I live two blocks from the school mentioned above, which is Everett Middle
School in the Mission District of San Francisco. The teacher mentioned in
this segment of "SchoolGirls" is Judy Logan of the SF Unified School
District.
I believe that in the book Ms. Logan had all the students in her class pick
both one woman and one man to write a report and do a presentation on.
With regards to the decorations in her classroom, I believe the course was
an elective in the school, and that any student who took this class would
also at some point take the "standard" equivalent. I think it was more of
a women's studies version of history and social issues, and that students
who took this class were aware of its content before signing up for it.
I personally see nothing wrong with presenting materials only on women in
certain courses. This wouldn't be necessary if all the core courses were
taught in an equitable manner, but they aren't anywhere close to that.
Besides, I think that boys being taught only about women may help them
understand what it's like to be a girl who is only taught about men in
almost every class.
By the way, if anyone's interested, Judy Logan wrote an excellent book on
her teaching experiences at Everett called "Teaching Stories" which is
currently in print.
--Sharon
Sharon O. Hoff
Equity Training Concepts
3 Gaiser Ct., San Francisco, CA 94110
Phone/FAX: 415/864-0394