Changing the narrative in schools - no more boys or girls

[user1484455234]

Would be interested to read views on how schools are being asked to change the narrative within UK schools based on this guidance: citizengo.org/en/ed/39578-new-guidebook-schools-funded-taxpayer-says-tells-teachers-stop-saying-boys-and-girls?tc=fb&tcid=30450748

It came to my attention via this teachers experience of delivering a lesson:
www.transgendertrend.com/teaching-transgender-doctrine-in-schools-a-bizarre-educational-experiment/

Jesus Christ ..

Seriously ??

I agree with the poster who says all this is mad .

I'm a primary teacher. It sounds very old fashioned to say "boys and girls", like something from the '40s! I've never heard a teacher address a group as that. We tend to use the class, year or school name depending on who's there.

And so what if people want to do that deliberately? It's not as if the kids are growing up unaware of what they are. Kids in my class see it as the most terrible affront to be made to work with someone of the opposite sex, and they're only 7.

And I never, ever do anything where it's boys vs girls. Turns absolutely toxic.

""But they are boys and girls. The same as 'good evening, ladies and gentleman'""

I do lots of Adult education/craft classes and we've never been referred to as 'Ladies/Gents' 'Men/Women'.

I don't have a problem with 'sit down everyone', 'good morning children' etc rather than girls and boys.

But I'm not going to stop referring to them as girls and boys and using the terminology for announcements like 'the girls U11 hockey team won their match' or 'I want to see all the boys from Class 10X on Monday breaktime.' What other distinguisher could we use? 'all those children who have a penis please come and see me in my classroom.' That would go down well!!!

If this is due to awareness of transgender students then it's ridiculous. I know it comes up quite a bit on mn but the chances of actually coming across a transgender child in real life are pretty slim, I would say. I've certainly never known one and I've been a teacher for years.

But they are boys and girls. The same as 'good evening, ladies and gentleman
do lots of Adult education/craft classes and we've never been referred to as 'Ladies/Gents' 'Men/Women

Iused to have a very eccentric, old school colleague who referred to classes of children as 'ladles and jellybabies'. I thought it was quite cute

But yeah, we generally just say 'children/everyone/kids/guys/you lot'

One of my DCs is gender nonconforming
Everyone I know is gender nonconforming. I don't know anyone, least of all children, who aim to conform to every stereotype about their sex or who only have the interests typically associated with their sex. I find these definitions very confusing.

I did teacher training in 1991. It was considered poor practice to use 'boys and girls' and to divide by gender.

My mum did teacher training in the late 1960s, and it was a new up and coming idea to not use 'boys and girls' and divide by gender.

I was therefore pretty surprised to see that my kids school does this quite often. Things like boys line up and girls line up. Boys go and get your coats on and then girls etc etc.

It was considered bad practice because it emphasised gender differences, instead of emphasising that anyone can do anything. It also encourages teachers to stereotype, and to think in of the children as two cohorts instead on one.

We were encouraged to use children/students instead.

I am amazed that this has come up as a trans issue. It isn't it is poor teaching practice and has been thought to be poor practice since 1960s

I knew someone would use that awful cis word.
I am not a cis woman. I am a woman
The world has gone nuts.

I think it would be a very good thing to stop referring to 'boys and girls' in situations where sex and gender are irrelevant. I hate seeing teachers who do things like promoting girls vs boys competition or get them to line up separately etc. However, in situations where it is relevant, it's essential that we can still use the right language e.g. when taking a class swimming they need to go into the right changing room.

This^ in situations where sex is relevant boys and girls is necessary, otherwise not.

I'm a primary teacher and I never use the expression boys and girls, I say class or Y5s or whatever class I'm teaching. Not something I've ever really thought about either, it just sounds weird to me

Surely we have bigger issues in schools to deal with than this?
My dds school now has a full time police officer for example.
This is just a distraction I believe (I'm a teacher)

Girls and boys sounds a bit old fashioned.
We tend to say the class name or year group when addressing everyone.
In assembly they say" Good Morning everyone".
I tend to say " people" rather than " guys" like one of my TA colleagues...I think it sounds like being in Pizza Hut ( and it really annoys me when they say it there too!!!).

My DC goes to a single sex school - they are all referred to as 'kindergarten girls' 'year 8 girls' etc.

No issues that I know of. Also lots of 'girls can do anything' type boards all over the school. Which I love.

Boys and girls are different though..

I think this is happening generally London Underground are thinking of stopping using 'ladies and gentlemen' in their announcements. I thought this seemed a bit sad at first maybe they are planning to shout 'oi commuters' instead? But I can see the argument that there no reason to reference gender other than tradition.

splendid "why do we emphasise sex?" I think out of politeness, although we may call a mixed group of children just children. But much like Ladies and Gentlemen.

Also because men boys/males tend to dominate and they are taken as the default.

How many times have I refereed to animals (which I do not know the sex of) or even inanimate object as Mr Hedghog or Mr Teddy. Or talked of unknown drivers in a car or people doing jobs as 'him' or 'he'.

Just think of just how many films, books, plays and stories have a male protagonist, whether they are written by a female or a male, Harry Potter, Charlie and the Chocolate factory, Toy Story, Shrek (true Fiona has a big part but it is still called Shrek) and countless others.

If we don't acknowledge girls and women we may forget they exist, since most of film, TV, books, history and media is driven and written and run by males.

cookiefiend are classes where you teach (if you do), or your kids go to school, divided on the grounds of sex? I know some whole schools are, and I can only think of a handful of groups like Guides that are single sex.

But in a mixed sex school classes are all mixed aren't they? With the exception of sex education or personal health or whatever it is called.

Which seems totally appropriate to segregate on the grounds of sex, since it would make sense to the kids to want to know primarily what was happening to their own bodies at puberty etc.

Oh and sports classes I think.

We don't say good morning, white kids and black kids.

Or divide groups into Christians and non Christians.

But it's very common to use boys and girls to make groups up. It's got nothing to do with trans - but it does help reinforce the message that boys and girls are the same.

it's hard though - I was teaching a small group last week and they automatically got onto a boys table and a girls table.

Also because men boys/males tend to dominate and they are taken as the default

A massive part of teaching now is to ensure that teachers take into account those children in class who don't dominate, to alter their practice to encourage their voices, to provide role models and NOT to ensure that boys are seen as the default.

That's crazy , will people only be happy when we have all morphed into one sex, feminity and masculinity are both wonderful things not something to be hidden away like its shameful