Not just in text, but also on an exam

Three years ago, I shared on this blog an image I saw on social media. It was a question in an exam, which I translated into English:
Place a "check" mark if the activity is for males and a "cross" if it is for females:
______1. Plowing a field
______2. Cleaning the house
______3. Driving a jeepney (a public means of transportation in the Philippines)
______4. Washing and ironing clothes
______5. Market shopping
There are numerous instances of errors in textbooks used in the Philippines. Furtunately, according to research, reading a text is not as effective as other means when it comes to retaining information. Unfortunately, tests do. Tests can better reinforce the storage of information in our minds.

I am returning to this topic since I saw this morning a similar post:

Above copied from Jonathan Chua

The above exam has been graded and the correct answers have been marked. A girl is expected to do laundry. A girl is expected to wash dishes. Someone who wears eyeglasses is probably older and should be the breadwinner. A boy is expected to play. A child who appears to be older should be watering the plants. Jonathan Chua, who posted the above picture, is actually amazed that his post has received more than 5000 Likes and has been shared almost 4000 times. I guess, with more than 100,000,000 Filipinos, these numbers of Likes and Shares do not really amount much. Still, educators should be made aware of this issue. It needs to be addressed as we strive for gender equality and the participation of men and women in all fields.




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