Daisy Rock Guitars and Berklee College of Music Announce New Partnership to Empower Female MusiciansApr 25, 2007 In keeping with Daisy Rock's mission to "provide females with whatever it takes to learn to play guitar and enjoy music," Daisy Rock has entered into a partnership with Berkleemusic, the continuing education division of Berklee College of Music, to provide innovative new ways for women to learn how to play guitar. Berkleemusic's online music teaching platform provides a collaborative learning environment that encourages participation and removes the social pressures and dynamics that often occur in traditional one-on-one or classroom instruction. These online guitar courses combine personal access to Berklee's guitar faculty along with interactive Flash demonstrations, Quicktime movies, downloadable Mp3 files, and tablature to produce a unique educational experience where women can freely collaborate and thrive with like-minded musicians from around the world. Notable Berkleemusic online guitar students include Cathy and Kristen Henderson, founders of the popular band Antigone Rising. Initial plans for the rollout of this partnership include the development of online guitar classes designed specifically for women, as well as special packages tailor-made for women who enroll in online courses at the school. "As a female bass player during a time when male musicians outnumbered us by nearly 20 to 1, I wished there were more resources to help me and other women like me. By partnering with Berklee, I feel like we can really help women with better instruments, better education, and better opportunities. This is a huge step toward leveling the playing field and girls ruling the world!" - Tish Ciravolo, President & Founder of Daisy Rock Guitars "We're proud to be working with Tish and Daisy Rock Guitars. With our online learning environment, student's achievements are based solely on the merits of their work. One of the major goals for our online school is to empower more women to be involved in every area throughout the entire music industry. This partnership is an excellent step towards achieving that goal." - Dave Kusek, Vice President at Berklee For more information, visit their web site at www.daisyrock.com. |
Monday, October 19, 2009
Women and the web
There have been many studies that suggest that the performance of females in academic learning settings from elementary school through university settings and beyond can potentially be adversely effected by the mere presence of males. The proposed reasons are numerous and include such factors as not wanting to appear too intelligent less it might discourage a potential "mate" and the aggressive nature of male communication styles which can tend to subdue female participation. There is evidence however, that the anonymous nature of web based interaction in learning settings can free females from those stereotypical shackles and level the playing field with respect to equal participation. An interesting story follows about how the world renowned Berklee College of Music is using the latest web based instructional tools to make music education more accessible to women. Have any of you educators experienced similar phenomenon with the use of technology to empower the voiceless?
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First off, if my posting comes across as from "Emily," it is me Emmett. In our shared gender environment, we also share names too :) I have no doubt concerning the research that Gary alludes to demonstrating how much better single-gender classrooms can be for women to learn under. Particularly at the 9th and 10th grade levels, I would not only prefer single-gender classrooms, but to only teach the girls. Boys are generally too imnature for me.
ReplyDeleteMaria Shriver, California's First Lady, just published a book entitled "The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Changes Everything." In it, she points out that women now constitute 50% of the workforce and their contributions are redefing our cultural norms. The experiences of the lady learning guitar are not the norm when it comes to women in the entertainment industry. My point is, although I agree with Gary that the internet does create a semi-gender-neutral envirnonment, I do not believe it is necessary or beneficial.
Why women would wish to pull themselves out of what was traditionally an all male-oriented society defies reason. With so many inroads and barriers broken down, to create a gender free environment for learning presupposes that to otherwise is less-than-beneficial for all parties. The implication is that women can not cut it in the male world.
With most of our nation's teachers being women, I do not believe that they intently focus their instruction towards boys. With the current buzz words in education being diversification and differentiation, gender bias has no place in the school room. Therefore, I see no need for a gender neutral forum.
Emmett
I cannot answer the question that Gary poses at the end of his blog because I am not currently a teacher, but I do have the ability to remember being in high school very well since I graduated in 2006. All throughout my years in school, girls were forced to adhere to certain dress codes and behaviors so as to not distract the so very easily distracted boys in the classroom. I remember having to sit for an entire day in the Vice Principal’s office because I was wearing a jean skirt that met the length requirement, but just “appeared” to be too short. I remember yet another day of not being allowed to go to classes because I was wearing a shirt that was yet again “legal” by all standards, but just might have been a distraction to the so very easily distracted boys. If I had been allowed to take classes with all girls, I can honestly guarantee that I would have signed up for something like that.
