I was very glad I accepted the invitation of DOST Science High School in Argao town, south Cebu, to take part in gender mainstreaming with the faculty and staff. They have an interesting setup. Their gender focal person is Leonila N. Oyangoren, the finance officer. They have an in-house engineer because there is still an ongoing construction. So with the school on the side of a hill and facing the coast, someone has been ensuring the safety of the buildings and, of course, the people here.
The students have a dormitory because apart from the school being in Argao, it is three kilometers from the Poblacion. I met Felixberto Sasaban Jr. who has been taking charge of the dormitory for males. As he accompanied me in the return trip to the city, I saw how very accommodating and sensitive he was to a mother who needed assurance of hearing the voice of her son. He quickly made arrangements for the student to reach her via mobile phone. He was actually very gender sensitive.
Our main host was Fermin Inoferio, the physical education teacher, who was very spontaneous and warm. At the same time he was eager to integrate gender in the curriculum.
I have observed that government agencies and institutions are actually doing gender mainstreaming. DOST has a national gender focal person who has the rank of undersecretary. Fe Singson actually implements the integration. so she came to Argao for gender sensitivity sessions and gender analysis. Sherwin Maniquis from the Philippine Commission on Women came to discuss gender planning and budgeting.
I promised the group that I would discuss the Magna Carta of Women but decided to also discuss gender fair education.
It was the book “Multicultural Education Issues and Perspectives” that motivated me to share the ideas and insights of “Gender and Educational Equality” of Myra Sadker, David Sadker and Lynette Long.
The authors close the essay emphasizing the importance of the teacher in the elimination of sexism in the classroom and consequently removing limitations for boys and girls.
Some possible results of “Sexism in School” are: boys “receive lower grades, are more likely to be grade repeaters, and are less likely to complete high school.” They assert that since boys are socialized to be “active, independent, and aggressive” in school they could experience “role conflict since schools stress quiet behavior and docility.”
Even in the elementary level, exposure to stereotypes result in the pupils’ having limited career options.
When school follows the home and “teach boys to suppress their emotions; as adults, they may find it difficult or impossible to show feelings toward their family and friends”. Few schools provide boys programs to learn skills of parenting, the authors say.
The educators emphasized the need to check for bias in the language of curriculum materials using in history words such as “forefathers” and “mankind.”
The authors said “that children and adults have been stereotyped in textbooks; boys have been shown as ingenious, creative, brave, athletic, achieving and curious. Girls have been portrayed as dependent, passive, fearful, and docile victims.” Such affects students’ career choices.
Then there is the case of “invisibility” and “imbalance.” Imbalance is often seen in history textbooks. How many Philippine history textbooks narrate the story of the suffragist movement?
So with the sexist bias in our textbooks, what do they suggest?
First of all, they urge teachers not to ignore the bias in curriculum materials. They have to confront this and involve the students to develop their critical thinking skills.
Bring in other materials that fill in information gaps about sectors with limited discussion such as women, disadvantaged classes, and minorities. Encourage attractive displays. We have done this, too, with students in Asian History. They also remind us to check our practices on seating arrangements and groupings in the case of cooperative learning. We also need to invite others to observe us so we can be more conscious of how we relate to female and male students. Are we reinforcing stereotypes by the way we interact with our students? Lastly, we are encouraged to keep updated on “sex equity in education” and to “be careful that your own rights are not denied because of sex discrimination.”
All my trips were very pleasant because of Abby, Argao DOST Science High School driver. When Sherwin Maniquis came to Cebu to visit Sidlak GRC in UP, he came with a big bag of Argao-made delicacies: broas, polvoron, the famous Argao torta and pure tablea. The gift package was Dr. Florita A. Pontillas and the Argao Science High School Community’s gracious and generous way of appreciating our sharing. We look forward to the school’s having representatives with us in Sidlak, the Central Visayas Gender Resource Center.