Reflective Writing 4: Gender Equality in English Language Teaching

In my educational life, many important things teach me lessons, both in academic and non-academic fields. All of them played an important role in assisting me so that I can grow into a better individual. One of those important things is the existence of gender equality. Gender equality is the parity of rights, responsibilities, and opportunities between men and women. It is crucial in all aspects of life, including education. In education, gender equality attempts to ensure that all students and teachers have the same rights and opportunities in teaching and learning activities.

Talking about gender equality, I would like to share my experience as a student in a vocational high school in the English Language Teaching (ELT) process. I had two different teachers during my three years of school. For the first and second years, I was taught by Ms. Enny. As for the last year, the third year, I was taught by Mr. Dedi. Despite their gender disparities, they were some of the best teachers I have ever met. Each of them had a distinctive learning approach regardless of the gender of the students.

Ms. Enny employed a group learning approach where all group members are divided equally, both for male and female students. She applied a rolling system to divide the students' learning groups in the class, which had 17 male and 14 female students. From the rolling system application, each group will consist of male and female students. It was attempted to establish good interactions among all students in the class, regardless of our gender.

Mr. Dedi, unlike Ms. Enny, did not employ the group learning approach. During his class, he frequently conducted quizzes for students. He chose the students to answer the quiz fairly. If quiz number one is answered by a female student, quiz number two will be answered by a male student, then quiz number three will be answered by a female student again, and so on until the quiz session is over. Mr. Dedi has provided equal opportunities for male and female students to participate in answering quiz questions through this learning approach.

In the educational experience that I have described above, I am very grateful that I have never been treated unfairly during the ELT process at school. All teachers and students were cooperating in creating equitable education regardless of gender. I am also grateful that my school environment did not encourage the notion that men are better than women, or vice versa. It encouraged me to have more confidence in my ability as a woman.

From my experience, I understand that gender equality is crucial in the ELT process. It aims to establish an equitable learning system that does not discriminate against male and female students. Gender equality is also vital in achieving a fair education, which ensures that all students have equal rights and opportunities in the learning process. I believe we can create a more equitable world of education that prioritizes gender equality if all levels of society participate in achieving it.