Lynn R. ReedThe research done by Lynn R. Reed in developing feminist pedagogies within all-male institutions has been instrumental in my teaching practices. In her 1999 article "Troubling Boys and Disturbing Discourses on Masculinity and Schooling: a
feminist exploration of current debates and interventions concerning boys in school" in Gender and Education, she suggests that introducing feminist lenses in all-boys' schools is actually easier and more powerful than introducing them in co-ed environments because of the trust and brotherhood that exists within these institutions. Her research energized my own inquiry into approaching history through feminist lenses in my own classes of boys. |
Chris Hickey and Amanda MooneyExamining the pervasiveness of hypermasculinity and the heteronormative stereotype that exists within all-male educational institutions. Their 2017 article in The Journal of Australian Educational Research called "Challenging the pervasiveness of hypermasculinity and heteronormativity in an all-boys' school" explores the widely accepted notions of all-boys' educational institutions as bastions of toxic masculinity and they conclude that all-boys' institutions are actually the perfect places to being to dismantle those notions. They also suggest that the perception of academic listlessness that boys experience may have more to do with the unfair perception of their academic drive than their actual academic ability. This research helped me to get past my own biases in the education of boys and to see their potential as empathetic and enthusiastic learners.
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Marcus Weaver-HightowerMarcus Weaver-Hightower's research on the "boy turn"in gendered educational practices in his 2003 article "The 'Boy Turn' in Research and Gender Education" from the Review of Educational Research critiques the lack of research done on behalf of boys in favor of educational equity for girls. While I agree with the idea that the educational system has not yet done enough to take care of the emotional and social well-being of boys, particularly within a culture of toxic masculinity, I wonder if there is a way that we can do both at the same time instead of putting girls back on the back burner to focus all of our attention on the well-being of boys. Boys are resilient and capable of empathetic thought if given the right set of tools, but our educational practices do not need to be all-or-nothing.
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Wesley D. ImmsThe work of Wesley D. Imms in his 2000 article "Multiple Masculinities in the Schooling of Boys" in the Journal of Canandian Education explores the role of educational institutions in developing boys' perceptions of masculinity in different shades of gray instead of black and white in order to give them a more complete idea of what society believes a man should be. His work suggests that when boys are exposed to feminist theories and different ways of being "a man", they are more likely to feel more comfortable with their emotions and be okay with masculinities that fall outside of the prescribed norms that society imbues in them. This research has helped me to frame my own work in terms of a spectrum of gender expression through the use of feminist lenses.
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bell hooksIntersectional feminist and educational theorist bell hooks' theories on intersectional feminism in the classroom bring a sense or urgency to the conversation about including feminist perspectives within educational spaces. Her frank discussions about the critical importance of feminism in her books Teaching to Transgress (1994) and Feminism is for Everybody (2000) have heavily informed the way that I introduce feminism to the boys in my classes and the way in which I think about how feminism should be intertwined with my curriculum.
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