Boys left behind at school while girls get trip

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Recently my sons class went on an educational trip to a local university. But only the girls. The boys were left behind with a cover teacher listening to music and generally doing very little. My son is GCSE year and would have benefited from a computing and science event. No it was only for the girls with no mention of anything for the boys. I understand this was a STEM event for girls only but if there was a STEM event for boys only there would be uproar! AIBU?

Perhaps the school could organise a trip for the boys to learn about careers in nursing,

I keep seeing statements like this. Actually why? Why aim for something low paid and overworked.

I wouldn’t recommend anyone go into teaching, so that means girls as well as boys. (Most schools do have a lot of men in nowadays, even primary).

I’m encouraging my children (male and female) to look for the professions that pay well. I need to redress mistakes that were made in my early career (a level and degree choice). This means they need much better career advice. BOTH of them.

@MyOtherProfile

You expressed that much better than me.

But if more men were doing those jobs, they'd probably become more valued and the wages would go up

Because men are better than women? Why else would you make this statement?

Until women continue to rise up and fight for themselves, they’ll continue to earn less. Men need to support them, but not do it for them.

Because men value themselves and each other more than they value women (and many / most women do this too) ThunderStorms

This is reflected in allocation of status, thereby pay, to whole professions and to jobs.

Classic examples include Soviet doctors - equal access resulted in majority female doctors, then the social status of doctors went down. Also all the 'work of equal value' law suits, like the Birmingham Council bin men one, where anything involving heavy lifting, so overwhelmingy male, was given high status and pay, in very very stark contrast to jobs requiring equivalent education, skills, difficulty, hours etc but predominantly done by women.

Bit of shit organisation for the girls involved. I’d be livid to discover triple science or computer science GCSEs would have been useful 3 months before taking them.

While I kind of agree with this sentiment.... do we actually know that’s what’s happening here?

I mean, is this STEM event a general one that all the girls are invited to regardless of what they’re studying at GCSE, or is it targeted at girls who are already studying triple science, computer science etc?
So aimed at girls who might consider continuing to study them with a bit of encouragement, rather than girls who’d be playing catch up because they’ve picked other subjects at GCSE?

When I was doing A-levels, my 6th form sent students along to similar events, but these were targeted at students doing relevant subjects.
So, for instance, the only girls who got to go to on a trip to the Women into Engineering careers trip were girls studying the sort of STEM A-levels that universities like applicants for engineering courses to have.

I do think though that encouraging students to take an interest in studying STEM subjects (and considering careers in STEM) is something that should start early, at primary school, and that the encouragement should continue through to secondary schools and 6th forms.

OP stIll not been back.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-37552056

15% of primary teachers are male.

@N0rdicStar - yes, but they are disproportionately high in terms of leadership positions. It's really shocking. In our area at least, there's been a big shift and none of the local primary schools have a male head teacher (although they do have men i other leadership roles), but it's quite common for men to be the headteacher or similar even though there might only be two men in the whole teaching staff.

For me the issue is do girls not do STEM subjects because they are conditioned to think they are for boys or do they not do them because they are not interested in them/aren't as good at them?

You could have done all the encouragement you wanted with me, I liked languages and humanities and that was what I wanted to do. Noting to do with sex, everything to do with my interests and talents.

My son has a friend in his athletics club and her school sounds like a complete nightmare whether you are male or female, if you like humanities. Triple science is compulsory and you have to do a design subject, which can't include food tech.

That school sounds perfect to me! We wouldn’t let children drop maths at such a young age so why let them drop science?

“Triple science is compulsory and you have to do a design subject, which can't include food tech.” Sounds fantastic. You have 6 other GCSEs.

do girls not do STEM subjects because they are conditioned to think they are for boys or do they not do them because they are not interested in them/aren't as good at them?

Given that take-up of Physics A-level is higher in all-girls schools it does seem to be something about the presence of boys in the school that puts girls off.

I think going back to the initial post yanbu. I don't think it takes anything away from the girls to have the boys there too and I do honestly honestly think everyone should be equal and have the same opportunities and chances but lately it does feel like girls are being hoisted upwards and instead of boys being hoisted upwards too, they're not getting help. As for the stem thing I think it's great, but my niece (17) was telling me she's sick of it, that their class are all the time being pushed towards STEM and she WANTS to be a nurse ( her mum, dad, granny and uncle were/ are nurses) and she still gets told technology is the best way to go and her teachers don't seem to be thrilled ( she told me cos she didn't want to upset her parents, who have very good, stable jobs!)

DD1 has to do three sciences for GCSEs, plus English, Maths of course, either Geography or History plus a language. There are only two optional subjects.

If it were up to me core subjects would be studied to Y9, then no compulsory subjects at all age 14 -18 and students could pick a mixture of academic and vocational subjects, no national exams in Y11, you pick four subjects then to take on 16-18 and do practical/coursework type assessments but do exams in Y13 only.

Brilliant juxtaposition of posts NobleGiraffe and Stayathomer

It demonstrably does take something away from the girls.

I don't think it takes anything away from the girls to have the boys there too

But it does. Classroom research shows that boys are more likely to be picked to answer questions and dominate conversations. They are generally also, IME, more willing to put themselves forwards for stuff where girls hang back and need persuasion.

So boys attending will have an impact.

Ok, I didn't really think of it like that, but then why not bring the boys another day or split them into groups? Girls going to an educational trip, boys stay at school doesn't seem right

why not bring the boys another day

I’ve done a few Women in Engineering trips (Y8 though), and they were designed to engage girls, with female engineers talking about what they do. Sending boys on that same trip on a different day wouldn’t work. There doesn’t really need to be a ‘men in engineering’ day targeted at boys so I guess unis don’t run them, and you wouldn’t want to be excluding girls from any general engineering trips.

As other posters have said, the sitting around wasting time is the problem, not the girls going to a STEM event. It was a missed opportunity to address something like mental health in young males.

YABU your son has male privilege to help get his foot through the door, it's good that the school are trying to encourage girls to get their foot in the door too.

You really don't understand widening participation stayathomer

YABU your son has male privilege to help get his foot through the door Sorry that's a bit wrong to say, it takes away from what boys/ men achieve too

YABU your son has male privilege to help get his foot through the door Sorry that's a bit wrong to say, it takes away from what boys/ men achieve too

No it doesn't. It acknowledges the deep seated inequalities that still exist which advantage men and disadvantage women.

Maybe it would be good for the boys to go along and see all those strong women already doing STEM roles. Then they can have female role models as well.