WIBU to print off this article and give it to the teacher.

[Imalldonethanks]

DD (8) came home from school at the end of last term talking about the differences in male and female brains (not relating to their weight or structure!). Her teacher had declared she has a 'male' brain because she is logical and rational.
This sort of talk boils my blood.
My next child is in her class this year and I don't want her to listen to this sort of crap.

I get on reasonably well with this teacher, but there are very few opportunities to chat.

So WIBU to print off an article from The New Scientist debunking that theory and send it in with a note saying 'thought you might find this interesting'?

Actually, OP did return to say she'd talked to the teacher, in a very non-confrontational way, opening the conversation with "your lesson sparked lots of really interesting discussions in our house". The result seems to be that the teacher is interested in talking more about it (I salute OP for her diplomacy, not sure I'd have managed such calm, Olympian detachment - but then as a woman in a STEM subject who's spent her whole life having to swim upstream against this sort of crap, I tend to take it overly personally).

Cross post with Errol!

And with the OP

So I realise now I've reloaded the page to show all messages .

Like I said, Imall, I am in awe of your diplomatic skills.

The teacher definitely said 'male brain'. Well that was a bloody stupid thing to say. And I bet they'll never say it again!
Anyway we've had a good old discussion on here about it.

Send it. This type of thinking needs to be binned now

There is a difference between looking for sex differences in brain structure and psychological performance. It's harder to find sex differences in brains, but then our methods are very crude. We don't even know how most psychological traits are represented physically in the brain.

However, there are loads of well established psychological sex differences, even if we don't know that the physical brain differences underpinning them are yet.

even if we don't know that the physical brain differences underpinning them are yet. a very good point.

Leave the teacher alone and teach your dd what you think the correct way is People are allowed different opinions and beliefs. Teach your dd that too.

PuckeredAhole

Have you actually read the thread?

Oh, I just read your update.

You sound like a wanker. The teacher will have laughed about you in the staff room no doubt.

You sound like a wanker.

Nice.

The teacher took it on board. Obviously you haven't read the update.

Air of smugness from the OP throughout the thread though.

However, there are loads of well established psychological sex differences, even if we don't know that the physical brain differences underpinning them are yet.

I thought the general consensus was the differences were small compared to the variation between individuals of the same gender. Particularly when you try to mask out people's gendered expectations, stereotype threat etc.

OP, the NS article you linked to stated this:

"It reveals that most people have a mix of male and female brain features."

If most people have a mix of male and female brains, it means that male and female brains exist and hence some people may have more of one than the other (so the teacher is correct).

(This does not reflect my view btw but if you want to be 'logical' this has to be taken into account - especially since it is from your own source.)

The teacher made a comment which was a bit silly but not the end of the world.

Datun Yes I read your response too... ridiculously triumphant .

I'm pretty sure you have contempt for the teaching profession. Teachers are only humans you know.

Teachers are only humans you know Of course. Many remarks are off the cuff.

I'm fairly sure that they're using "male" and "female" features as a shorthand for stereotypically associated with male/female, or slightly more associated with female/male. The very clear point of that article is that it is extremely unlikely that anyone has all the so-called "male" features or all the "female" features. Everyone is an unpredictable mix of features. Knowing my sex tells you very very little about my actual brain structures.

Are we saying males and females are exactly the same. As a former teacher i know this is not true.

counterpoint

I don't read it like that. If most people have a mixture of, say, A and B, how can you put A and B in a category of their own?

There are outliers, of course, but 'most people' means exactly that.

PuckeredAhole

I have the greatest admiration for teachers, having worked in a school for a large part of my life.

I'm just not impressed with people calling other posters wankers.

Of course people are different from each other, and you might see some differences on average between girls and boys. None of that tells you anything useful as a teacher and you shouldn't decide to treat boys and girls differently just because of what you think you know about innate gender differences. You should consider the individual in front of you, obviously.

Are we saying males and females are exactly the same. As a former teacher i know this is not true.
They're a lot more the same than most people think, if you can find a way to get them to put aside what they think about themselves. The more teachers and parents realise this and apply the same expectations to boys and girls, the less the differences will appear. As per the BBC programme, adults subconsciously impose very gendered expectations on children from a very young age. As a teacher your "knowing" they're different can help drive and increase the differences, even if consciously you don't think you're treating them differently.

As a teacher your "knowing" they're different can help drive and increase the differences, even if consciously you don't think you're treating them differently. Rubbish Everyone's an individual to me