| I can tell you about my Digital teaching experiences outside the U.S.,
although I don't know that they're very representative. I've taught
many 2-week VMS System Seminars in Reading, Munich, Valbonne, Nieuwegein
(Netherlands), and Tokyo, and several 1-week VMS announcement and/or update
courses in Reading and Geneva, over the past 9 years. The System Seminars
have two instructors, and usually I taught with a man. The other courses
I taught alone. All these were employee courses.
I don't remember very much prejudice against me as a woman. There
was *some*, but it was pretty limited and mostly disappeared when
students decided I knew what I was talking about.
Your story about the woman and man team-teaching in Munich was
familiar. Similar things have happened to me. However, in this case,
other cultural differences *might* account for some of the difference
in treatment. For example, my (somewhat prejudiced) impression is that
many Germans are more formal in their manners and appearance than most
Americans and would perhaps be more impressed by a more formal instructor.
It seems to me that my European classes were generally less open
than US ones, and that it took them longer to loosen up and feel
comfortable asking questions and reacting to things. Some of that
may have been cultural. It seemed also like some of it was time for
students to get used to my accent, language use, facial expressions, and
also what I expected from them in the way of feedback. Also, my
experience was that more junior (continental, not English) Digits tended
to be less comfortable with classes taught in English than their senior
colleagues. I used my hands and arms a lot to try to get across.
The 2 Japanese classes I taught were even less open. Traditionally,
I was told, in Japan students did not ask questions and believed that
it was their fault if they didn't understand something. Also, the
language barrier was higher. It took considerably longer to get the
class reacting. (My 1st class in Tokyo, ~1980, I was the only woman.
The 2nd, ~1982, the other teacher was a woman, and there were 2
female software specialists in the class, one of whom told me
proudly about a female unit SWS manager in the Tokyo office.)
I haven't ever tried anything other than ignoring prejudice and
trying to reach the people who wanted to listen. Knowing your
subject well and having a captive audience is a real good
combination against that kind of prejudice, and I've been lucky
enough so far not to have encountered any under other circumstances.
If I were faced with your team-teaching example, I'd try to set some
boundaries with the other teacher - maybe questions for certain
areas or subjects go to 1 person, and others to the 2nd. Or, if
no subject division were possible, maybe the 2 could alternate answering
questions to spread the work.
reg
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| I taught the VAX LISP course in Munich this Fall. I had a good
time doing it. It is hard to say how the students would have treated
me had I been a man, because I've never been one. But it seems
pretty clear that the treatment I received would have been different
had I been a man. The difference in gender seems to be more important
in how people treat me at first than in how they treat me after knowing
me for a longer time. I was there for 2 weeks, and I think generated
the respect of those who could understand what I was saying. I'm an
engineer, not a teacher, so my presentation was not silky smooth.
The students were mostly male (one female), and none American.
Beryl
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I suspect the problem with the team teaching experience in Munich
(or elsewhere in Europe) may have had very simple origins. At the
beginning of a course it is usual to have introductions, and it may
be, that however inadvertantly the male partner may have been
introduced in such a manner as to appear to be the senior partner
(it could have been something as simple as job title, or length of
service, I have seen both cause problems).
Once that scenario is in place it is correct etiquette for the
students to address problems/questions to the senior player. The
only way to avoid the problem is to rehearse the introduction and
make sure that it has nothing to indicate seniority.
In passing I remember one situation in which something similar
happened where one instructor stood at the dais during the
introductions and the other sat at a desk in the front row, after
that most of the attendees assumed that the one who had been
standing was senior.
We learn these attitudes very early, as early as the first time in
school that a trainee teacher is introduced to the classroom. Since
the trainee/trainer situation is usually the only one we see until
beyond university the cultural message is very strng (and not at all
sex related, as precisely the same major/minor role allocation will
happen with two men or two women team teaching if your aren't
careful)
/. Ian .\ (ex-teacher albeit male)
PS during my teaching practice my mentor was an experienced female
teacxher, and I experienced this shut out in reverse -- very bad for
the macho image, don't you know :-)
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| One anecdote and a suggestion about the team session:
I was working for a different company when a (female) colleague
and I came to London to teach a course. My colleague and I were
both about 25 at the time, and the 'students' (9 or 10) of them
were all in the 45-60 age range. We were setting up the room and
we saw a box on the table. When we asked what was in the box, one
of the men responded, "it's a box of rubbers". We asked what their
intentions were in using these, and were quickly advised that the
British word "rubber" refers to "pencil erasers".
As for the team-teaching comment ... the most important move you
can make when people insist on asking the male member of the team
all the questions, is to enlist his support. He should re-direct
their questions to you. After doing this two or three times, they'll
catch on.
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