Female professors discuss experiences in classroom

Being a woman and a teacher isn't always easy, according to a group of female professors. \nSeveral female professors shared stories and advice Thursday as part of a panel discussion on women's teaching experiences. The panel consisted of Valerie Grim, associate Afro-American studies professor; Holly Stocking, associate journalism professor; Dean of Women's Affairs Jean Robinson, also an associate political science professor; Assistant Dean of Students Pam Freeman; and Joan Middendorf, director of the Teaching Resource Center.\nRobinson said the panel was important because "women need opportunities to talk about the special challenges that they encounter." \nShe said one such challenge was comparing herself to the male teachers she tried to emulate when beginning her teaching career. \n"They walked into the classroom with authority attached to their bodies….and I didn't," Robinson said. \nTo foster discussion and ideas, panel members encouraged the audience to ask questions and participate.\nBesides talking about problems, Stocking offered solutions to problems female instructors might encounter in the classroom. \n"We need to think about how we treat our students," Stocking said.\nShe urged the group to be aware of the "micro-inequities" that they might otherwise overlook.\nGrim offered advice for female teachers looking to create a positive atmosphere in the classroom. As a young black female educator, Grim said she deals daily with her age, gender and race, which are three major issues of credibility. \nShe said giving classes a community atmosphere creates interesting dialogue, encourages respect and provides a place where the views and experiences of members of that community can be shared. \n"The greatest struggle is getting students to understand that evaluation and critique is not personal," Grim said.\nMembers of the panel discussed how gender affected the evaluations they received from students. Grim said she found it frustrating when students focused on her clothing and appearance in evaluations instead of the quality of her teaching. \n"When a student writes, 'I like her hair' or 'She wears nice clothes,' I feel that is a form of resistance," Grim said.\nAudience member Judy Nitsch, a graduate student who will begin teaching next year, said she found the panel useful in learning how to take situations of harassment and treat them as learning experiences.\nThe panel and audience ended the presentation with a joint discussion about experiences of harassment, hostility, threats of violence and other challenges female educators face.\nMiddendorf encouraged the participants to "adopt a schizophrenic attitude toward teaching." She said it is important for teachers to show they care about the students and the learning process, but also to adopt a strict and rigid grading policy.