Lesson One Sexism in School

1、Lesson OneSexism in School-Boys still get more attention than girls do Chen Jinzhong College of Foreign Languages Shaoxing UniversityFeb.25th, 2008 Email:Tel:短号短号:664489) Background Information Language variation Style of the Text Structural Analysis of the Text Detailed Study of theTex

2、t ExercisesBackground Information 1. The authors Myra Sadker: Biography (1943-1995) Born in very modest circumstances in Augusta, Maine, Myra discovered at an early age that the world in general, and schools in particular, did not treat boys and girls the same. Dr. Myra SadkerDr. David Sadker Dr. My

3、ra Sadker was professor of Education and Dean of the School of Education at The American University (Washington, DC) until 1995. Dr. Sadker wrote the first book on gender bias in Americas schools in 1973, and became a leading advocate for equal educational opportunities. She died while undergoing tr

4、eatment for breast cancer in 1995. In her name, Myra Sadker Advocates was established to continue her efforts and create more equitable and effective schools. Dr. David Sadker is a professor at The American University and has taught at the elementary, middle school and high school levels. Conducting

5、 teacher preparation programs both in the United States and overseas, David Sadker has been a teacher educator for three decades. David Sadker and his late wife gained a national reputation for their work in confronting gender bias and sexual harassment. He has directed more than a dozen federal edu

6、cation grants, authored five books and more than seventy-five articles in journals such as Phi Delta Kappan, Harvard Educational Review, and Psychology Today. His research and writing document sex bias from classroom to boardroom. He has published and trained in areas ranging from bias in profession

7、al communications to sexual harassment, from effective strategies in management to effective strategies in the classroom. She found that regardless of whether her name appeared first or second on her coauthored articles, her colleagues referred to her work by using her male co-authors name. At facul

8、ty meetings, her comments often fell on deaf ears, despite the merit of her ideas. Myra saw the connection: the voicelessness of professional women could be traced to the silencing of young girls in the early school years. Myra pioneered the research that d o c u m e n t e d g e n d e r b i a s i n

9、Americas schools. From grade school through graduate school, from inner cities to rural towns, Myra uncovered not only blatant gender discrimination in textbooks and sports funding, but also subtle inequities that shaped the way students were taught. Myra showed that boys and young men also pay the

10、costs of sexism in school. She found that boys are often the center of the classroom spotlight, receiving more frequent, active, direct and precise instruction, and taking with them a markedly different education than their female counterparts. Boys are more rigidly socialized into male appropriate

11、behaviors than girls, and, as a result, engage in riskier actions, find themselves more prone to accidents and adolescent violence, and are tracked into restricted careers. This gender bias, which takes root in the classroom, often branches out to the workplace, where the lessons of subtle sexism st

12、ill silence and short-change women and often generate unhealthy and pressured roles for both women and men. Through her writings and lectures, Myra alerted Americans to the academic, psychological, physical and career costs of sexism. She wrote the first book for teachers on the issue of sexism in 1

13、973, Sexism in School and Society, a trailblazing achievement. In 1994, she and her husband David authored the first popular book on sexism: Failing at Fairness: How Americas Schools Cheat Girls. Through her research and writing, Myra brought her cause for educational equity to a national audience.

14、While battling for the rights of children, Myra served as a professor and Dean of the School of Education at American University for over twenty years. She also raised two daughters, imparting to them the lessons she learned from decades of research. Today, David, Jackie, and Robin are all active pa

15、rticipants in the Myra Sadker Advocates, an organization dedicated to building and expanding on Myras ground breaking efforts, and continuing her advocacy on behalf of children. To prevent girls from being silenced, Myra became their voice. Her lifelong research increased parent and teacher awarenes

16、s of the problems girls and boys face in school. Myra Sadker Day is a result of this research, a day dedicated to liberating the possibilities that exist in the minds and hearts of children. Myra Sadker died while undergoing treatment for breast cancer.2. Language VariationVarietiesC o n t e x t u a

17、 lFactorsAccordingtoUSERa.regionaldialects:Scottish/IrishE n g l i s h , L o n d o nd i a l e c t ; V i r g i n i adialect,etc.Usersregionalbackgroundb.socialdialects:standardAmerican/BritishEnglish;CockneyBlackEnglish,lower-middleclassEnglish,etc.Userss o c i o e c o n o m i cstatus,education,ethni

18、corigin,etc.AccordingtoUSEa.accordingtomedium:spokenEnglish;writtenEnglishMedium(spokenorwriting)b.accordingtoattitude:formal/informal;p o l i t e / f a m i l i a r ;personal/impersonalS e t t i n g , r o l e -relationshipc.accordingtofieldo f d i s c o u r s e :advertisingEnglish,legalEnglish,etc.P

19、urposeoflanguageuse,subjectmatter( from Qian Yuan, 1991，Stylistics: A Coursebook for Chinese EFL Students(上上)，北京师范大学出版社，北京师范大学出版社，p141。) Varieties of English Situational varieties of English Regional varieties of English Social varieties of English Functional varieties of English Historical varietie

