Of class 6th NCERT book
We all are going through this science book in class 6th. But now we will see how much our book are gender netural. At class 6th students started their puberty. It is important that our textbook should be gender netrual.
About the book
The textbook is published by the National Council Of Educational Research and Training. This textbook is an updated version. The syllabus is based on the latest pattern of CBSE. All the three subjects- physics, chemistry and biology are included in the syllabus.
Grade 6th science textbook is fully child centric. The pictures are bright and big. The colour of the textbook is really attractive and good. The quality of paper used to develop the content is flexible and does not leave any impression behind the page. The pages are properly numbered and activities are low cost or no cost activities. The activities can easily be performed by the student and provide them a better conceptual understanding. Assessment, evaluation, learning and facts are in different colours so the child can attract them.
Cover page of the textbook
The cover page of the science textbook for 6th class are designed by Mr. Dev Anand and Mr. Sunil Kumar. The cover page designers are both men. There is no woman. The government should include the woman candidate too for designing the cover page. Might the cover page be more attractive.
The director of the book is also a man and even the production committee is also heard by Mr. Anil kumar sharma. I found that all the members of the design production and direction committee are men. There is no participation of women in any such work.
Introduction is also given by an male IAS officer Mr. Binay Bhushan- director of education and sports. There are many other women IAS officers who worked in the education department.
Textbook development committee
The textbook development committee consists of 26 members in itself. The number of women participants is ten which is not even half the man participants. The higher ranking office belongs to one woman out of 10.
Chapter1 ; food: where does it come from
Page no. 2 image no. 1.3- transportation of wheat
Here a man carries the food to the market. A woman can represent the same. The content developer should use a woman representative too. A sixth class student considers that transportation is only related to man. Women do not participate in this work.
Chapter 2: component of food
Page no.15 image there is a fat boy who represents the over eating. They can use the girl too. But there is a stereotype that a girl should be slim. It will be ok if a man is overweight.
Chapter 3; fiber to fabric
Page no.20, 21 and 22 image no. 3.7, 3.11 and 3.13, the work represents the status of women. The women are working with charkha and weaving meaning at home whereas men are working in the field of cotton. But the reality is different as shown in pictures.
Chapter 5:separation of substance
Page no 37 image 5.4 and 5.5- there is a man who worked in the field and the woman works with the execution method of separating wheat and dust. The picture shows the gender roles of men working in the field and women working at home.
Pageno. 38 image 5.7- man is working on a filtration method. The man is labour but why do they use only men and women also do the same thing in the same way.
Chapter 9: living -features and habitat
Page no. 88 image no. 9.10- in the growth process images mostly man used as the representative. I rarely see any woman as the representative of the growth process . Do women have a different growth process than men?
Chapter 10; measurement of speed and distance
In this chapter women’s representation is neglected . All the activities are performed by a single gender ( male). Might be content developers consider that women are not good in numbers so he does not include pictures of women.
Chapter 15; air in our surrounding
Page no. 148 image 15.5 – the mountaineer is a man why not a woman. The women also climb the mountain but the picture again is a reflection of less representation of women in the text development committee.
Page no. 150 image no. 15.8 There is a policeman who controls the traffic. When they look at the book he /she considers that only a man could be a traffic police woman not.
Dialogue
The textbook consists of two characters known as the bhuju and pheli. Pheli is a girl who is very curious to know everything whereas bhuju is a boy who knows everything and performs activities. I feel that somewhere the content developer considers that girls are curious whereas boys are silent observers
.
Conclusion
The science textbook of 6th class is published by the NCERT. The book is updated but somewhere gender equality is missed by the content developer. The picture can develop a gender role distinguished in the child mind. Same as the pheli bhuju creates and thinks that girls are curious and boys have answers to the all query. We should neglect this type of representation of women in the textbook and there is an urgent need for more female participants in content developing and cover designing.
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