More on Gender Roles

Last Tuesday in Curriculum, Joe Abramo visited class and gave the presentation he gave at the Teacher’s College Conference a few months ago. Joe Abramo’s presentation was a study of gender roles in middle school rock bands. Seeing the presentation a second time caused continued thought on the role of gender in the music classroom. The music classroom is one of the only classrooms where gender distinctions are prominent. In the choir we separate the students by gender and are constantly looking for boys to sing in the choir. There is no other subject in school, with possibly the exception of drama, where the teacher is often looking for boys to be in their class. How do the girls feel about being the majority in the class? Does it make them feel expendable? How do boys feel about always been recruited in a subject that is considered “girly”? I’ve realized, after the presentation, that gender issues are such prominent issues in the music class that they have to be addressed.