Chapter 4 and 7

Chapter 4 - Reading
In today’s society it is common to see students who do not come from a “traditional” home; some students come from single parent homes, divorced homes, and same sex parent’s homes. These home life situations were not looked at in the mid-twentieth century as they are looked at now. Back in the mid-twentieth century some looked down upon people who came from broken homes or same sex homes. It was interesting for me to read how culture can have an influence on your gender and how you make relationships with people. I also thought it was interesting to see how boys and girls distinguish what they feel is ‘right’ when it comes to activities and which activities make you more of one gender over the other. For some children and young adults it is hard for them to determine what their gender identity is and how they fit into the mold that their parents want them to be in, even if they want to go in a different direction. Stereotyping of gender roles has been taking place for hundreds of years and continues to be present to this day; but some of these gender roles are becoming more noticeable in the opposite gender then what they might have been years ago. For example, there used to be more male teachers in the early twentieth century and now there are more female teachers. I believe that these gender roles have been changing for many reasons and that it is a good element in life that they are changing. I know that for me when I am doing work around my house my boyfriend will help out with inside the house cleaning, where back in the 1940’s females were the ones cleaning inside the house and the males were the ones cleaning the outside of the house. Some laws and acts have been passed in the effort to bridge the gap that males and females have when it comes to sports, jobs, wages, and government assistance.

Chapter 4 - Questions
1.Should your gender play a role in how much funding you get for different activities in a school? Why/why not?
2.Why do some cultures put more pressure on one gender over the other? Does this happen for cultural influences?
3.What are some stereotypes that genders have? Can these stereotypes affect the development of a person/gender? How did/do stereotypes come up?

Chapter 7 - Reading
Religion can be defined in many different ways and can be interoperated by people in different ways. People are born into a religion, but some people do not follow or practice their religion on a regular basis. There can also be different branches of a religion that are followed to different extents. For example Orthodox Jews have completely different rules that they must follow (not mixing meat and dairy products), while other Jews who are not considered Orthodox follow a different set of rules. Different people have different views about religion and the development of the religion that they want to proceed with. For example, republications are more religious than democrats according to the text book. I believe that education can also play a part in the religious views of people. What types of education you long for can have a lasting effect on the views of what you are willing to learn and how you are willing to learn it. Religion can also play into the diversity effect because people are so different about what they are praising and how they praise to their lord.

Chapter 7 - Questions
1.Should religion be talked about in depth in the classroom/school? Why/why not?
2.How should a teacher respond to a student who cannot participate in activities because of their religious beliefs?
3.Why are some religions more accepting of others? Does this affect the way that students might interact with one another?
4.How can a classroom be more accepting of the variety of religions that will be present in the classroom?