I believe that we should concentrate on the things that make us alike, not our differences. There may have been a time when ‘feminism’ warranted being in the curriculum, but I believe those days have passed. Instead, I believe we should concentrate on mutual respect.
Ashley Lauren, writing for care2.com disagrees:
Feminism should be taught in school.
In every class from English to history, math to science, parenting to auto mechanics, there is room for feminism. It could be something as grand as teaching about women’s roles in history to something as simple as asserting that girls can work on cars, too, but it should be a part of every class, every day.
Historically, women — and other oppressed groups — have been marginalized. Literally. We have been relegated to boxes in the margins of textbooks as if to say, “This is what the women were doing back at home while the men were off at war. It fits into this little box which must mean that it wasn’t that important and it won’t be on the test.” Imagine what that does to the self-esteem of the girls seated in the classroom.
Teaching feminism is important for many, many reasons. First, studying feminism can “reinvigorate girls’ sense of self-worth and to help pupils think about the gender implications of their language and image.” Second, as of this 2008 study, 84% of girls said that they are under an enormous amount of pressure to dress the right way. That was up from 75% in 2000. Third, and perhaps scariest of all, is that girls are starting to accept sexual assault and sexual harassment at school as a way of life.
Topical Teaching 