It isn’t a secret that teachers often favor some students over others. This bias phenomenon can be translated into the way the professor interacts with the student, either by giving him or her more attention or treating them differently than the rest of the class. This teacher bias occurrence can manifest itself in many ways, it can be religiously based, racially-based, or gender-based.
The gender-based biased treatment is often practiced implicitly by the teacher in the classroom, leaving the student feeling wronged, however, unable to prove this unjust treatment. Both genders are victims of this unethical practice. Now the question lies, how is this gender-based bias implemented in the classroom for both genders? The discrimination against boys in the classroom is related to their behavior and self-discipline. “Boys will be boys'' was considered an explanation for the inappropriate behavior of boys, but nowadays it is stuck as a stereotype that all boys are aggressive and violent. This leads to teachers becoming more stringent towards them in the classroom as a way of asserting dominance and displaying power. They relate this staged behavior to the boy’s hormone system, claiming that they release more testosterone which makes them more active and thus harder to control.
Another stereotype that pushed professors to be gender-biased is the one that states that schoolwork is something girls are naturally best at. This automatically makes the instructor lean in favour towards girls when it comes to answering questions or even grading. The same goes for girls, however, the discrimination towards them is more fierce and obvious. Teachers are more likely to overlook a student that identifies as a girl and praise them for being quiet rather than encourage them to voice their opinions and seek deep answers. Teachers are more inclined to engage with boys in STEM-related conversations rather than girls. This follows the discrimination of the female gender in STEM, where men are seen to be the future leaders in those disciplines but women are slowly climbing that ladder in a way that still lets them be treated as side characters. The stereotype that women are soft beings also plays a role in this matter, teachers are reluctant to put girls in leadership positions under the argument that they cannot handle the pressure and responsibility that comes with the job.
Furthermore, even though girls get the same grade as boys in STEM-related subjects they are not given the credit of being as smart. They are always undermined by words like: “Girls can do just as well as boys if they work hard,” according to Brookings. This gender-based bias has been around for so long. Teachers claim to show no sign of favoritism, but that is definitely not the truth. They are humans after all, and sometimes it is normal to feel more inclined towards someone due to what is considered socially normal. However, this reason should not be due to their race or gender because no one gets to choose how they’re born, these things are forced upon us and one should embrace them. Hence teachers should start questioning themselves and whether their biased actions are based on the gender of the student or on other factors like their academic achievement or their behavior in class or towards the teacher. Gender-based bias can affect the student’s life in a way that makes them not grow into their potential just because they didn’t find the right mentor and were discriminated against in the class, which should be a safe space, regardless of their gender.
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