Feminism: The Fifth
Generation
Blandina Brewster
English Department
INTRODUCTION
It is easier to live through someone else
than to become complete yourself.
-- Betty
Friedan, The Feminine
Mystique, 1963
In class
this semester we have studied the ways in which women from many different time
periods have struggled to find a voice for themselves and for their sons and daughters. Their work has been largely successful and we
owe them our gratitude. But what remains
for us, the great great granddaughters and grandsons of
TASK
What can Bronx Science do
to address issues of gender responsibly in our school?
Write a policy to submit
to the senior senate counsel that will help the school responsibly address a
gender issue that you have identified.
The goals of this project are to
improve our school community by:
¨
providing clarity and support for all
students and the teacher
¨
decreasing the incidents of unfair social
disparities
You will work in groups. Each group will be assigned to seek out,
identify, and develop a policy over a school gender issue. Your group will produce the following:
¨school policy on your
topic to submit to the senior senate counsel
¨brief and organized
presentation to the class of this policy
¨brief question and
answer period with the class defending your policy
PROCESS
Step One:
Create your own definition for your
school gender policy issue. Try out some
of the web links below, just to get you thinking. Brainstorm with your group and ask other
members of the school community for advice.
Once you have decided on an issue you must get approval from Ms Brewster
before continuing on to Step Two.
Remember to keep a record of the
resources you use to create your definition.
You will need to cite these later.
Step Two:
Research the policies of different
schools and communities. Ask friends,
interview parents, teachers, and
Keep organized notes and citations
for your findings.
To do this quest you must follow the
following steps of the PPA-
¨
Identify the problem.
¨
Gather evidence that this is indeed a problem.
¨
Identify the causes of this problem
¨
Evaluate the
existing policy by ours schools and others
that deal with this problem
¨
Develop possible solutions that the classroom may adopt
¨
What, in your opinion, would be the best
solution for the classroom to adopt? Your decision must take into account
effectiveness and feasibility.
¨
Assess the costs and benefits of this solution.
Use the TIPS Public Policy Analyst web site to guide you through
these steps. www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal
Step Three:
Your group will write
a recommendation for a school policy that deals with the gender issue you have
identified. The policy will contain the
following parts:
1. Definitions of the issue
2. How is your problem related to the tenets of the feminist
movement? How does your social problem
extent those tenets into a new generation of feminism?
3. Detailed steps to eliminate the problem
4. Strategies to prevent the problem
5. Methods of reporting an incident
6. Consequences
Your policy should
contain any citations necessary.
Step Four:
Create a brief (5min.)
presentation to the class on your policy.
You may want to use visual resources available (chalk board, overhead,
posters, powerpoint, etc.)
You will need to let Ms Brewster know of any resources you will need at least
two to three days before the presentation.
After you present your
policy to the class, there will be time for questions and answers. Classmates may wish to debate some of the
issues in your policy. You should be
prepared to defend or amend your policy.
Step Five:
Revise the policy in
light of the classroom presentation.
Submit this policy to
Ms Brewster and your classmates for revision and implementation.
RESOURCES
¨Interview teachers, students, administrators
¨Explore the historical perspectives on the “waves” of feminism: http://www.geocities.com/johnflynn67/flych3.html
¨Explore the historical basis and controversy over affirmative
action programs: http://www.abanet.org/publiced/focus/spr98work.html
¨Vsist
Bronx Science Website to read policies and histories on gender
Feminism and its
Generations
¨Interview women of
many different generations to compare their perspectives on the women’s
movement. Check out the following
conference/panel discussion on the generations, or “waves” of feminism. http://www.ncrw.org/research/98conf8.htm
¨Read Betty Friedan, The Second
Stage. (on reserve.)
¨Read Naomi Wolf, Interview on Ms Brewster’s Classweb: http://bxscience.ny.schoolwebpages.com/education/staff/staff.php?sectionid=82
¨Read Betty Freidan, Interview on Ms Brewster’s Classweb: http://bxscience.ny.schoolwebpages.com/education/staff/staff.php?sectionid=82
Surveys and Primary
Research
¨Interview staff and students to help you brainstorm an
issue that you will address
¨Create a survey that
addresses the issue you have chosen and distribute to 20 members of
¨Conduct observational
research using our at least 2 observation reports
EVALUATION
|
|
A |
B |
C |
Redo |
|
Research |
*Problem well identified and thoroughly researched *All six steps of the PPA
are thoroughly addressed *Evidence of notes and action research |
*Problem identified and reasonably well researched *All six steps of the PPA are addressed, |
*Problem identified with limited research. *All steps of the PPA are addressed, |
*Problem identified but research is lacking *Incomplete work |
|
Written Proposal |
*Well organized, demonstrates logical sequencing and sentence
structure *Thoroughly addresses each of the six different parts (see
Task) |
*Well organized, but demonstrates illogical sequencing or
sentence structure. * Addresses each of the six different parts |
*Well organized, but illogical sequencing and sentence
structure. * Barely addresses each of the six different parts |
*Weakly organized. *Does not address each of the six different parts |
|
Presentation |
*Social problem introduced with authority based on information *Utilizes clear and helpful visual aids *Generate and field questions and responses from audience
around their topic of discussion. *Every member in group participates in presentation. |
*Social problem introduced with some authority *Visual aids used *Generate questions and responses. *Most members of group participate. |
*Students state the social problem *Students require
prompts to generate questions *Limited participation within the group |
*Teacher generates discussion |
|
Group cooperation |
*Group establishes and maintains an equal distribution of
labor among all participants. *Differences are dealt with maturely and students exercise
listening skills, leadership skills, and compromise skills |
*Group makes attempts to maintain an equal distribution of
labor among all participants. *Almost all differences are dealt with maturely and students
exercise listening skills, leadership skills, and compromise skills |
*Groups make unsuccessful attempts to maintain an equal
distribution of labor among all participants. *Only some differences are dealt with maturely as students
attempt to exercise listening skills, leadership skills, and compromise
skills |
*Group is unable to equally distribute work. *Differences are not dealt with maturely |
CONCLUSION
"The philosophy in the classroom of this generation is the
philosophy of government in the next."
-Abraham Lincoln
Thank
you for your efforts on this Web Quest.
Taking responsibility for your own school is part of becoming an active
member of adult society. The policies
that you will create together through this web quest will be addressed in the
senior senate. Moreover, the process
that you have followed here (PPA) will be one that we can apply to many other
tasks, both in literature and in life.
Critical thinking skills guide us to improve ourselves and our
worlds. Thanks again!
State
Learning Standards (English) met through this activity:
Standard 1: Language
for Information and Understanding
Standard 2: Language
for Literary Response and Expression
Standard 3: Language
for Critical Analysis and Evaluation
Standard 4: Language
for Social Interaction
Standard 5 (Social
Studies): Civics, Citizenship, and Government
Acknowledgements
¨
Process
and Evaluation adapted from Elma Reingold’s TIPS
website: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips/t4prod/reingoldwq1.html
¨
The
TIPS program, NYC Dept. of Education
¨
Ms
Brewster’s Women and Literature Class, 2003-4