16 introduction
discussion about how children construct meaning about gender identity,
the authors suggest that teachers can inspire gender-balanced experi-
ences with the types of projects they assign as well as by avoiding sexist
comments and providing critical responses to the influences of media
and commercialism.
Janis Strasser and Lisa Mufson Koeppel share detailed and specific
ways that teachers can organize their activity centers to promote gender
equity (“Creating Preschool Classroom Environments That Promote
Gender Equity”). After discussing the different ways boys and girls play
in the preschool years, the authors describe what to do and what to place
in each center, whether it is in the art area or dramatic or outdoor play.
They include types of pictures to hang on the walls and resources, such
as books or prop boxes, needed for each center. In each section Strasser
and Koeppel suggest specific questions for teachers to ask themselves as
they organize their preschool environment. Some of the questions deal
with ways in which we talk to children; for example, “Are high-level
answers to questions probed for in girls as well as boys? (that is, Why
do you think that happened? How else could we solve that problem?)”,
or “Are children commended on their courage and bravery not just for
their physical achievements but for their emotional accomplishments
as well?” (p. 214). One of the questions Strasser and Koeppel suggest
teachers ask themselves—“Are girls given as much wait time as boys?”—
relates directly to the next chapter.
In intriguing descriptions of anecdotes and analysis, Sonja de
Groot Kim shares observations made over an extended period of time
in a suburban child development center (“Lessons Learned Early: Girls
Wait”). Describing in detail toddlers and their teachers, de Groot Kim
shows how over and over girls are subtly taught to wait for the boys.
Her observations and analysis emerge as she focuses specifically on the
teachers’ interactions with the children because, as she says, “their inter-
actions seemed to set the tone for what transpired in the classroom” (p.
239). We are asked to look at the evidence the author provides through
her thorough descriptions of what happened, her own comments, and
questions that she asked herself throughout her research. De Groot
Kim asks us to determine from the evidence she shares whether the
teachers might be sending messages to the children that could be con-
strued as gendered messages. This chapter is powerful because it shows
that even when teachers are competent, caring, and conscientious, they
still might unconsciously expose very young, impressionable children
to gender-related messages. Dr. de Groot Kim’s hope is that we will