Tuesdays lecture all related to Racism and patriarchy. During the lecture, I gained a much broader understanding of both topics
During the first half of the lecture, we learned about the issue of racism and its prominence through the 18th century. I learned how even though it is nowhere near as bad in our society today it is still a major issue that needs to be addressed. We heard various stories from both past and present such as the story of Emmet Till which took place back in 1955 and the story of Stephen Lawrence which took place in 1993. I knew a little about both of these events but during the lecture, I found out a lot more. It showed me just how appalling the issue of racism was and I believe that if it had been a white person involved in either of these events neither of them would’ve taken place. As a teacher, I will be working with children from all different backgrounds, this lecture reinforced to me just how important it is as a teacher to treat everyone equally and with the same amount of respect.
The second half of the lecture was on patriarchy and its prominence within society both in the past and in the present. We saw many photos that showed how women were addressed and treated by the media and men. One of the slides that caught my attention showed women being told how to dress. In one picture it showed women back in the 1920s at the beach being told what they were wearing was too short. In another photo, it showed a woman again at the beach this time in 2016 being told what she was wearing was not appropriate. This showed me that even though we have progressed massively, there are still problems that exist. We also watch a video called “like a girl” which highlighted gender stereotypes as it showed a group of people of different ages and genders imitating how girls do certain things like running and throwing. Most of the people were imitating the girls as weak or not capable apart from the young girls. This showed me that as a teacher it is very important to show both genders that they are just as capable as each other and that if hard work and dedication is put in they can achieve anything.
Overall, this lecture was very informative and thought-provoking. It showed me how important certain issues are and how they can be prominent in classrooms as well as the outside world.
