It is also stated that female teachers are not often taught about the issues they will be affronted with before they start teaching. This means that these women are forced to handle problems as they arrive rather than being prepared for any issue. There are many issues in the classroom that women could be facing. The article also states that teachers may have to try unique approaches for running their classrooms. I would believe that many teachers have to use a situational approach to their leadership due to the fact that there are many issues that can arise. To be an effective leader requires that a person adapt his or her style to the demands of different situations.
It is stated that older children, especially boys, mainly challenge a women’s authority in schools. In order for female to cater to these individuals and gain the trust of these students, they may have to use one of the four leadership styles from the situational approach. One individual may need the coaching approach because the student may need a lot of direction on what to do as well as a lot of help and support. Another student may need a directing style because they work better when there is a goal in place and only need little supervision while trying to complete a goal.
I believe that women may feel that they are not taken seriously in the classroom and feel a lack of authority by the students because they are female. However, women teachers may simply be using the wrong approaches when teaching and disciplining their students. The students may not trust the teacher and feel that the teacher cares about them. It could simply be that women teachers are not taking the time to find the correct style of leadership to use on each child in different situations.
Do you believe that women leaders in the classroom are not taken seriously by male and older students due to the fact that women are not using the right leadership styles? Or do you simply believe that women are not taken seriously simply because they are women and due to the labyrinth and the gender role differences? What would you suggest women leaders to do in order to be taken seriously in the classroom and be better prepared for different issues?
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Posted By: Laura Whisenhunt
I think this is a great topic. I have two girl best friends that are entering the teaching world this year. I think both men and women are on the same page because neither really understand the different types of leadership styles. There are a lot of factors that come into play when it comes to dealing with children in a teaching setting. But, the situational approach is very appropriate for this type of setting. The most important part of this theory is deciding what developmental level the student is at, they will either be competent or committed. Then the teacher would be able to know what the best approach is to use with the student. Therefore, I think that the labyrinth has a lot to do with why students would not listen to women teachers over men. As stated in the notes, women “confront greater barriers to establishing informal mentor relationships.” This can cause a problem because students are usually looking to form some type of bond in the classroom. I think that women should definitely use the situation approach. My reasoning behind this is because it stresses flexibility and I think this is exactly what they need in order to be successful with different types of students.
ReplyDelete--Posted by Devan Pritchett
I think that it is a combination of both problems as well. Women are still seen to have those gender roles towards children which is why you see more women teachers in elementary school and more males in high school and up. This is major problem is shown by the labyrinth because they are just unable to break away from that stereotype. If they are able to get away from this role than i think they will be able to move up the ladder to new and better positions.
ReplyDeleteI also think that older male students may be less likely to respond to these teachers because there are just less of them in high school. Having less teachers of that gender might hinder women's ability to teach because those students see them as the minority. To go along with that male students are going to notice a difference in the way of teaching that women might have which has an effect on trying to control them. However i do believe that a woman and man can use the same leadership style in situational approach and they would both be equal in teaching a student.
Posted by: Jim Link
I agree with Devan and Jim that both of these situations could cause problems for women teachers. I think that teachers are all taught to deal with things the same way for most of their students, and like Laura said each student is different so they may need a variety of leadership strategies. I think that the situation apporach is very appripriate for this topic because it is very diverse and there is a part of it that could help each and every student. I think that a teacher almost has to have a little of each style in his or her approach on the students because they are so different.
ReplyDeleteI also think that female teachers are not always taken as serious as a male teacher because they are not as stern. I do feel that it is shown by the labyrinth because as students get older they think that they can get away with more and try different things and I dont think that the female teachers are strict enough. I feel like the older the students get especially males ignore the female authority and almost just ignore the teachers in some instances. I do think that this is because they think the women is going to be more nurturing to them and have a harder time punishing them. I think that this problem can be solved by women teachers being more straight forward with their students from the beginning of the year. Lay everything out on the line at the beginning so the students know they are not going to deal with bad behavoir, and if it happends they have to punish them not just be blindsided by it.
Kayla Samolinski
I think this is a great article because I know many women teachers and in the past I have assisted a woman teacher and have experienced many instances of disrespect. From what I have experienced and heard from these teachers I know is the many instances of disrespect only come from students some particular nationalities. I believe some of the disrespect women teachers face in the classroom is because RESPECT should be taught at home and many parents are lacking in that area. For example, when my sisters and I were growing up, our parents always taught us that we should always show respect to any adult, male or female, in our lives especially the teacher. And from what I have experienced helping some of these teachers some male parents do not even show respect to the teacher, therefore their kids learn to behave the same way. What I suggest for female teachers to be better prepared to face the different behaviors of students is to try and get a student teaching placement at a school with a diverse student population. This will expose the teacher to some instances of disrespect and will allow them to brainstorm ways in which they can address such issues during this time therefore they will have more to draw on if and when it happens when they become the leader in their own classroom.
ReplyDeletePosted by: Hugo Sanchez