20、s of EnglishSituational varieties of English register1) Used in musical studies since the early nineteenth century to refer to the ranges of tones that can be produced by the voice (e.g. upper, middle, lower). Register has been taken into PHONETICS to describe potential pitch ranges in speech.2) Reg

21、ister in Stylistics refers to a VARIETY of language defined according to situation.3) First introduced in 1950s, the term retains some connotations of the musical sense, presumably its analogy, in that it suggests a scale of differences, of degrees of FOMALITY, APPROPRIATE to different social uses o

22、f language. It is part of the COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE of every speaker that he or she will constantly switch USAGES, select certain features of sound, grammar, lexis, etc. in different situations of everyday life: a domestic chat, a business letter, a telephone conversation, etcHallidays definition

23、 of Register Three main variables are distinguished which are felt to be significant for the choice of situational features: 1)Field (话语范围): subject matter; 2)Mode (话语方式): speech or writing; format, etc.;3)Tenor (话语体式): the relations between the participants (e.g social roles)which influence degree

24、of formality.Examples At a recent meeting the Municipal Bureau of Education awarded three middle-school teachers the title of top-notch teachers. Excuse me, could you tell me the right time, please? What time is it, please? Whats the time? Hows the enemy? Time? How much longer have we got? My watch

25、seems to have stopped formal/ informal1a)When his dad died, Pete had to get another job. (informal)1b) On the decease of his father, Mr. Brown was obliged to seek alternative employment. (formal)2a) Overtime employments are not available for employees who are non-resident(formal)2b) Staff members wh

26、o dont live in cant get paid overtime(less formal) ExampleOne ImmigrationandvisarequirementsThe possession of a passport does not exempt the holder from compliance with any immigration regulations in force in any territory or from the necessity of obtaining a visa or permit where required. It should

27、 be noted in this connection that the majority of British territories overseas have immigration restrictions applicable to British nationals as well as aliens. (from a current UK passport)Exampletwo Well, weve got here - at last! The queues at the airport were awful! But the weathers great, and were

28、 really enjoying the beach. I forgot to ask you to feed Tigger before we set off - could you do it for me? Ta. See you soon. Love, Susie. xxx (from a holiday postcard)Different features between formal and informal English1. pronunciation2. grammar1a) She longed for a friend in whom she could confide

29、. (formal)1b) She longed for a friend (who) she could confide in. (informal)2) Since all things are not equal, since consequence cannot be foreseen, since we live but a moment, we must take everything philosophically. (parallelism-formal)3a) Rectification of this fault is achieved by insertion of a

30、wedge.(passive voice -formal)3b) You can rectify this fault if you insert a wedge. (informal)4)Could I suggest that the meeting be postponed until tomorrow? vocabularyAnglo-Saxon French Latinfire flame conflagrationfear terror trepidationsmall/littlepetite diminutiveholysacred consecratedrisemount a

31、scendeatdine ingestFormalInformalcommerce begincontinuekeep up concludeendencountercome acrossinvestigatelook intotolerateput up withparticipatetake part inRegional Varieties of English English as an International English Kachru: inner circle: USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand outer circle

32、: Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Phillippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Zambia expanding circle:China, Egypt, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, USSR and ZimbabweBritish English and American English Pronunciation: DictionaryeitherdifficultI

33、nterestfertileEdinburghDormitoryWarwickpassSecretary lastlastTomatochancehalf Grammar1. Do you have a dictionary? I dont have a dictionary.(Am.E)2. Have you a dictionary? I havent a dictionary.(Br. E)3. Is Henry here? Lets stay home this evening.(Am. E)4. Is Henry at home? Lets stay at home.(Br. E)5

34、. She started her vocation Monday. (Am.E)6. She started her holidays on Monday. (Br. E)7. I worked days and studied nights. (Am.E)8. I worked by day and studied at night. (Br. E) SpellingBr.E Am.EBr.EAm.E colour color neighbour neighbor behaviour behavior programme program dialogue dialogcontrolled

35、controled catalogue catalog travelled traveled traveller traveler cigarette cigaret judgement judgment defence defense licence license analyse analyze realise realize practise practice plough plowgrey gray tyre tirespeciality specialty3. styleWhat is style?1) manner of expression in writing and spea

36、king, just like a manner of doing thingsbad/good2) the register, which refers to the special variety of language used by a particular special group that have a common profession, e.g., doctors, lawyers, teachers, or the same interests3) the set of linguistic features that seem to be the characterist

37、ics of a text4) choice of items, their distribution and patterning, which is partly determined by the demands of genre, form, theme, etc, partly by the likes of the authore.g. Peter passed away last summer. Peter kicked the bucket last summer.5) deviation from the norme.g. the widow-making unchildin

38、g unfathering deeps- the deeps which deprive (wives) of husbands, (children) of fathers and (parents) of childrenIntroduction Have you ever wondered what your instructors mean when they write wordy or passive voice or awk in the margins of your paper? Do you sometimes sense that your sentences could

39、 be stronger, clearer, shorter, more effective? Do you often feel that you know what you mean but do not know how to say it? If you often get feedback from your instructors that you need to tighten your prose or look at your word choice, you may need to work on your writing style. Its important that

