Wednesday, April 07, 2004
Expectations
Today in Pastoral Care class we were discussing the book about which I blogged earlier this week and which Jane so precisely labeled "claptrap". The professor put up two words on the board, the first of which was "expectations" and said we were going to talk a little bit about the gender dynamics and social expectations right here in our own classroom and institution. Then he proceed to tell us a story about a professor of Feminist Theology at, I think, Boston College, named Mary Daly. In Daly's class at Boston College, she does not permit men to speak, in an effort to "teach" them what it is like for women. I'm not going to comment on the ridiculousness of this practice, nor what I think about Prof. Daly, given this introduction. You, faithful readers, should be able to guess my opinions. The professor next promised us he would not do this to us, nor does he support the practice. (Why even tell us about it then?) Anyway, as the discussion went on we heard from many people, mostly women, but some men, whose remarks ranged in scope. We heard a lot about how women feel men are given more speaking privileges/authority in the classroom and that some women's voices are silenced by the socialization of all of us to defer to men. I took it upon myself to not say word one for the entirety of the class period. I almost made it, too.
Some students commented that people feel ok about interrupting a woman professor, but it is uncommon to see someone interrupt a man professor. Likewise, some people referred to male professors as Fr. So-and-so, or Dr. So-and-so, or Prof. So-and-so, but when it came to female faculty, they used the professor's first name. (It should be noted that most of us, faculty and students, are on a first name basis at Seabury.) Personally, I call a person by their title until I feel like I know them better and am comfortable using a first name for someone older than I. At Seabury, we have both male and female clergy/faculty, so before I felt like I knew them, I called the men Fr. and the women Dr. or Prof. I know this irritates some people because it apparently does not recognize the ordination of women, but let me assure you that is not my intent. I just don't know what to call female clergy. When they are not standing in front of me, I say Rev. So-and-so, and when they are in front of me I usually say Pastor So-and-so (outside of the academic setting). For one reason or another, to call a female priest Mother bothers me and I am uncomfortable with that. I cannot explain it further than that, but I can say that I am in favor of female ordination. Wow, that was a really long digression from my original point. Getting back to that...
One female student was remarking that she just interrupts people, or makes it plainly obvious that she wishes to be called upon when she has something to say and is not being recognized. (In my opinion, to a certain extent, people that aren't getting called on and have something to say just need to speak up.) The student went on to say that in one class last term, she interrupted a professor who was in the class and said, "I had my hand up first!" when that professor began to speak, admittedly out of turn. And this is where I broke my little silence. I said, out loud, "That was awesome," having remembered the incident. It was time for the break, so the professor stopped the class, but before he did, he looked at me and said, with a questioning glare, "Ryan, did you remark that what she said was bossy?"
I said succinctly, "No, I said 'That was awesome," and pointed to the board before continuing, "What was the first word you put up there?"
He chuckled, somewhat embarrassed, realizing he had been caught doing exactly what he had admonished us not to do! No offense taken sir, so don't worry about it. But, sometimes we get so consumed with one view and making sure that one group is not feeling ostracized, that we go and do the exact same thing to the group on the other side of whatever spectrum (in this case, gender, and I dare say liberal/conservative). Let's be careful not to do that. It's a big problem at Seabury if you ask me.
-R
Today in Pastoral Care class we were discussing the book about which I blogged earlier this week and which Jane so precisely labeled "claptrap". The professor put up two words on the board, the first of which was "expectations" and said we were going to talk a little bit about the gender dynamics and social expectations right here in our own classroom and institution. Then he proceed to tell us a story about a professor of Feminist Theology at, I think, Boston College, named Mary Daly. In Daly's class at Boston College, she does not permit men to speak, in an effort to "teach" them what it is like for women. I'm not going to comment on the ridiculousness of this practice, nor what I think about Prof. Daly, given this introduction. You, faithful readers, should be able to guess my opinions. The professor next promised us he would not do this to us, nor does he support the practice. (Why even tell us about it then?) Anyway, as the discussion went on we heard from many people, mostly women, but some men, whose remarks ranged in scope. We heard a lot about how women feel men are given more speaking privileges/authority in the classroom and that some women's voices are silenced by the socialization of all of us to defer to men. I took it upon myself to not say word one for the entirety of the class period. I almost made it, too.
Some students commented that people feel ok about interrupting a woman professor, but it is uncommon to see someone interrupt a man professor. Likewise, some people referred to male professors as Fr. So-and-so, or Dr. So-and-so, or Prof. So-and-so, but when it came to female faculty, they used the professor's first name. (It should be noted that most of us, faculty and students, are on a first name basis at Seabury.) Personally, I call a person by their title until I feel like I know them better and am comfortable using a first name for someone older than I. At Seabury, we have both male and female clergy/faculty, so before I felt like I knew them, I called the men Fr. and the women Dr. or Prof. I know this irritates some people because it apparently does not recognize the ordination of women, but let me assure you that is not my intent. I just don't know what to call female clergy. When they are not standing in front of me, I say Rev. So-and-so, and when they are in front of me I usually say Pastor So-and-so (outside of the academic setting). For one reason or another, to call a female priest Mother bothers me and I am uncomfortable with that. I cannot explain it further than that, but I can say that I am in favor of female ordination. Wow, that was a really long digression from my original point. Getting back to that...
One female student was remarking that she just interrupts people, or makes it plainly obvious that she wishes to be called upon when she has something to say and is not being recognized. (In my opinion, to a certain extent, people that aren't getting called on and have something to say just need to speak up.) The student went on to say that in one class last term, she interrupted a professor who was in the class and said, "I had my hand up first!" when that professor began to speak, admittedly out of turn. And this is where I broke my little silence. I said, out loud, "That was awesome," having remembered the incident. It was time for the break, so the professor stopped the class, but before he did, he looked at me and said, with a questioning glare, "Ryan, did you remark that what she said was bossy?"
I said succinctly, "No, I said 'That was awesome," and pointed to the board before continuing, "What was the first word you put up there?"
He chuckled, somewhat embarrassed, realizing he had been caught doing exactly what he had admonished us not to do! No offense taken sir, so don't worry about it. But, sometimes we get so consumed with one view and making sure that one group is not feeling ostracized, that we go and do the exact same thing to the group on the other side of whatever spectrum (in this case, gender, and I dare say liberal/conservative). Let's be careful not to do that. It's a big problem at Seabury if you ask me.
-R
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