Gender and Sexuality
As two of the largest facets of identity young people grapple with during their adolescence, I believe historical narratives revolving around gender and sexuality can be powerful means to engage students in social studies class. Spoken or unspoken, gender and sexuality are both prominent discourses in the lives of adolescents. In high school, young people wrestle with their identity’s positioning along the gender and sexuality spectrums and experiment with self-expressions. By activating students’ already heightened focus on gender and sexuality in social studies classrooms, students can relate to civilizations and societies across time and space through this particular lens. In my ninth grade World History classroom at Bookman, I sought to incorporate primary documents and spur class discussions around narratives of gender and sexuality to increase students’ engagement in social studies and understanding of the subject’s value to their lives.
Recently, educational researchers have begun to tout the importance and benefits of integrating content and conversations around gender and sexuality across the academic curriculum. In her 2008 publication, “So Much More Than ‘Sex Ed’: Teen Sexuality As Vehicle For Improving Academic Success and Democratic Education for Diverse Youth,” Catherine Ashcraft makes the case for a more comprehensive sex-education in American high schools. After reiterating the familiar argument for a broader sex-education curriculum from a health perspective, Ashcraft emphasizes the academic benefits of expanding education about sex and sexuality to Math, Science, English and Social Studies classes. She explains that sexuality is a powerful resource for increasing student academic achievement, because not only does sexuality saturate the lives of adolescents, but it also pervades students’ experiences in school. Ashcraft argues that everyday in school students must navigate “gendered hierarchies,” as well as the “masculinizing or feminizing of certain curricular areas, sports rituals, and discipline practices; and the dynamics of student interactions or peer cultures” (Ashcraft, 2008, p.635). As students receive a myriad of gendered and sexualized messages in and outside of school, educational arenas are the appropriate places to address these issues and capitalize on student engagement to maximize academic success. Ashcraft closes her article by citing the particular importance of comprehensive gender and sex education for minority and urban youth, as sexuality has a fundamental role in reproducing inequalities, and these populations are disproportionately affected by teen pregnancy, STDs, and HIV/AIDS (Ashcraft, 2008).
On this page you will find class materials, student work, and analyses related to my experiments in incorporating narratives of gender and sexuality into my ninth grade World History classroom. Use the following links or the menu bar to navigate the Gender and Sexuality page:
The Justinian Code
Chivalry
Middle Ages Quiz
Homosexuality and the African Quaker Church
Recently, educational researchers have begun to tout the importance and benefits of integrating content and conversations around gender and sexuality across the academic curriculum. In her 2008 publication, “So Much More Than ‘Sex Ed’: Teen Sexuality As Vehicle For Improving Academic Success and Democratic Education for Diverse Youth,” Catherine Ashcraft makes the case for a more comprehensive sex-education in American high schools. After reiterating the familiar argument for a broader sex-education curriculum from a health perspective, Ashcraft emphasizes the academic benefits of expanding education about sex and sexuality to Math, Science, English and Social Studies classes. She explains that sexuality is a powerful resource for increasing student academic achievement, because not only does sexuality saturate the lives of adolescents, but it also pervades students’ experiences in school. Ashcraft argues that everyday in school students must navigate “gendered hierarchies,” as well as the “masculinizing or feminizing of certain curricular areas, sports rituals, and discipline practices; and the dynamics of student interactions or peer cultures” (Ashcraft, 2008, p.635). As students receive a myriad of gendered and sexualized messages in and outside of school, educational arenas are the appropriate places to address these issues and capitalize on student engagement to maximize academic success. Ashcraft closes her article by citing the particular importance of comprehensive gender and sex education for minority and urban youth, as sexuality has a fundamental role in reproducing inequalities, and these populations are disproportionately affected by teen pregnancy, STDs, and HIV/AIDS (Ashcraft, 2008).
On this page you will find class materials, student work, and analyses related to my experiments in incorporating narratives of gender and sexuality into my ninth grade World History classroom. Use the following links or the menu bar to navigate the Gender and Sexuality page:
The Justinian Code
Chivalry
Middle Ages Quiz
Homosexuality and the African Quaker Church