ReplyDeleteI realize that Gary was speaking from a different perspective in his posting, but I feel that this is very much related. Girls and boys can both be distracted by one another, so at times it seems to make sense to have them separated in order for better learning. The only problem I see with it is that social interaction between the genders throughout school is necessary for later in life.
As I am not an educator right now, I can't specifically speak to the specific questions raised. However, I can speak from experience. I know some women who do feel intimidated to speak in class for fear that men in the class will perceive them a certain way. I'm a firm believer, that if I feel I have something to contribute to class discussion, then I will speak, whether the men or women for that matter perceive me a certain way. However, with that being said, I know there are some women who are just more comfortable in general when they do not have to speak in person. Blogs, such as this, provide people with the opportunity to speak their opinion, and participate in class discussions, without having to actually speak in person. So, for those women who are easily intimidated, I do think the use of technology, such as online blog postings and online classes, can help ease their nervousness about speaking infront of their male peers.
ReplyDeleteI can also speak from experience on this topic in regard to women not wanting to appear intelligent because it may discourage a mate. I did not experience this until lately.
ReplyDeleteI have been dating my current boyfriend for a year and a half and he does not have a college degree (but does have two successful businesses). I find myself not telling him about what I learn in class or in researching for my thesis, which is completely unlike me. Learning excites me and I share what I learn with everyone, except him. I feel like I am rubbing it in his face and discounting his educational background. I know that this is unfounded, because he is proud of what I learn, but I believe it is still (female) human nature for me to do this unconsciously.
I have been a teacher of all kinds of students and raised three girls. My thinking on female education is that is is a good thing for girls and boys to be separated during the pre-teen and teenage years in order for them to focus on their work at hand. With this said, I sent all my girls to Stuart Hall for middle and high (low boy attendance). Only one stayed. The other two went to public schools and finished with high averages. No one got pregnant. They are all three smartie pants and proud to exhibit their intelligence when appropriate. I am sure they are all aware of the topic at hand, but I hope that I prepared them by speaking with them honestly about the issue of gender phobia or discrimination from an early age. I've tried as a teacher to balance my responses to my students in such a way that all are valued. But I know what you all mean... and if you watch TV the images of women are quite varied still.
ReplyDeleteBeing a male who has never taught others in a classroom and has no family, I cannot say that I understand all of the complexities of this topic. However, the world is a complex place, and I do have my own opinion about trying to shelter people from that complexity. I know plenty of people, both males and females, who do not like to speak their mind around others. I am sure there are many reasons why people would be able to open up in an anonymous or single-gender environment, but whatever the reason, I do not believe that expecting individuals to learn in such an environment can be justified.
ReplyDeleteIn “real life”, people rarely operate in single-gender or anonymous environments. It then seems unrealistic to educate people in such a way that eliminates gender related distractions and personally identity, when the workforce and personal lives that these people will be engaging in will not typically be considerate of those issues. It is my opinion that the sooner students are expected to perform in the same situations as those in the world they are being prepared for, the better prepared they will be. The complexities of in-person group interactions will never go away, despite our attempts to control them.
I am not a teacher but I can say that being comfortable enough to speak in class or to exhibit how knowledgeable you are can be on a case by case basis. I know that I have trouble speaking in front of groups, it doesn’t matter who is there and I am sure there are plenty of other that feel the same who are not just women. So I can see the internet as a place to speak out if normally in a classroom setting you are the one to sit there quietly. So I can see how technology can empower those that are the voiceless which can be anyone.
ReplyDeleteI too can't answer the particular questions raised as my teaching experience is extremely limited...however from experience, I think that the feeling like you are unable to express yourself among men as a female depends on the environment that you are used to being placed in. I, for example, feel fairly comfortable in expressing myself because of my high school experience in the IB program. This program sort of forced us to speak our minds...regardless of the circumstances. So I think I am ok on that front. As far as the spreading of technology, specifically the guitar as mentioned above, I am very excited to hear of programs like this... my father is a guitar player and for most women i think that it is likely that they assume that they can't just because they are women. In this case I bring back my inital comment about being submerged in an environment that pulls various abilities out of you regardless of what the circumstances may be.
ReplyDelete