A touch of role play goes a long way.
Last week as we dug into Things Fall Apart with the 11th grade, student comments and writing deplored the treatment of women in Umuofia. The women marry young, bear children, keep house, and never question their husband Okonkwo's authority. Notably, we never actually hear from an unhappy housewife. (We'll look at that this week with HL, in response to their essay question: Which social groups are marginalised, excluded or silenced within the text?)
We also see women in roles of authority over men, we see women honoured and dignified in certain ceremonies, and we see female goddesses like the earth goddess, whose power and authority are indeed awesome. In today's class I wanted to explore with them whether the role of women could be painted with a broad brush. They are inclined to offer opinions and responses which they know to be politically correct and progressive. With regards to women, they are prone to hate on male leaders even if they are benevolent, and to paint women as "slaves" if they are seen serving men. I know that their understanding of women's roles is more nuanced, especially given their context in Arab society, and I wanted to draw it out.
Nour and Kareem were called up to the front and each given a sticky. Kareem's sticky note said "Happy housewife." Nour's sticky note said "Frustrated housewife." I had envisioned them performing separately, but they ended up doing their own improvised dialogue. Kareem sashayed across the front of the class, stirring a bowl of "... yogurt!" and exclaiming how happy he was to be making it. He said "My husband will be home soon, and he'll probably bring me flowers, and chocolates, and then we'll have dinner all together as a family!" Nour looked uncomprehendingly at him and asked how on earth he could be so happy. "We cook, we clean, we stay home, we have to do what others say. What kind of life is this? I want relaxation." When Kareem said "but if you wanted relaxation why did you become a mother?" Nour hesitated, looked in desperation at the audience, and said "One second," and she put her finger to her chin in thought. The class waited, watching her. A second later she raised her face triumphantly and declared: "It was an accident".
It is amazing to me how role play oils the discussion machine. Hands shot into the air to describe what we had seen. Dalia was the first to go beyond observation and point out that one wife seemed to have a sense of honour in her position. Building on that, I asked what seemed to contribute to each person's perspective. We established these notes on the board.
What determines the woman's attitude?
- Did I choose this?
- Do I have support?
- Do I accept that this is my role?
- Do I feel honored?
- Am I willing to follow a routine?
We then looked at the following passage from TFA.
They annotated in pairs for how the woman is portrayed, and then we discussed as a class. They had good comments on the use of particular language, but what really hit the nail on the head was that they noted how this woman has a strictly defined role, but seems to have honour and fulfilment too.
Jeneen said "No woman wants to stay home and cook and clean, so it's obvious that the women in this village are unhappy." Many students had a reaction to that, and pointed out that loads of women, including their own mothers, are happy to be home as mothers and wives. Hala recalled the character in the movie "Mona Lisa Smile" who has the opportunity to go away to college but chooses to get married and start a family.
Shady referred to his mother's research in feminist studies, for which she has conducted interviews with mothers which revealed their contentedness in their domestic roles. Basel pointed out that many women who do feel honoured and supported are happy to be housewives. I promised Jeneen an opportunity to respond at the end of class, and she said indignantly, "What I meant was..." Jeneen is not the only person in this class who often says or writes things she doesn't mean. I hope she'll (they'll) think twice before making a broad statement about "how women feel" again.
Mohammad almost won a point for the class in Basket of Doom, but "pursue" doomed the effort.
Last week as we dug into Things Fall Apart with the 11th grade, student comments and writing deplored the treatment of women in Umuofia. The women marry young, bear children, keep house, and never question their husband Okonkwo's authority. Notably, we never actually hear from an unhappy housewife. (We'll look at that this week with HL, in response to their essay question: Which social groups are marginalised, excluded or silenced within the text?)
We also see women in roles of authority over men, we see women honoured and dignified in certain ceremonies, and we see female goddesses like the earth goddess, whose power and authority are indeed awesome. In today's class I wanted to explore with them whether the role of women could be painted with a broad brush. They are inclined to offer opinions and responses which they know to be politically correct and progressive. With regards to women, they are prone to hate on male leaders even if they are benevolent, and to paint women as "slaves" if they are seen serving men. I know that their understanding of women's roles is more nuanced, especially given their context in Arab society, and I wanted to draw it out.
Nour and Kareem were called up to the front and each given a sticky. Kareem's sticky note said "Happy housewife." Nour's sticky note said "Frustrated housewife." I had envisioned them performing separately, but they ended up doing their own improvised dialogue. Kareem sashayed across the front of the class, stirring a bowl of "... yogurt!" and exclaiming how happy he was to be making it. He said "My husband will be home soon, and he'll probably bring me flowers, and chocolates, and then we'll have dinner all together as a family!" Nour looked uncomprehendingly at him and asked how on earth he could be so happy. "We cook, we clean, we stay home, we have to do what others say. What kind of life is this? I want relaxation." When Kareem said "but if you wanted relaxation why did you become a mother?" Nour hesitated, looked in desperation at the audience, and said "One second," and she put her finger to her chin in thought. The class waited, watching her. A second later she raised her face triumphantly and declared: "It was an accident".
It is amazing to me how role play oils the discussion machine. Hands shot into the air to describe what we had seen. Dalia was the first to go beyond observation and point out that one wife seemed to have a sense of honour in her position. Building on that, I asked what seemed to contribute to each person's perspective. We established these notes on the board.
What determines the woman's attitude?
- Did I choose this?
- Do I have support?
- Do I accept that this is my role?
- Do I feel honored?
- Am I willing to follow a routine?
We then looked at the following passage from TFA.
"Anasi was a middle-aged woman, tall and strongly built. There was authority in her bearing and she looked every inch the ruler of the womenfolk in a large and prosperous family. She wore the anklet of her husband’s titles, which the first wife alone could wear.
She walked up to her husband and accepted the horn from him. She then went down on one knee, drank a little and handed back the horn. She rose, called him by his name and went back to her hut. The other wives drank in the same way, in their proper order, and went away."They annotated in pairs for how the woman is portrayed, and then we discussed as a class. They had good comments on the use of particular language, but what really hit the nail on the head was that they noted how this woman has a strictly defined role, but seems to have honour and fulfilment too.
Jeneen said "No woman wants to stay home and cook and clean, so it's obvious that the women in this village are unhappy." Many students had a reaction to that, and pointed out that loads of women, including their own mothers, are happy to be home as mothers and wives. Hala recalled the character in the movie "Mona Lisa Smile" who has the opportunity to go away to college but chooses to get married and start a family.
Shady referred to his mother's research in feminist studies, for which she has conducted interviews with mothers which revealed their contentedness in their domestic roles. Basel pointed out that many women who do feel honoured and supported are happy to be housewives. I promised Jeneen an opportunity to respond at the end of class, and she said indignantly, "What I meant was..." Jeneen is not the only person in this class who often says or writes things she doesn't mean. I hope she'll (they'll) think twice before making a broad statement about "how women feel" again.
Mohammad almost won a point for the class in Basket of Doom, but "pursue" doomed the effort.
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