Mother Teacher conferences
Feb. 5th, 2010 09:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
noracharlesI'm furious that there are so many families who think that women should shut their whore mouths when men are talking that some schools can't hold satisfactory parent teacher conferences.
Why are these women not involved with their children's schooling? Why do the male heads of family who attend the conferences not discuss the results with their wives at home, since presumably mothers have the main responsibility for child rearing in traditional patriarchal families? Are the fathers so removed from the feminine/child-rearing sphere that they do not attend the conferences either?
Why are local women's organizations not organizing these mothers and empowering them to speak and act even if these patriarchal women will only do so in woman only spaces? Feminism FAIL.
I don't think that public schools, which by law are required to teach democracy and gender equality, should reinforce the patriarchal families in their beliefs. Of course not.
But holding a few mother teacher conferences, which will in no way detract from the normal course of parent teacher conferences, is not only the only practical solution for the affected children right now, it is also a great opportunity for the teachers to tell these mothers that their voices are valued and desired, and that they wield an enormous power over their children's schooling and future which must be used constructively. When the mothers learn this, they can find ways to participate which do not require them to speak in mixed groups.
I am disgusted that this whole debate is being derailed by islamophobia. The affected children, and society as a whole, need these mothers mobilized. That a comparatively high percentage of families with patriarchal beliefs are Muslims is not relevant, and finding practical ways of working with these families is not bowing to islamist pressure. I sincerely doubt that radical islamists would be pressuring public schools to involve wives and mothers more in decision making, for fuck's sake.
Why are these women not involved with their children's schooling? Why do the male heads of family who attend the conferences not discuss the results with their wives at home, since presumably mothers have the main responsibility for child rearing in traditional patriarchal families? Are the fathers so removed from the feminine/child-rearing sphere that they do not attend the conferences either?
Why are local women's organizations not organizing these mothers and empowering them to speak and act even if these patriarchal women will only do so in woman only spaces? Feminism FAIL.
I don't think that public schools, which by law are required to teach democracy and gender equality, should reinforce the patriarchal families in their beliefs. Of course not.
But holding a few mother teacher conferences, which will in no way detract from the normal course of parent teacher conferences, is not only the only practical solution for the affected children right now, it is also a great opportunity for the teachers to tell these mothers that their voices are valued and desired, and that they wield an enormous power over their children's schooling and future which must be used constructively. When the mothers learn this, they can find ways to participate which do not require them to speak in mixed groups.
I am disgusted that this whole debate is being derailed by islamophobia. The affected children, and society as a whole, need these mothers mobilized. That a comparatively high percentage of families with patriarchal beliefs are Muslims is not relevant, and finding practical ways of working with these families is not bowing to islamist pressure. I sincerely doubt that radical islamists would be pressuring public schools to involve wives and mothers more in decision making, for fuck's sake.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-05 09:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-05 10:09 pm (UTC)But it's part of a larger debate going on all over Western Europe about how to deal with clashing cultural traditions, so there is an infuriating tendency to make this all about Islam even though there are plenty of Christian and non-religious families where father knows best, and plenty of Muslim families where parents make decisions together about the welfare of their children.
People are drawing parallels to the painful and difficult shower curtain debate, and as upsetting as it is to me, I can't imagine how hurtful it must be to Muslims. (The shower curtain debate was about the school's curriculum of body confidence and demystification of human bodies vs. culturally/religiously motivated body modesty. Traditionally children shower together after gym class until puberty, but some parents would only allow their children to go to gym class if they could have gender segregated changing rooms, and if the showers could have cubicles or curtains so even children of the same gender could not see each other's bodies.)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-05 11:43 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-05 10:07 pm (UTC)And I'm very disappointed to read that Søvndal spoke out against them - oh noes, u were mai heero.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-05 10:11 pm (UTC)But he put it together again today! Yeah, there was a bit of back-pedalling in there, but I truly do believe that after listening to the grassroots he saw the error of his ways. Now he's behind mobilizing the mothers :-D
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-05 10:17 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-16 12:21 pm (UTC)