prescribing alternate reading material that the student can understand go a long way towards overcoming this obstacle. Unless such problems are dealt with, it can seriously hamper the educational experience of the student as well as limit the development of their skills, eventually defeating the purpose of a multicultural educational setting. References Essortment (2010). Gender Equity in the Classroom. Retrieved from http://www. essortment. com/gender-equity-classroom-20101. html