An interesting TED talk from Colin Stokes, the director of communications for Citizen Schools. Citizen Schools is an American nonprofit organization that partners with various public schools around the US to expand the learning day for children in low-income communities. Its stated mission is “educating children and strengthening communities”.
When Stokes’ 3-year-old son caught a glimpse of Star Wars, he was instantly obsessed. But what messages did he absorb from the sci-fi classic? Stokes asks that more movies send positive messages to boys – that cooperation is heroic, and respecting women is as manly as defeating the villain.
How can these types of messages affect how genders think about each other (and themselves) in our classrooms? What are we reinforcing as educators?
Leave a Reply