[EDEQUITY Male Dialogue] Dissemination and Funding

From: Craig Flood (CFlood@aol.com)
Date: Fri Dec 15 2000 - 10:44:34 EST


Stephanie:

Thanks for your comments...much to digest and respond to as this panel
closes. Dissemination has always been a critical issue and more so now
with
decreases in funding, particularly funding aimed at the institutionalized
efforts you discuss in your post. Any type of systemic reform has its
inherent difficulties. We needn't look any further than the School to Work

efforts at the national level. This was (and still is) an essential area
of
educational reform, but as it started to bump up against the push for
standards and assessments much of the momentum was lost. There were good
attempts at what that funding was intended to achieve, but it was a bit
short
of the goal of a K-12 system.

As for institutionalizing equity, I have seen the most success when it is
integrated into existing initiatives in schools. Currently, some of the
schools I am connected with have integrated their interests in achieving
equity into their "safe schools" efforts. There are significant levels of
funding in this area, as well as the public concern. For example, we have
a
new statewide safe school legislation in New York with a series of mandates

at both the professional development and curriculum areas. Here it is more

about finding where equity fundamentally fits into other pressing concerns
in
schools.

Developing safe and respectful school communities begs for developing a
consciousness of the dynamic of gender and support for alternatives to
traditional roles for males and females; including directly confronting
homophobia in schools. I have had some success in working with schools
around boys developmental and educational needs by helping them see the
intersection of gender with such existing efforts in schools. The recent
report about the bullying at Columbine prior to the tragedy bears out the
ways in which gender, specifically institutionalized support for "boys will

be boys" behavior that marginalizes students who are different.

Another example of the potential for the integration of gender equity can
be
found in the increasing interest in community development work with
adolescents that focuses on fostering resiliency and "developmental
assets."
 The research bears out the importance of a consciousness of gender in
understanding the varying needs of boys and girls in this work.

We could have an entire panel on this issue. Might be a good idea for the
future.

Thanks for you thoughtful questions.

Craig



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