Introduction and Overview
The Haring Center’s Summer Camp provides educational sessions for children by striving to engage them in an inclusive environment. Healthy children and those with developmental disabilities are provided with the opportunity to learn together and make their lives better. There are three main goals set by the Haring Center, including research, training, and education – all integrated into children programs. The average age of participants is 5, and each of the offered programs identifies the age range, depending on the topics to be studied. Along with providing subject education, the organization proposes equitable teaching and learning as well as community engagement. Specifically to the Haring Center’s Summer Camp, it offers educational sessions in robotics, cooking with chemistry, slime extravaganza, theater and art practice, and preparation for kindergarten. For example, Robotics 101 focuses on basic skills and knowledge in programming, building simple robots, and engineering.
Problem Outline and Analysis
As a rule, children learn in small groups, and staff members manage and guide their activity. During the recent Robotics 101 program, a conflict occurred between girls and boys. A male student who joined the session after others stated that girls were unable to properly understand mathematics and robotics as they have different brain structure. He expressed a stereotyped view that girls can cope with the exact sciences worse than boys. After that, the class divided into two groups, each of which was sure that they were better. However, the teacher’s arguments that all people have the ability to learn various subjects were ineffective. One of the leading girls declared that it was her assiduity, accuracy, and diligence that allowed her to successfully study robotics. She also stated that she thought something was wrong with her as the majority of girls preferred learning languages and other related subjects. It was revealed that some girls also believed that boys are smarter than they are.
Considering that the Haring Center’s Summer Camp is open for children regardless of their gender, it is essential to find the ways to resolve the above problem. While analyzing the case, attention should be paid to supporting both girls and boys and assisting them in understanding that learning should be equitable and equal to any gender. There is a link between an individual behavior and the society, and each of them may affect the other one. Therefore, from the very childhood, people should be aware of the societal roles, opportunities, and how educational inequities may adversely impact students.