Reflective Writing - Gender, Class, and Inclusion

First of all, I want to begin with what I understand from the concepts of gender,
class,and also inclusion. When I started to discuss these concepts in the class, I
thought that I knew them before, but when I tried to understand their
definitions and what they were, I realized that they were deeper than I know. In
fact, I want to say that I realized that the concept of gender has a very different
meaning than I know it. I was thinking that the definition of a gender is only
about being a man or a woman. However, when I learned its correct definition
and what it was, I learned that the concept of gender is closely related to
society. If I want to say what I understand from the concept of gender, I can say
that it means the integrity of the roles and responsibilities of women and men
in different historical times. Gender also includes expected behaviors from men
and women in different situations. Men and women have different
characteristics, and thus they have different abilities. Therefore, the reactions
to the events will be unique, and this uniqueness is also related to the concept
of gender. Now, I know much more things about the gender by discussing it and
thinking about what it is in the classrom. In addition, another issue that
affected me was that the concepts of gender and sex were different from each
other. I learned that gender is based on society otherwise sex is defined by
biologically, that is, it is only about being women and men. Also, I understood
much better what sexual identity and sexual orientation mean. Sexaul identity
refers to a person seeing himself as a man or woman, while sexual orientation
means being heterosexual and LGBTI.

Now, I want to explain the gender discrimination in the society and also say
what I think about it. Gender discrimination refers to treating women and men
differently in the society. This topic is one of the most important issues for me
to think and discuss about society. Unfortunately, we see that women are not
respected in society as much as men, and there is a great disparity between
men and women. As a result of this, women have to struggle with many
difficulties in society. In some societies, women can not have equal rights with
men and also they can not obtain the some opportunities men have. For
example, they can not vote, can not work, and can even be used as slaves to
serve men in various communities around the World. This inequality can also
be seen in the field of education. We can see the best example of this in our
country. Some female students are not sent to school by some families. As a
result of this, female students can not been able to get an important place in
the society. They are excluded by men in society and can not find the
opportunity to improve themselves. Moreover, uneducated women become
dependent on men in society and can not have the right to speak freely what
they want. This leads to a serious differences in status between men and
women in society. In addition, I can also give some examples of teachers'
behaviors towards girls in the classroom as an example of gender inequality in
education. Some male teachers underestimate female students and treat them
in a bad way. They do not think girls can be successful and they do not care
enough about them. Instead of motivating them, they are saying things that are
offensive. Also, there is a misperception that is still present in society.
Individuals in the community think that women should not do such jobs as
electrical engineer, mechanical engineer or bus driver, and they think these
professions are not for them. I have some important questions. Why these
professions are perceived as male profession? Do women really fail in these
professions? My idea is that it is mainly about culture. This misperception in the
community has been transmitted through generations, and we are still
surprised to see a civil engineer woman today. I do not think women are failing
in these professions because there are no features that will make men more
superior than women in these jobs. In addition, in the school books given by
the state, more men are mentioned in the stories and there are more images
related to men. This is an another example of male-female inequality in
education.

We have to overcome this inequality in society. We need to ensure that women

are more respected in society, so they can play an active role in society in that
way. We must provide them the opportunities that men have. We have to
educate them well. Therefore, they can be more knowledgeable and they can
also aware of their rights. If we can achieve equality between men and women,
we can increase peace and happiness in society. We are all human beings and
we must have the same rights and the same opportunities.

Another important things that surprised me was the difference between

equality and equity. I learned that equity will be achieved by treating everyone
justly according to their circumstances otherwise equality will be accomplished
by through treating everyone equally.

Another important issue mentioned in the classroom was the concept of class
in society. There are different classes in the society and each class has its own
characteristics. In society, important issues such as income differences, culture,
lifestyle, education level, and respectability within the society constitute the
classes in the society. Unfortunately, these classes constitute an example of
inequality in society. For example, a group of people in the community is rich,
while another group of people is poor and these two groups form two different
classes. The poor class has less opportunity in society, while the rich class has a
dominant role in society. Also, black people and white people in the community
is an another example of two different classes. The inequality here is really a lot
on the World. Black people are often excluded from society and seen as
insignificant people. For example, a white person and black person look for a
job, then white people can find a job in a short time, while black people find it
in a very long time. However, from a different perspective, classes in society are
necessary. If there was no class in the society, order could not be achieved and
everyone would try to achieve everything. This could be a cause of the
deterioration of peace in society. Therefore, we need to balance between the
the different classes in a good way. We must listen to each individual's
thoughts, and we should respect everyone's thinking.

Another important topic I learned is the inclusion in terms of education.

Inclusion in education tells us that everyone in the world should receive equal
education. This also tells us everyone should have the same opportunities in
education. It emphasizes that everyone has the right to equal education. There
are people with disabilities in the community and they should be included in
equal education. I think that inclusion is very important for education.

The last thing I want to say is that being aware of such concepts and also
learning them, I think that it is very important for our future teaching life. Now,
I know a lot more about society. When I became a teacher in the future, I
understood better that I should approach girls and male students equally in my
classroom. I may also have people from different classes of society in my class,
but I know that I need to achieve equality between them. I should also help to
ensure that everyone receives an equal education and that everyone can
benefit from all facilities of education.

Abdullah İrkin

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