Blog #4 - Deeper Reading Ch. 5, Critical Encounters Ch. 5

I've decided to start this week's blog with the Appleman text because my last three have started with discussing Gallager. The issue of gender equality has always been of interest and importance to me, and that interest and importance has only been made stronger by taking university classes that have enhanced my knowledge of the subject. Appleman raises important points on why gender should be one of the lenses through which students interpet text, especially because the term "feminism" has come to be seen as something negative by current generations. It is important for students to learn that "feminism" isn't about masculine female activists who don't shave their armpits. Both males and females need to understand that feminist attitudes can be as simple as supporting equal work place rights and paid maternity leaves. And after all, don't men (and women) want this for their partners, sisters, mothers, and daughters? The term "feminism" needs to be revamped in a way that doesn't make today's teenagers think of bra burners in the 1960s and has them questioning things like why music videos so often include images of only beautiful, scantily-clad women.
My only problem with Appleman's text was the exercise on rewriting lines from novels such as The Great Gatsby from a feminist's point of view. I think an exercise like this may be too strong, and may reinforce the attitude about stereotypical feminism. If feminism is portrayed too strongly, students will start having an adverse attitude towards it - males may become defensive, and females are reluctant to express their feelings.
That being said, I do think Appleman suggests some positive activities, such as naming cultural artifacts and female figures and having students write contrasting statements about traditional and feminist perspectives. I think with the proper framing, feminism can be constructed in a way that can relate to everyone, both male and female. I also think that using terms like "gender equality," "gender perspectives," "gender construction," etc. may elicit more positive reactions from students. Sometimes I wish Appleman would provide some more concrete classroom examples of lesson ideas like Gallagher does, because I think she raises important points.
Gallagher was intruiging once again, and this week I particularly enjoyed the pie chart activity on responsibility when doing a novel study. My only problem, like I said in one of the last blogs, was that a lot of his concepts and ideas would work in an ideal classroom, something that none of us will likely ever experience in our 30-plus years of teaching. Sometimes I'm not sure if he remembers that classes are once a day, for an hour, and last half a year. Second draft reading is undoubtedly beneficial for understanding text, but in reality, time constraints and student attention span won't allow us to follow through. My pre-internship is at Nutana, and the school has a four quarter program instead of two terms. Four quarters allow for more intensive class time, so perhaps second draft reading would be more advantageous in some systems as opposed to others.