Look what I found Creepin' on Teacher Tom's Blog!

Gender Roles in The Early Childhood

I started following a blog called Teacher Tom. It's about the adventures, commonly discussed issues in education, and his stories of being a father and husband. Tom is a Pre school teacher, which is interesting, because you don't usually see many males in Early Childhood. Which, brings me to the topic of the post I enjoyed on his blog, "How Dare they tell me I can't be a Princess".  You can find the post located here! 

The post talked about raising a daughter and how he tried to raise her very gender neutral. At age 3, he saw the change when she was playing with dolls, wanted long hair, and refused to wear overalls. He brought this to his classroom, talking about how when asking a group of girls to play in their castle, they told him he could only be a king or a prince. This brings me to the question, "How do you feel about Gender Specific toys in the classroom?" 

Obviously, in a Pre- School, or Kindergarten center oriented classroom, Do you think only girls should play with dolls? and boys should play with cars?  In the picture you see to the right, it is very gender specific. 

When I was younger I was the definition of "Girly Girl". It reflects in the room I have that would be any 5-9 year old girl's dream., in which I'm embarrassed to take any of my friends in today. I was all about pink, playing dolls, and playing house. I wouldn't say that I was brought up as a girly girl. Although, the shock on my parents face when I said I wanted to be a plumber in my Kindergarden play about what we wanted to be when we grew up, they still smiled and cheered on their daughter, the only girl on the stage singing about being a plumber when she grows up. I attended Kindergarten in 1997/1998. 11 years later, do you feel as though times are still the same? Or, would more girls be on the stage?

 If bringing gender neutral toys in your classroom is an option, then I feel like not every girl in your classroom would want to be a movie star, and more would want to be plumbers. It is important to me in my classroom that toys are very gender neutral. In Teacher Tom's blog, he talks about playing with the kids and asking to be mommy or princess, and fighting back when the kids say no. It seemed as though he did have gender neutral toys in the classroom, but he said he still sees the pattern of girls hanging on to the fringe, and boys to their cars. 

On the left is a picture of the type of kitchen I would have in my very own classroom. The colors and patterns are neutral, and I feel as though would attract both boys and girls. 

No, I don't think that trying to force my boys to play the mother role in house in necessary. But, I will encourage them to pick up a doll, and care for the doll. Also, I will encourage all my girls to pick up the tool box every once and a while and fix up the classroom. I like Teacher Tom's view on making sure gender is equal in the classroom. I feel with gender neutral toys, it clears the air of any gender discrimination thoughts in the future, and through out looking at other posts, I see that his classroom tends to run as smooth as a Pre-K class can.

After getting a chance to read this post and get my thoughts stirring about Gender Toys once again, I realized that the Pre-K Centers at my job (A daycare) have very gender neutral toys, and the children in the Pre-K are more prone to play outside of the stereotypical gender roles. Just the other day, a group of boys were in the kitchen wanting to make me breakfast, and girls had the play microscope out with bug slides, acting like they were looking at bugs they found dug out of the ground. It brought me back to the constant reminder that I think is always important for us to know as teachers;

Your children are a reflection of your classroom.

Peace, Love, and Happy Teachings

- Caitlin

All About Me

My Name is Miss Caitlin Wimer.

I'm a Sophomore at Edinboro University, majoring in Early Childhood Education.

Despite being a full time student and working at a daycare part time, I still love to adventure in my spare time.

This is my cat Bridgette. She's my Princess...Basically my Daughter :]

 

Music is a HUGE part of my life. There's nothing better than getting in the car with your friends, and driving to the city to go to a show. I've been attending many shows/concerts since I was in Junior High. Here is a video of one of my favorite bands, Stray from the Path

I recently took a road trip to go see this band in November with a few of my friends. We went to Buffalo, NY.

 

So, just from viewing this post so far you can tell that I'm very interested in cats and music. I also enjoy hanging out with my friends in my free time, going camping, music festivals, tattoos, writing, shopping, and baking.

 

Things you might not know about me:

• I graduated from LPPACS (Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School) in 2011.
• I was in the writing department. I like to write fiction, non-fiction, and I attempt to write poetry....attempt.
• I have 5 tattoos. None are visible though! Most represent family and major events in my life.
• I'm not the typical Education major, but in my opinion it's good to be different, as long as you're always keeping it professional and classy!

What are my first impressions of this class? :

I feel as though I am really going to enjoy Technology for Education. I am excited to learn about different programs and bring something different to the table when I am doing my field work and student teaching. I want my students to have fun learning in an enviorment where they can express themselves through art and up to date technology.

 

What are my expectations of this class? :

I expect to be able to learn how to use new programs and technology and bring what I learn in the class into my field and student teaching placements. I want to be able to share what I learn in class with my students to better their education in my classroom.

 

How would you rate your technology skills? :

I am able to do most things on a PC. I can use all Microsoft programs, I am a pretty speedy typer, and I can get a feel for most websites, and self learn how to use it. I am a Mac user at the moment. I took Media classes in High school that taught me how to use I-Movie and I-Photo. I can make music videos, create movies, and edit pictures on a Mac. I downloaded Microsoft programs on my mac, and I'm not very familiar with a lot of the apps for Mac. But I know a lot about pc's , and somewhat about macs.

 

How do I use technology in my current learning and studies? :

I use my other blog a lot to reach out to other educators for ideas of lesson plans, classroom management, etc. I use Microsoft word very frequently to type papers. I use powerpoints for presentations, and I can make videos in I-Movie to add a nice touch to any presentation, but i would like to learn more.

 

What is my philosophy about technology in the classroom?

It is very important for students to use technology in the classroom. Technology isn't leaving us anytime soon, it is only getting more advanced. It is important to understand as a teacher, a part of our job is to get our hands on the newest technology, get a grasp of it, and try and get it into the classroom as soon as possible. To spruce up a lesson, it is good to use technology. Children love playing with technology. In order to achieve the classroom I want it is important to learn how to use technology and teach my children how to use technology so they have fun while learning. The classroom I want to achieve is a fun, safe learning enviorment. And, after being able to take this class hopefully I will be able to achieve just that.

 

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog. Come back soon for other things I will be doing this semester!