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Original poster

I gave all my classes this riddle this week - 3 kids got the answer.

213 replies

IHeartKingThistle · 29/09/2018 18:07

I teach secondary English. Last week as a starter I gave all my classes (Yr 7s, 8s and 9s) some riddles to solve and this was one of them:

A man and his son are in a car accident and are rushed to hospital. When they arrive the doctor looks at the boy and exclaims 'I can't operate on him, he's my son!' How can this be?

Some kids guessed that the boy had 2 dads in a gay relationship, which could technically be correct of course. But it only occurred to 3 kids out of nearly 100 that the doctor could be a woman. Not one of the Year 7s thought of it.

In this day and age? I couldn't believe it!

They got a nice little lecture on feminism as a bonus that lesson Grin

OP posts:
Manderleyagain · 29/09/2018 18:29

I am ashamed to say a while ago my husband got it before I did. I still can't quite believe I was convinced he or him had been used. It shows how deep it goes and how difficult it is to unlearn what you've learnt. Which is why it's so important to get them young OP. Well done.

SophoclesTheFox · 29/09/2018 18:27

These sexist stereotypes are just so dismayingly hard to dismantle, aren't they?

I was quite shocked a couple of years ago when I sat some online test that was supposed to reveal your unconscious biases about sex and race. I like to think that I've shaken a lot of them off through decades of feminism. I was wrong! They are extraordinarily pernicious.

HopeGarden · 29/09/2018 18:25

That’s pretty depressing.

Although I found out recently that DS2 (Reception age) was convinced that only men can be doctors.

His school had a doctor come in and when I asked DS2 about it afterwards, he said something along the lines of “she wasn’t a doctor, she was a nurse” and when I queried this, because we’d been told a doctor, not a nurse, would be visiting the class, DS2 said something like “well, she said she was a doctor, but she was wrong because she was a girl and only boys can be doctors” Hmm Hmm

Hopefully the lecture he got about that will have stuck.

PotteringAlong · 29/09/2018 18:25

I’m going to do this with my year 9 tutor group on Monday!

naivetyisthenewblack · 29/09/2018 18:25

Wow that's depressing Sad

MrsTerryPratchett · 29/09/2018 18:23

Smaller kids get it right more IME. Which means we are socializing sexism into them (well durrrrr).

I talk to DD all the time about female scientists, doctors, fire fighters, politicians, leaders etc.

Schmoochypoos · 29/09/2018 18:22

Just asked my 5 year old DS. Firstly he said oh that’s sad and then I asked, so who could the doctor be and he answered ‘his mum’ straight away. Smile

timetodance · 29/09/2018 18:21

My husband got it wrong! 🤦‍♀️ time for a divorce!

Original poster
IHeartKingThistle · 29/09/2018 18:19

My 11 year old DD just got it wrong. I have failed as a parent.

OP posts:
qumquat · 29/09/2018 18:14

I use this at school too with similar results. It’s a great way of introducing unconscious bias. I teach in a girls’ school as well.

PenguindreamsofDraco · 29/09/2018 18:13

One of my proud parenting moments was when my then 4yo got that one right Grin.

VickyEadie · 29/09/2018 18:12

I expect many of them saw the comments after Jodie Whitaker's casting as the next Time Lord was announced: "Nurse Who!"

Apileofballyhoo · 29/09/2018 18:12

That's quite shocking.

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