Academic Selves - Mary Pipher

This article discusses the difference in treatment towards different genders. Pipher addresses that "In classes, boys are twice as likely to be seen as role models, five times as likely to receive teachers' attention and twelve times as likely to speak up in class." This fact shows that boys dominate the classroom in the average school. Although Pipher's facts seem valid, I disagree. In my school, girls are the ones who speak up in class and participate. The boys may receive more attention from the teachers, but that is because they are disruptive. It is necessary for teachers to pay more attention to boys because they often disorganize the classroom by saying comments and remarks that rile up the kids. But for the most part, the girls were the ones who competed against one another for the best grades. The girls were always very excited for the group projects, and the boys would expect the girls to do all the work. Although this is how my school was, many other schools differ. In Pipher's case, she states that the boys are the the main role models. She says that "boys tend to be portrayed as clever, brave, creative, and resourceful, while girls are depicted as kind, dependent and docile." The qualities that Pipher says that girls portray are definitely positive, but they are somewhat derogatory. These qualities perpetuate the stereotype of women - that women are passive and very dependent on men. I say the portrayal of women cannot be changed at once, but can in time. As long as women stay independent, tough, and brave, then we can break the stereotype that we are meek, little women who need men to survive.