I was reminded of my encounter with sexism when hearing Sadker speak of their first observation in the second grade class. Two girls were instructed to move out of the way so that the boys could play with the blocks. .
In my school we had an advanced math program that began in the third grade. The second grade teacher would pick those students that they thought were the brightest in math and moved them forward. I was one of them. The strange part was that I was the only girl, out of about ten guys. I never really gave it much thought until I read this article. I thought that the other girls just were not as smart as I was. I was reminded of a comment that was made to me that I did not find offensive then. The advanced math teacher always called me her "rose among the thorns." The teacher was implying that I was the only good student in the class. Then, in eighth grade class I remember it surfacing again. On occasion, the principal, or even other teachers would come to our class and ask for volunteers to help with something and the teacher would always and ask the guys. The girls did try to volunteer, but they were simply overlooked. There was one exception, if the librarian need help, then the girls were automatically chosen to assist her. This happened throughout my days in grade school. I noticed it again at my high school where my history teacher, being a female, would always call on the boys for answers. It did not matter how many girls had volunteered. Also, she tended to socialize with the guys more then any of the girls. Lastly, I have found sexism even in college. I have one professor who, whenever she needs help, getting a movie together, or setting up the overhead projector, she will call on her "VA man." .
I am not trying to say that these were bad teachers because each one that I have talked about I liked and have done well in their class, yet I tend to feel that they could not help but to be socialized into this way of thinking.
