OK for school to reinforce stereotypes?

[NumptyNu]

DS's school has invited the 'dads' in for a special science-themed day. I'm shocked to say the least. What kind of message does this send to the kids?

A. Science is for boys?
B. It's usual for dads to be out at work, hence the need for a special day for them. Mums do not work, they stay at home and bake cakes for the PTA?

I can see the logic of trying to reach out to the dads, but really? What do you think?

[avocadotoast]

This makes no sense at all. Have they said why they've only invited dads?

[CliveCussler]

Jeez. I'd be asking them when the Mum's Science day was.

[NumptyNu]

Thanks all. I feel so annoyed about this. I'll be proceeding with a constructive conversation with the head I think.

[EBearhug]

I too can see the logic of trying to reach out to the dads, but unless they also have a special science-themed day with mums, then massive sexism fail. There's not actually any guarantee someone will be particularly knowledgeable about or good at science just because they've got a penis.

Also, I'd be worrying about the message it sends to girls. (Unconscious bias, stereotype threat, etc, etc.) I am assuming it's a mixed school.

[Only1scoop]

Awful ....hope they don't have a cookery session lined up for the mums

[AKnickerfulOfMenace]

Crikey.

They have a dads' reading day at our school, the stated aim is to encourage reading amongst boys.

I may propose a mums' maths day.

[steppeinginto2015]

I agree with OP it is dreadful

But the dads reading day, there was some interesting research about boys and reading. There was a study about improving poor reading amongst boys, and there was a very clear link between improvement and getting their Dads involved. It was all about role models and how it is very often the mums who do the school reading/homework.

For schools it is sometimes, I think, a thin line between pragmatism and ideology

[AKnickerfulOfMenace]

Sure, steppe. The school has everyday parent reading helpers too and I'm sure they are mostly mothers.

Because I work though, I miss out on the everyday opportunities too

[steppeinginto2015]

and, sadly, I bet if you had a mums maths day you would get loads of mums going 'oh no, I'm rubbish at maths'

Sometimes we are our own worst enemy

[DrEllieSattler]

Until last year I was a science teacher in primary schools. The number of times I had "but you're a girl" or "oh! You're not who we were expecting, we booked Dr Satler"

Because women can't have doctorates

These comments weren't just from the children, oh no. Staff too were shocked that I dared be a woman!

Science in schools is still a very male dominated idea. The typical consensus is that boys do science because it's cool and messy and gross and girls don't like any of those things. frustrates me beyond belief.

I would regularly have staff and children asking questions of my male assistant who was brilliant at lying ooh I don't know that, let's ask Dr Ellie

[diggerdigsdogs]

This would make me too.

Dd's kindy have nap/quiet time after lunch. There are blue and pink pillows. DS has told me the blue pillows are for boys and pink for girls because girls like pink.

I'm debating whether it is worth mentioning it to the teacher or just leaving it as she will leave after a year anyway.

[Hakluyt]

Not wanting to derail- but dad's reading day is different- by the time boys reach secondary school they overwhelmingly perceive reading to be a female avtivitiy- because they practically never see men reading. So anything which challenges that perception is a good thing. Dad's science day- not do much...........

[icklekid]

I imagine it started from a we want to get dads involved, what will motivate them perspective rather than how can we be sexist and insult mums. ..

[PuffinsAreFictitious]

I have no doubt that it did ickle, however, the outcome of this ill thought out thing was that it DOES imply that dad's do science.

The road to hell and all that....

[diggerdigsdogs]

Do you not think so Calloo?

I really don't want dd (or Ds in the future) learning that things are just for girls or boys.

[Hakluyt]

Callooh- I do think you need to think about this a bit more. Schools should be doing everything they can to break down gender stereotypes rather than reinforce them.

[JeanneDeMontbaston]

But isn't it equally bad with girls and maths, hak? So they could be doing both?

I agree about what you say basically - that's just a tiny point.

[Hakluyt]

I don't actually think it is, Jeanne. The issue of boys' literacy is huge. And it prevents them accessing great swathes of the curriculum.

[JeanneDeMontbaston]

Yes ... I know.

And the issue of women's lack of confidence with math is huge too. And when they get out of school, who's held back more? Women.

[steppeinginto2015]

Buffy - I didn't know that about 11+ I am

I do think the reading and boys thing is slightly different. It is trying to break down a stereotype which has been shown to exist, and the involvement of Dads in reading has been shown to help enormously.
I suppose it is a form of positive discrimination in that sense.

Whether or not we should then do the same thing for women and maths is a separate (but relevant issue)
The irony about the science day in the OP is that is does the exact opposite, which is why I think it is so harmful.

And the pink and blue pillows? Actually it does matter. It matters because having the attitude that one colour is for one gender etc is part of a mindset which segregates children according to gender and therefore is part of the girls can do/are good at xx mindset which eventually leads to boys = science. When I did teacher training we were taught not to use gender as a division in any way, so we never said 'good morning boys and girls' and we never said 'girls line up, now boys line up' etc
It was important, because it encouraged us to see children as children not as 2 genders.

[BreakingDad77]

Buffy I get where you are coming from, just looking at the research done on nutrition and dairy etc where no women formed part of the study.

I am sure previously funding to investigate boys various facets would more likely to get funding than girls.?