40、 you develop a writing style which makes it possible for you to say what you mean.Style of the Text IntroductionIts obvious that we all write differently in different situations. Writing an assignment is different from writing a note to the milkman, or a love letter, or a postcard to a friend. In al

41、l these kinds of writing, we use the style which sounds right for the situation. Lots of the differences between the different styles are to do with formality and informality. We can say that a postcard to a friend is at the informal end of the spectrum, and that things like legal documents are righ

42、t at the formal end. Here are two small bits of writing to illustrate the differences between formal and informal styles.What is an argument? In academic writing, an argument is usually a main idea, often called a claim or thesis statement, backed up with evidence that supports the idea. In fact, ma

43、king an argument-expressing a point of view on a subject and supporting it with evidence-is often the aim of academic writing. A Procedure of Style Analysis1.The prevailing tendency of the language features at one level;2.The cohesion of the text;3.The relational structure of the text;4.The relation

44、 between language and genre scheme;5. Linguistic appropriateness to the subject matter Style of the Text1.It is originally a research paper with a clear,logic argument and substantial amount of scientific data;2.Typographic contrasts, heading and subheading,italicised letters, short passages giving

45、readers more resting chances in reading;3.Lively introduction, parallel structures;4.Rich imagination,connecting things seeming to be unrelated at all;5. Quotations from other scholars, using accurate figures,avoid using emotive or evaluative wordsStructural Analysis of the Text 1.Introduction(Para

46、1):Although many believe that classroom sexism disappeared in the early 70s, it hasnt. 2. The bulk of the paper(Paras 3-22): Paras 3-12: boys and girls get different amounts and different kinds of teacher attention Para 3: quote authoritative people to establish the truth that the greater participat

47、ion, the better the learning Paras 4-7: prove with findings from own research project( girls participate less in class than boys) Paras 8-9:further to point out that unfair distribution of teacher attention is the main reason for girls to participate less,thus “ the more teacher attention, the great

48、er the participation, and the greater participation, the better the learning) Para 10 : change in subject matter paras 10-12: quote from investigations carried out by other researchers: difference in teacher attention is the reason for qualitative differences in result of learning. Para 13 :transiti

49、onal part( a brief summary of variable “attention” and quick introduction to “feedback” with the word “also” signaling the shift from one subtopic to another Paras14-22: details of how boys and girls are given different qualities of teacher feedback to their answers: also sexist elements in teacher

50、feedback playing important part in academic achievements of students( data both statistical and a transcript Paras 23-27:deviation from the subject to sexism in the workplace at first thought Para 28: offer practical ways of overcoming sexism in school, bringing back to thematic warning that classro

51、om sexism still exists today Para 29: call for immediate efforts to wipe out sexism in schoolDetailed Study of theText Sexism in SchoolBoys still get more attention than girls doBy Myra and David Sadker If a boy calls out in class, he gets the teachers attention. If a girl calls out in class, she is

52、 told to raise her hand before speaking. Teachers praise boys more than girls, Teachers praise boys more than girls, give boys more give boys more academic help academic help and are and are more likely to accept boys comment more likely to accept boys comment during classroom discussions. These are

53、 during classroom discussions. These are only a few example of how teachers favor only a few example of how teachers favor boys. Through this advantage boy boys. Through this advantage boy increase their chances for better increase their chances for better education and possibly higher pay and educa

54、tion and possibly higher pay and quicker promotions. Although many quicker promotions. Although many believe that classroom sexism believe that classroom sexism disappeared in the early 70s, it hasnt.disappeared in the early 70s, it hasnt. E Education is not a spectator sport . Numerous researchers,

55、 most recently John Goodlad, former dean of education at the University of California at Los Angels find author of A Place Called Schools have shown thaw when students participate in classroom discussion they hold more positive attitudes toward school, and that positive attitudes enhance learning. I

56、t is no coincidence that girls are more passive in the classroom and score lower than boys on SATs. Most teachers claim that girls participate Most teachers claim that girls participate and are and are called on called on in class as often as boys. in class as often as boys. But a three-year study r

57、ecently completed But a three-year study recently completed found that this is not true; found that this is not true; vocallyvocally, boys , boys clearly dominate the classroom. When we clearly dominate the classroom. When we showed teacher and showed teacher and administratorsadministrators a film

58、of a film of a classroom discussion and asks who was a classroom discussion and asks who was talking more, the teachers talking more, the teachers overwhelmingly overwhelmingly said the girls were. But in reality, the boys said the girls were. But in reality, the boys irk the film were irk the film

59、were out talking out talking the girls at a the girls at a ratio of three to one.ratio of three to one. Field researchers in our study observed students in more than 100 fourth-, sixth- and eighth-grade classes in four states and the District of Columbia. The teachers and student were male and femal

60、e, black and white, from urban, suburban and rural communities. Half of the classroom covered language arts and English - subjects in which girls traditionally have excelled; the other half covered math and science -traditionally male domains. We found that at all grade levels, in all community and