Wanted: A Feminist Perspective in Teacher Education Courses

U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau , "Twenty Facts on Women Workers," February 28,1972, p. 2.

The amendment reads : "Equality of rights under the law should not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex."

Quoted in Lisa Wohl , "The Sweetheart of the Silent Majority," Ms . 2, no. 9 (March, 1974): 55-56.

Existentialists emphasize how profoundly our self-concept is affected by our physical development. See, for example, Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1959).

Bem, Sandra and Daryl J. Bem. Training the Woman to Know Her Place: The Social Antecedents of Women in the World of Work. Harrisburg, Pa.: Pennsylvania Department of Education, 1973.

For a detailed list of women's studies courses and programs, see The Guide to Current Female Studies III (Summer 1973), available from The Feminist Press, Box 334, Old Westbury, New York 11568. Selected syllabi, bibliographies, and essays have been published in Female Studies, I-VII. All but Volumes VI and VII may be obtained through KNOW, Inc., Box 86031, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15331; Volumes VI and VII are available through the Feminist Press.

See, for example, the University of Michigan's Papers in Women's Studies, a journal devoted to interdisciplinary studies of women. The first issue appeared in December 1974. For book reviews and abstracts of journal articles on women see Women Studies Abstracts, P.O. Box 1, Rush, New York 14543.

A discussion of sexism in the schools is found in a variety of works. We suggest the following: Diane Gersoni-Stavn, ed., Sexism and Youth (Ann Arbor, Michigan: R.R. Bowker Co., 1974); Judith Stacey, Susan Bereaud, and Joan Daniels, eds., Andjill Came Tumbling After (New York: Dell Publishing Co., 1974). For a comprehensive description and analysis of sex discrimination in higher education, see Alice S. Rossi and Ann Calderwood, eds., Academic Women on the Move (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1973).

Howe, Florence. "Sexism and the Aspiration of Women." Phi Delta Kappan 55 (October 1973):102.

The syllabus for this course is available from the authors, c/o Suzanne Howard, American Association of University Women, 2401 Virginia Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. We used it successfully to convince the College that focusing on the education of women was a legitimate objective in a required teacher education course.

For the content of such an inservice training course, see Kathleen E. Grady, "A Proposal for Consciousness Raising in the Public Schools," in Report on Sex Bias in the Public Schools, edited by the National Organization of Women, 5 South Wabash, Suite 1615, Chicago, I11. 60603.