Where society's responsibility ends and personal responsibility begins
The Longman Writer: Rhetoric, Reader, Research Guide, and Handbook:
Application: Respond to a Reading Using Supportive Evidence: Gender Bias
Boys and girls first enter the school system concerned with the shift in daily reality. They make new friends and take on new responsibilities, all with the hopes of having a positive social and academic experience. Academic performance inevitably varies across a student body but at what point do students, teachers, and families consider whether there is a link between gender and school performance? Did you ever consider that your poor performance or high success in school had something to do with your gender or expectations related to your gender? The debate concerning school performance challenges and gender bias will likely continue for decades to come.
In this Application Assignment, you evaluate both Kimmel’s and Garibaldi’s arguments on gender bias and its impact on school performance and present your own position on the subject.
Questions about this Assignment? Post them in the Contact the Instructor area. That way, everyone in the class will see and benefit from the Instructor's response.
To prepare for this Assignment:
•Review the following in The Longman Writer: Rhetoric, Reader, Research Guide, and Handbook:
◦Chapter 18 selection, "How the Schools Shortchange Boys" by Gerry Garibaldi (pp. 441–445)
◦Chapter 18 selection, "A War Against Boys?" by Michael Kimmel (pp. 447–452)
◦Part VI, "A Concise Handbook"
◾"Verbs" (pp. 611–615)
◾"Pronouns" (pp. 615–622)
◾"Modifiers" (pp. 622–624)
Then, read the following statement:
•Where does society's responsibility end, and where does personal responsibility begin for choices made by individuals? Is the educational system failing boys, or are boys failing themselves?
Finally, consider the following:
•How does each author incorporate outside sources into his writing to address both sides of the argument? Are their positions clear regarding where they stand on the causes leading to declining success of boys in school?
•Of the two authors, who do you think makes the better case? Why is that argument more convincing? What evidence does the author present to support his position?
•Consider your own position on gender bias in education. How did you arrive at this position? What evidence do you have to back up your position?
The Assignment:
Write a 1- to 2-page essay in response to the statement. Be sure to include the following:
•An introductory paragraph that includes your thesis statement regarding your position in favor of or against the statement. Underline the thesis statement in your response.
•1–2 paragraphs of supportive evidence for your position
◦Cite at least two examples from the reading or outside sources (e.g., books, journal articles, web articles) in support of your position. Note: Wikipedia will not be accepted as an outside resource.
Formatting Expectations:
•Indent the first sentence of each paragraph. Block paragraphs are not acceptable for this Assignment.
Your final document should:
•Be in a 10- or 12-point font, such as Arial or Verdana
•Be double-spaced throughout
•Have 1-inch margins for top, bottom, left, and right
•Include your full name and the Assignment title on the document
Where society’s responsibility ends and personal responsibility begins
Insert name:
Institution affiliation:
Due date:
Many educational experts and even parents now believe that education system is inherently biased against boys. Teaching methods, materials used and restriction applied by the education system all favor the manner in which girls learn. The consequence is that boys are now failing in school performance. Boys need to be motivated by male teachers who can act as role models to them. Unfortunately, this may not be possible anytime soon because majority of teachers are female. Boys have increasingly become disinterested and disengaged in school learning. Society’s responsibility has come to an end since the society has failed its responsibility of giving a boy child adequate supportive care. Personal responsibility is being made by certain individuals in the education system. This paper explains that education system is failing boys because the system is being influenced by feminists.
Education system is feminized and therefore favors girls’ learning. However, boys always faced difficulties to fit in such a feminized system. About 50% of boys are diagnosed with ADHD while it is natural that boys are proactive and rebellious. Garibaldi (2006) presents that boys always like asking questions that put them into troubles with female teachers in classroom. Boys normally search for rational explanations of how things that happen and take place. Girls rarely ask provoking questions and are seen as more discipline and ready to learn. The way boys learn is quite different from that of girls (Nadell, Langan and Comodromos, 2010). While 65% of men graduate with high school diplomas, 72% of girls earn the certificates. It is a concern that this gender disparity continues to widen. Whereas school system tends to compel boys to do things like girls, majority of teachers in schools are women; this makes the school environment becomes feminine.
Education system promotes an ideology that if students settle down, follow rules and listen to instructions; then they w...