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= Hi ladies, thought I'd put a note here as you're likely to see it - then we can erase it. I'm not as far along as I thought I'd be (husband fell playing roller hockey so lots of x-rays....) anyway, it was very timely that I had a 1/2 day PD on addressing homophobia in schools on Friday including viewing the Rick Mercer rant you put up Cynthia - our grade 4 and 5 teachers are going to show it to their students! So, I can add a lot of resources, etc. I'm hoping to merge the information on gender equity and curriclum that addresses gender issues explicitly in the end and maybe just call it equity as I'm finding most information covers LGBTQ issues as well. I've gathered a few statistics if we need them and have more than we need for current policies and curriculum. If you have a specific Alberta document you'd like me to refer to please send me the link. A few questions, do we want the teaching resources as an attachment? Take a look at the glossary page. Are there any more definitions we should cover/ (didn't know what intersex or two-spirited was until Friday) Do we want to include a survey somewhere with things like: Do you prefer to teach boys or girls? How many men are there on your staff? Is your principal male or female? Does your school still shelve LGBTQ material on the 302 shelf with deviant behaviour or with families on 306? I'll keep working on the glossary, will redo the wordle to include many more terms, will finish merging the info. on equity and curriculum, will keep building a practical resource list, etc. Do we want a page on how to deal with difficult questions - e.g. My dad says homosexuals molest children...My religion says it's a sin...I have great answers from my workshop Friday. Brenda -- I have a page from a BC parents group that would contrast well with your suggestion -- would let people know the level of prejudice out there: [|**//Parents for Democracy in Education presents://**][|**Suggested parents’ replies to BCTF’s**][|**//‘Snappy Answers to Objections to anti-homophobia//**][|**//curriculum in schools’//**] - Cynthia= = Brenda = = = =Assignment=

The purpose of this presentation is to share a contemporary curricular issue of your choice with your classmates. For this presentation, you will be working with a group to select, research and present your findings on your curricular issue. Be sure to focus on the Canadian context as much as possible, try to show divergent perspectives on your chosen issue, and discuss how this issue has impacted both your own personal practice as well as the field of curriculum development. Based on the readings from the Flinders and Thornton text, from the recommended readings list provided in the Weekly Plan and from your own research, prepare your presentation to be delivered asynchronously using either the eClass discussion tool that we will be using for our in-class discussions or whatever other online tools you wish. You will be expected to actively engage your colleagues through reading, viewing, listening, and/or reflecting activities. The time needed for your colleagues to work through your presentation should be no more than 45 minutes plus any additional time needed to engage in discussion about the issue over a five-day period. I suggest that you come up with one comprehensive question that synthesizes the material presented and post it in our Discussion area to encourage class interaction. It is up to each group to read and respond to questions asked or comments made on their specific

As an aside...I taught in all girls school---The Nellie McClung Program for three years which is why I was interested in this topic. Just wondering do we want to look at gender specialization schools? Private schools who segregate? or What role does gender play in writing curriculum?

OK, I posted something to the discussion, but now I know how to add here. I think the role gender plays in writing curriculum might be a good place to start. By the way, what's a widget?

Cynthia here -- I want to include some material on LGBTQ issues re curriculum -- did some research on this in my last course.

Brenda here - Maybe something like "What impact does gender have on curriculum?" It's broad enough to let us look at the writing side of curriculum and the implementation side, segregation, LGBTQ,... "Sexism" was our school focus a couple of years ago and I can help provide a list of K-5 books, lessons, activities, presenters, etc., e.g. "Are you a boy or a girl?" This year we're taking on heterosexism and we're very aware that there will be huge flack from the community. Any thoughts about the final product? Maybe a glog?

MdB - "What impact does gender have on curriculum?" Would this question be broad enough to include LGBTQ as a topic? I think a glog would be fun. I've used gloster before to create one. Any ideas on how to begin this project?

Should we set up a skype session?

MdB - What would I need to join a skype session? I haven't done any reading related to this topic as of yet. I do know that we are presenting near the end of November, though. I've placed the articles on the //Research on Gender in Curriculum// page, but I wasn't able to locate one of them.

Brenda - I think a Skype session would be great. I've added a page and cut and pasted the reading list to it. We have some in bold that all of us have to read, but then I wondered if we should divy up the others to share the work around. I also did a quick EBSCO search using terms like gender, sexism, feminist, homophobia, etc. There's a lot of research out there so I think we're going to have to decide on what to encompass. I was also wondering about a voicethread (not my favourite tool but since there are instructions for it on our class homepage I wondered if it was a hint) or continue building a wiki because we can embed podcasts, glogs, etc.

Cynthia - I love VoiceThread but agree with Brenda that if we use the wiki we can embed items, including a VoiceThread.

MdB - There are, indeed, 10 readings (there were 2 number 6s) and the one added on //Silence on Gays & Lesbians//. Anyway, here is the breakdown: Cynthia - 2 Kelly - 3 Brenda - 3 Margaret - 2 And, yes, that adds up to ten. I will probably read the required readings as well, time permitting.

Saskatchewan includes gender equity in curriculum---checklist I wonder if the other provinces have this.

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