Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Feminism: chat

Original poster

School House names

29 replies

PrincessHairyMclary · 08/09/2018 09:43

DDs school have announced the new houses children will be split into, all of them are historical British male explorers, including Drake who as a slave trader is inappropriate in my opinion.
Would I be unreasonable to complain and suggest some female representation?

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
OhtheHillsareAlive · 14/09/2018 22:02

Just off the top of my head (no googling, I promise):
Gertrude Bell
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
Aphra Behn (maybe not an explorer, but certainly a government spy)
Mary Bird
Susannah Someonerother in Canada
Anna Jameson

DrCoconut · 14/09/2018 21:41

I love the fact that my DS's school doesn't have houses. My junior school used Catholic martyrs too Bellini, I was Clitherow.

Original poster
PrincessHairyMclary · 14/09/2018 21:23

I wrote an email complaint to the head and received a letter back today. Along the lines I raised a good point but they had been chosen through much deliberation and chosen by the school stuff (many of which were women) as historical characters who embodied characteristics for exploration and discovery that the school tries to instil in the children. Ignoring of course Drake the slave trader. Basically the staff chose the four names they had heard of. However, I had brought up an important point which will be used in class discussions when t children research their 'House' namesake.

DD says she came to see her in class today and told her that they had chosen men as not many women were explorers at the time. bangs head on brick wall

It's not worth setting up a petition, it's very unlikely any of the other parents or children would care.

OP posts:
TamiTayorismyparentingguru · 09/09/2018 16:26

I sympathise here and would see if you can get your DD and some of the other girls to raise it themselves. Even make it official with the letter/petition to the head teacher.

FWIW our school has totally un-gendered house names (they are all named after local landmarks) but this year they have decided that instead of having 1 male and 1 female house captain for each house, they will just have 2 house captains per house with no gender-bias. (Not really a big surprise as teachers aren’t even allowed to have the girls and boys line up in separate lines anymore Hmm)

End result? - 8 boys as house captains - 0 girls.

My DDs are furious but apparently the voting stands and according to the head this is the fairest way to do it.

weegiemum · 09/09/2018 16:15

Ridiculous, at Juniors I had Nelson, Scott Drake and Livingstone which annoyed me as a 7 year old.Secondary was the names of the four local estates, less destructive.

for ideas for female explorers I'd suggest one of my favourite books, The Blessings Of A Good Thick Skirt! www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_17?sprefix=the+blessings+of+%2Caps%2C148&crid=2CCGZH0H6HQC1&tag=mumsnetforum-21&url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=the+blessings+of+a+good+thick+skirt

RomanyRoots · 09/09/2018 16:08

assassinated
Yes, it's mixed sex when younger, but boys and girls on different floors, usually Y4 - Y8 then they go to their respective single sex houses.
So Boys or Girls House, for Y9 and 10, then 6th form, more like flats.

71HourAchmed · 08/09/2018 21:39

Our houses were Cavell, Johnson, Pankhurst and Garrett....surprise surprise I went to an all-girls school...

School is being ridiculous

bellinisurge · 08/09/2018 18:08

We had Catholic martyrs. Men and women. Howzat for progressive Grin

CountFosco · 08/09/2018 18:07

I see CherryPavlova was ahead of me with Gertrude Bell

I was also going to suggest her. She's local to me and has a blue plaque on her childhood home but not on her London address. Keep meaning to nominate her to the EH scheme.

Judashascomeintosomemoney · 08/09/2018 17:59

If it’s a female explorer you’re after, you could do worse than
Fanny Bullock Workman.
Now THAT is a name!
She was quite amazing. Not British but a mountaineer, cartographer, writer, record breaker, women’s rights and suffrage campaigner!

AssassinatedBeauty · 08/09/2018 17:57

RomanyRoots do you mean that the older children have different houses, which are one for all the boys and one for all the girls? Having previously been in mixed houses in younger years?

RomanyRoots · 08/09/2018 17:55

my dd school have the mixed boys and girls house as the name of a British Queen, and they move onto Boys or Girls house when older.
Simple and saves argument or people forgetting Grin

CherryPavlova · 08/09/2018 17:51

Or they could go Oak, Elm, Ash, Sycamore which would be entirely inoffensive and come with very obvious house logos.

MountainWitch · 08/09/2018 14:28

Argh I can't find the thread I meant. It was very long and had several updates, the latest of which indicated the op hadn't got very far and was still being fobbed off.

I did find this one though

tobee · 08/09/2018 14:19

Freya Stark? It's not hard.

tobee · 08/09/2018 14:18

How about Isabella Bird?

MountainWitch · 08/09/2018 14:16

There was a very similar thread a while back about house names all being male, with lots of good suggestions on how to tackle it with the school. I'll see if I can find it.

You absolutely WNBU to complain! It's appalling.

arranfan · 08/09/2018 13:33

I see CherryPavlova was ahead of me with Gertrude Bell :)

Neither British nor maritime but I have a very soft spot for Ada Blackjack, the female Robinson Crusoe as she was billed. Hmm

CherryPavlova · 08/09/2018 10:42

I’m not PC and I’d tackle it. What appalling aspirations and overt sexism. It makes me quite cross when primaries do this and dumb down or don’t think through options for all sorts of things.

Why not Shackleton, Bell, Pfeiffer and Columbus? If explorers it must be but I’d be thinking most explorers were also colonialists and wouldn’t want that sent out as an unfiltered positive message to school children.

tearsdontcare · 08/09/2018 10:40

Tracy Edwards.

Yeah, I can't believe they took a long time thinking about it and couldn't think of anything better.

VickyEadie · 08/09/2018 10:33

Dame Ellen McArthur springs to mind. Ooh, she's also Northern.

tearsdontcare · 08/09/2018 10:27

Weren't there some female pirates? Anne Bonney I think.

Agree you should keep raising this. Any idea if some of the teachers are unhappy with it?

Imnobody4 · 08/09/2018 10:10

Yes do complain. I really find it difficult to understand how this can happen, it feels like groundhog day. These are professionals for heavens sake.

FlorenceLyons · 08/09/2018 10:02

FFS. So irritating. Good on your DD for questioning it. I'd definitely talk to the school about it.

Original poster
PrincessHairyMclary · 08/09/2018 10:00

We live in a very backward undiverse seaside area, so I assume that's why they are all maritime explorers. Interestingly Nelson was a famous local but isn't included.

It's a primary, DD asked her teacher why there weren't any women and was told they took a long time choosing the names and it's too late to change now. So she was fobbed off.

They could have Helen Sharmen - first women in space.

OP posts: