Meyer-Questions

Elizabeth Meyer writes about different harassment that takes place in schools and how teachers and administrators react to the harassment in her article “Gendered harassment in secondary schools: Understanding teachers’ (non) interventions.”  First Meyer identifies the problem, “sexual harassment and homophobic harassment are accepted parts of school culture where faculty and staff rarely or never intervene to stop this harassment.”  She finds that there are external and internal influences that influence a teacher’s reaction to harassment.  Meyer defines gender harassment, homophobic harassment, and gender non-conformity (transphobic harassment).  There were a series of interviews conducted in which teachers 1) discussed their “career path, philosophy, and roles in the classroom then discussed the general issue of bullying”, 2) discussed the three types of gender harassment, and 3) “allowed teachers to reflect on the discussions of the first two and draw connections and explore their (in)actions in their current school contexts.”

In the article there were schools mentioned in which the teachers did not trust their administrators to deal with issues of harassment.  There were other schools that had clear bullying policies but where all teachers did not uphold these policies.  “One teacher did voice a belief that his school’s policy on bullying was clear, yet he spoke at other points in the interview about his frustration with colleagues for their lack of awareness of and attention to the issues of racism, sexism, and homophobia in his school.”  The issue was also brought up of administrators letting their own beliefs and morals get in the way of their discipline policies.

While reading this article there were several questions raised in my mind.  Some were answered as I continued reading, but still others opened the way for further thought and discussion.

1. Why are sexual and homophobic harassment accepted parts of school culture?  Why do faculty and staff rarely intervene to stop this harassment?  What can we as educators do about it?  Are students able to learn if they don’t feel safe at school?

2. What are the external and internal factors that influence a teacher’s reaction to sexual and homophobic harassment?  How do they affect teachers’ reactions?

3. What is gender harassment?  How does it differ from homophobic harassment?  Gender non-conformity (transphobic harassment)?

4. Does the order of the three interview questions in the interview conducted affect the answers of the participants?  If teachers were asked the second interview question before the first, would that change their answer for the first question?

5. Why don’t teachers trust their administrators to support their actions when dealing with non-violent discipline issues? Does this create a safe environment for teachers and students?  What are the results of “not trusting”?

6. How does a teacher’s perception of their administrator affect the teacher’s reaction to sexual and homophobic harassment?  Why is it an issue if principals and vice principals let their own morals and their own beliefs dictate their discipline?

7. How can a lack of consistency when it comes to discipline affect the behavior of students in a school?  How does it affect the teachers that are the “enforcers”?

8. How do teachers’ experiences affect their perceptions and reactions to bullying?  Are minority groups, women, gays, lesbians, etc. more likely to end bullying and support/protect students?

9. Why do teachers feel that they can’t stop gendered harassment in their schools?  What can they do?  What happens when a teacher gives up?

10. When teachers no longer intervene in bullying situations involving gendered harassment, how does this affect the climate of the school?  The behavior of the students?  The safety of the students?  The learning taking place?