http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/tannend/sandbox.htm
The Talk of the Sandbox; How Johnny and Suzy's Playground Chatter Prepares Them for Life at the Office
Deborah Tannen
"The Talk of the Sandbox; How Johnny and Suzy's Playground Chatter Prepares Them for Life at the Office" is written by Deborah Tannen and was published in The Washington Post on December 11, 1994. This online newspaper article is essentially about how the behaviour of girls and boys is very divergent in spite of being in the same situation. Tannen demonstrates this by using several real-life scenarios where the conduct of males and females differs in the way that they handle issues.
Right off the bat, the author introduces Bob Hoover who had observed the behaviour of boys and girls whilst playing softball (pun unintended ;)) He noticed that girls do not like to lead or make themselves come across as superior whereas boys do and that is how male star athletes are treated with the respect they feel they "deserve." Girls do not like to take all the credit by doing everything by themselves and instead give other teammates a chance while if a boy is a good athlete he is almost expected to perform outstandingly. Boys are worried about their image and how they will look, while girls play for the team and do not care as much about how they will appear individually. Additionally girls are very apologetic if they make a mistake even when they are not actually sorry while on the other hand boys do not apologize even when they do feel remorse for letting their team down. Tannen then takes Hoover's observations and compares them to her similar examination of men and women at work. Much like the athletes, women at work do not want to seem authoritative and address their juniors as their equals while men in authority at work press their importance upon others and do not feel the need to be overly polite because after all, they are in charge. In the office as well, men will not agree to their own mistakes and evade the blame to appear unflawed while women will apologize for no cause at all and ask countless questions regardless of how that would make them seem.
The next set of comparisons made by Tannen include a linguist Amy Sheldon's observations of pre school kids and the way they sort their matters. The boys battle it out by getting straight to it, declaring that the particular toy is their possession respectively and ultimately using physical power to get what they want. On the other hand are two girls who are having a complex debate over sharing toy medical instruments. They are trying to balance between being polite and taking the others needs into account, but holding their own as more important. This discussion ends with one girl uninviting the other to her birthday to which the response is that she did not want to attend anyway. This situation is then paralleled with another work scenario where a woman Maureen is using her negotiation technique much like the preschool girl against a man Harold who is simply going for what he wants like the preschool boys. Maureen, expecting him to negotiate as well, is taken aback when Harold simply states that it's his way or the high way. Specifically he says that he would quit the job if the candidate he preferred was not elected. Thus, Maureen is lead to agree with him instead of countering him by saying she would do the same.
Lastly, the author is sure to include that there is no definite behaviour of all men or women or all boys and girls but gender does have a significant impact on the way they conduct themselves as depicted in the examples. Men like to show who's boss and they don't think it's necessary to apologize for every little thing and are ultimately very straight to the point. On the contrary, women like to treat others as their equal and apologize not just when they are at fault but also to indicate that it is okay or that they are sorry the circumstance took place, and they like to consider others needs as well as their own. They would much rather negotiate than be straight forward about it. Tannen states that the study of conversation can help choose different approaches to get what you want just like how Maureen could have gone the other way about it and not given up so easily.
By using varied examples from sources such as Bob Hoover from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Amy Sheldon, a linguist from the University of Minnesota strengthens what Tannen is conveying in her article and correspond well to her own observations as well. As a linguistics Professor at Georgetown University, her tone is that of an expert with occasional humour for instance, referring to the disinvite to the birthday party as "the ultimate sanction" (Tanner1). As the article is published in The Washington Post, it is sure to reach a wide audience and its publication on the Georgetown website as well will stretch out to faculty and students alike. The news article is informative and tells the reader that beside so many factors such as ethnicities and family backgrounds, gender is a huge role player in determining how humans acquit themselves.
The Talk of the Sandbox; How Johnny and Suzy's Playground Chatter Prepares Them for Life at the Office
Deborah Tannen
"The Talk of the Sandbox; How Johnny and Suzy's Playground Chatter Prepares Them for Life at the Office" is written by Deborah Tannen and was published in The Washington Post on December 11, 1994. This online newspaper article is essentially about how the behaviour of girls and boys is very divergent in spite of being in the same situation. Tannen demonstrates this by using several real-life scenarios where the conduct of males and females differs in the way that they handle issues.
Right off the bat, the author introduces Bob Hoover who had observed the behaviour of boys and girls whilst playing softball (pun unintended ;)) He noticed that girls do not like to lead or make themselves come across as superior whereas boys do and that is how male star athletes are treated with the respect they feel they "deserve." Girls do not like to take all the credit by doing everything by themselves and instead give other teammates a chance while if a boy is a good athlete he is almost expected to perform outstandingly. Boys are worried about their image and how they will look, while girls play for the team and do not care as much about how they will appear individually. Additionally girls are very apologetic if they make a mistake even when they are not actually sorry while on the other hand boys do not apologize even when they do feel remorse for letting their team down. Tannen then takes Hoover's observations and compares them to her similar examination of men and women at work. Much like the athletes, women at work do not want to seem authoritative and address their juniors as their equals while men in authority at work press their importance upon others and do not feel the need to be overly polite because after all, they are in charge. In the office as well, men will not agree to their own mistakes and evade the blame to appear unflawed while women will apologize for no cause at all and ask countless questions regardless of how that would make them seem.
The next set of comparisons made by Tannen include a linguist Amy Sheldon's observations of pre school kids and the way they sort their matters. The boys battle it out by getting straight to it, declaring that the particular toy is their possession respectively and ultimately using physical power to get what they want. On the other hand are two girls who are having a complex debate over sharing toy medical instruments. They are trying to balance between being polite and taking the others needs into account, but holding their own as more important. This discussion ends with one girl uninviting the other to her birthday to which the response is that she did not want to attend anyway. This situation is then paralleled with another work scenario where a woman Maureen is using her negotiation technique much like the preschool girl against a man Harold who is simply going for what he wants like the preschool boys. Maureen, expecting him to negotiate as well, is taken aback when Harold simply states that it's his way or the high way. Specifically he says that he would quit the job if the candidate he preferred was not elected. Thus, Maureen is lead to agree with him instead of countering him by saying she would do the same.
Lastly, the author is sure to include that there is no definite behaviour of all men or women or all boys and girls but gender does have a significant impact on the way they conduct themselves as depicted in the examples. Men like to show who's boss and they don't think it's necessary to apologize for every little thing and are ultimately very straight to the point. On the contrary, women like to treat others as their equal and apologize not just when they are at fault but also to indicate that it is okay or that they are sorry the circumstance took place, and they like to consider others needs as well as their own. They would much rather negotiate than be straight forward about it. Tannen states that the study of conversation can help choose different approaches to get what you want just like how Maureen could have gone the other way about it and not given up so easily.
By using varied examples from sources such as Bob Hoover from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Amy Sheldon, a linguist from the University of Minnesota strengthens what Tannen is conveying in her article and correspond well to her own observations as well. As a linguistics Professor at Georgetown University, her tone is that of an expert with occasional humour for instance, referring to the disinvite to the birthday party as "the ultimate sanction" (Tanner1). As the article is published in The Washington Post, it is sure to reach a wide audience and its publication on the Georgetown website as well will stretch out to faculty and students alike. The news article is informative and tells the reader that beside so many factors such as ethnicities and family backgrounds, gender is a huge role player in determining how humans acquit themselves.
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