Does my body lower your science grade?

Abstract

In this dissertation I explore how teachers’ and students’ bodies are considered as distractive. I deconstruct the structure in which teachers’ and students’ bodies are not supposed to appear in the schooling of young adolescents. Using deconstruction, I analyze the structure in which a female body in the classroom distracts rational males from doing their intellectually abstract, bodiless tasks. As far as this approach marginalizes female teachers and students and suppresses bodies, I argue that this is problematic. Reviewing the literature I found this argument very similar to the logic that supported gender segregated schooling in this country and in other societies. This mindset also guides middle school teachers to create what I call gender segregation within coeducation where teachers assign boys and girls into segregated groups because they believe they will otherwise get distracted. This study suggests that this structure is a barrier for girls, people of color, and queer people in their achievement in field of science.