Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 19, 1995 TAG: 9502200018
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: DAVID McKISSACK
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Your reporter confused two issues. The article states "While the 'Hostile Hallways' report concentrates on the issue of sexual harassment among classmates, it shows evidence that it is happening between teachers and students, often in a lesser form known as gender bias - calling on boys more in class or using gender-specific language."
Let me get this straight - not being called on is "harassment?" Saying "mankind" is "harassment?"
The American Association of University Women actually issued two reports: "Hostile Hallways," referenced in your story, and "How Schools Shortchange Girls."
They addressed sexual harassment and gender-bias issues in schools. Many commentators noted these reports were not groundbreaking scientific documents but, as an AAUW official admitted, a rehash of old studies - some out of date, trivial and dubious - combined to support a political agenda.
The reports contained dubious reasoning and serious misstatements. Take the idea that only discrimination could account for boys being called on more than girls in class. Some of the research, in fact, suggested that teachers call on boys as a method of behavioral control since boys tend to be more restive in class.
Other studies showed boys are simply more aggressive in demanding attention. Interestingly, this fact has been cited to support the need for young women to have access to single-sex schools. Even if boys are called on more, it doesn't appear to give them an edge academically. By middle school, more boys than girls have flunked a grade, and by secondary school more boys than girls have been assigned to special education classes. Girls generally make better grades. They outperform boys in reading and writing, and while boys handle math and science better, Asian-American girls score significantly better than even white males.
In addition, as many young women as men enter colleges, and women earn the majority of bachelor of arts and master's degrees. Women earn almost half of all law degrees and one-third of all medical degrees. None of these facts mattered to the AAUW, however; it wanted a conclusion to support a particular political agenda. The AAUW's statistics should have caused your reporter some skepticism. The article said 81 percent of students said they had been sexually harassed. Eighty-one percent? Four out of five? "Harassed?"
What in the world are these kids being told constitutes "sexual harassment" and who is telling them? While the students you interviewed are happy they are being listened to, the truth is that they are being patronized in a way that teachers always have patronized girls. Years ago teachers encouraged girls to live in the gauzy world of romance novels since it was commonly believed girls couldn't endure the rigorous give-and-take of intellectual study.
Now, the same mentality doles out comfort for the horrible scars left on the tender minds of privileged young women by the brutal lash of gender-specific phraseology, encouraging them to think of themselves as victims in a gauzy, male-dominated land of trial and tribulation.
A teacher that truly respected the intellect of these young women would say, "Look, you're making better grades than the boys. You are a bright, privileged citizen of a country where your opportunities are almost boundless. Develop your talents to the utmost. And stop screwing yourself up with this victim's mentality. If you don't like a boy pinching your butt, take personal responsibility and tell him to stop. If he won't, then call the principal. If you want to be called on in class, be as aggressive as the boys."
The real issue is using victim status to acquire power. Behind the claims that girls are mistreated is an effort to create guilt so that power can be placed in group membership rather than individual achievement. One way to get revenge is to claim victimization and use this as a ticket to increase job opportunities for yourself and people in your group.
One of the students said she tried to be conscious of "sexism, racism, classism and homophobia, so I'm used to looking for it." What a sad way to live - judging every comment, watching every face for an "ism" or "phobia." What would the world be like if we were all so self-righteous? It reminds me of a passage from C.S. Lewis' "Screwtape Letters" - "We must picture Hell as a state where everyone is perpetually concerned about his own dignity and advancement, where everyone has a grievance, and where everyone lives the deadly serious passions of envy, self-importance, and resentment."
Well, boys, take comfort. Maybe in Hell the girls will get called on all the time.
David McKissack lives in Blacksburg and takes an avid interest in news and local events.
by CNB