Journal Table #3

Column 1
A) Column 1 – How do you see gender SCRIPTS (Sadkers argues “scripts” are
used by males – Cite specific author arguments, examples, and page
numbers from the Sadkers reading!!) AND/OR Gender STRATEGIES
(AAUW argues “strategies” can be used by girls – Cite specific author
arguments, examples, and page numbers from the AAUW reading) operating
for respondents in your Clinical site? (Cite specific author arguments, examples,
and page numbers from the said Gender readings, the Judith Lorber
reading, the Gender Discussion PPT on D2L, as well as your own
research/graphic on Gender in your licensure area)

Some of the arguments that Sadkers makes in their article can be seen in the class that I
am in for my field experience. On page 183 of the article it says that boys are both the top of
the class and the very bottom of the class, they are the ‘stars’ and the ‘troublemakers’. For the
first two of my field experience the class that I was in was a freshman level class. In this class I
saw the “script” that Sadkers talks about in this aspect. It was obvious in the freshman level
class who was the boys who were involved in activities, athletics, and got very good grades in
classes. My teacher even, before class started one day, asked a student with this ‘script’ how
basketball was going and if they had a good team this year. Later in the same conversation, she
mentioned about preparing for the pre-ACT test. This conversation made it obvious to me that
this student was the ‘star’ of the classroom. On the flip side to this, there were some boys in
the class who sat in the back and were clearly the ‘troublemakers’ in the class. They did not pay
attention to the teacher and instead were playing video games on their computers during class.
The freshman level class that I was in backed up Sadkers’ argument in this way.
However, after the first two weeks of my field experience the class that I was placed in
switched to a senior level government class that did not show the same ‘script’ that Sadkers
argues. This observation in the senior level class makes me wonder if Sadkers argument about
‘scripts’ is only true for a certain age level or development level and if it still applies to older
ages. Overall, it has been interesting applying what Sadkers has argued to my field experience
class because it makes the argument feel more real because I have seen it first-hand. For the
rest of my field experience I will continue to notice these scripts or lack of scripts in my class.
B) Column 1 – How do your Developmental and/or learning theorists learned
in EDFD 400/401 help you think about WHY you see specific gender scripts (Sadkers
reading) and/or gender strategies (AAUW reading) being exhibited by the learner or set
of learners you are observing;

When seeing the connection between the Sadkers reading and my class room field
experience I questioned whether Sadkers’ argument about the ‘script’ that boys go through
only applies to boys at a certain stage in development. While questioning this I applied Erikson’s
stages of social development to the students in my class. I would argue that the gender script
seen for boys is just an example of Erikson’s stage of Identity vs. Role Confusion. The boys who
are the ‘stars’ of the class have found their identity and role and are succeeding because of it.
However, the boys who are ‘troublemakers’ are still trying to find their role and are in the role
confusion part of this stage. I think applying Erikson’s social development theory to Sadkers
arguments makes for intriguing observation. In my class, I also observed that Sadkers’ argument
applied more for the freshman level class I was in rather than the senior level class. This would
make sense when applying Erikson’s stage theory too, because a senior level class is more likely
to have boys who have found their identity and started to move on to Erikson’s next stage than
a Freshman level class in which boys would be in the midst of the identity and role confusion
stage. Learning theorists in EDFD 401 has absolutely helped me think about the gender scripts
that appear in my field experience.

Column 2
C) Column 2 – You are REQUIRED to cite arguments from Michael Genzuk,
Nicholas Wysocki, and/or your content area resources as you describe
the ethnographic tools and investigation strategies you are using (or will use) to
identify the assets, strengths, or resources that exist in the life, home and/or community
of the learner or set of learners you chose to work with in your clinical setting –
See Illustrating Funds of Knowledge – Update SP18;

I have been, and will be, using the Activities to Investigate Funds of Knowledge document
in order to guide me when I am identifying the assets, strengths, and resources that a student
has from their home life. I have already used number eight on the document a fair amount.
Number eight says “Discuss the entertainment activities that the respondents and/or any of
their household or community members engage in on a regular basis”. Using this activity is an
easy way to learn more about students and their knowledge that they have acquired outside of
the classroom. I have asked students what they like to do in their free time and why in order to
learn more about them. Other activities that I have already engaged in from the Activities to
investigate funds of knowledge sheet are numbers 9 and 11. These activities have been helpful
to me so far, but I do feel that I need to use more of these activities in order to understand the
students more. I would like to inquire about things like the kinds of social networks that a
student’s family uses to deal with challenging circumstances (#2), and the physical or social
activities that members of the household are responsible for in the household (#3). I feel that
learning more about these specific things will give me a good idea of the home life that the
students come from and will help me learn more about them. Using these activities, and other
things from the first eight weeks of EDFD 461 will help me when exploring and researching
about the students in my field experience.