Has the Study of Gender Illuminated Men's Lives as Much as Women's Essay

Has the Study of Gender Illuminated Men's Lives as Much as Women's - Essay Example John Tosh1 chronicled how manliness and masculinity have thrived in the eyes of society in various times in history. He says that in the prudent Victorian era, gentlemen were expected to be more cerebral than physical. The times called for a â€Å"mingling of the ethical and the physiological†, however, manliness was heavily influenced by concience than by animal insticts that may sometimes overcome a man. Victorian code dictated manliness to emphasize self-control, hard work and independence. Tosh claims that boys were prepared for more competitive and demanding roles as husband, father and breadwinner. Men were expected to provide for their families a comfortable home and food on the table. Inability to do so earns him a lowly place in society. Women, on the other hand, had to struggle to be recognized as being contributory to society. A woman is romantically viewed as the heart of the home, the primary nurturer of the family, the source of emotional support, however, she ha s evolved into something much more than a homemaker. Traditionally, women have been assigned to care for her family and home while men were tasked to go out to seek livelihood for his family. The mother’s role in the family is a powerful one for women even if men insist that they are the heads of their households. Tosh explains that although fathers talk to their sons about the challenges of adult life and gives them advise accordingly, it is the mothers who had control over a large area of moral education, which, odd as it may seem, include the area of ‘manliness’. 2 The seemingly stronger influence of the woman over the raising of the family may be unsettling for men, hence such is underplayed. John Stuart Mill became intensely unpopular due to his statement divulged in conservative circles truths that people wittingly repress in polite society. He announced that â€Å"the generality of the male sex cannot yet tolerate the idea of living with an equal†3 and this statement was met with much fury, defensiveness, as well as quiet illumination. Tosh contends that middle class men in late Victorian Britain faced a difficult dilemma regarding their own masculinity. They realized that their own manliness has been filtered through the feminine sensibility of their own mothers.4 Joan Scott analyzes how gender studies explain the roles of men and women. She claims that gender is a way of denoting â€Å"cultural constructions† of subjective identities of men and women.5 Weisstein contends that gender is a most complex and intricate phenomenon, but at the interpersonal level, a good portion of the oppressiveness of gender arises from the fact that one person has enormous power over the other6. No other time has such conflict of power been more felt than during the previous world wars. Men felt power in being called out to defend their families and their country while the women they left behind felt empowered being given the responsibili ty for their families and home while the men were away. Historically, the trend of women joining the work force was felt more strongly during war time. Historians have differing views of the changes women have undergone in the two world wars. Arthur Marwick’s stand is that the wars brought about women’s realizations of their rights and innate potentials that were put to the test when they were called out of their home duties and into the workforce7. The

I plan to determine what influences achievement on students in special Research Proposal

I plan to determine what influences achievement on students in special education, between those who have used technology and those who have not used technology - Research Proposal Example Lahm (2003) supports this concern by pointing out that professional concern for special needs classes has not been packed by equal political or administrative effort. A situation that she believes is leaving little facility to implement or measure the impact of the adoption of technology in special education curriculums. Determining what influences achievement of students in special education who have used technology over those who have not requires first the identification of technology use, methodology and evaluation measures used. At the same time, there is an equal need to develop performance standards that will be able to attribute variance in performance directly with the use of the technology. It should be noted that the correlation between students’ technological competency is not to be equated with student proficiency or achievement. Therefore, determining variance in proficiency or achievement among students due to the utilization of technology should entail control over the type of curriculum, students or instructors (Gardner et al, 2003). Concentrating on special education students, studies will also need to account for the client conditions and health. Subsequently, there is also a need to identify what factors may limit the impact of technology use from socio-cultural, political, economic or medical perspectives. Moreover, there is also a need to account for the nature of technology adaptation itself such as productivity paradoxes, rates of adaptation and competency requirements among others (â€Å"Technology and Education†, 2006). The technology-focused educational reform emerged as major agenda in the 1990’s. Initial programs were designed as support social services but eventually, efforts became the prerogative of educational institutions. Programs transitioned from general programs to enhance the well-being of vulnerable groups identified through schools then became more specific