Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Feminism: chat

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Sexism in primary school

70 replies

Mousing · 06/05/2015 20:54

I'm a primary school teacher. Today I had a really difficult conversation with one of the senior leadership team which I think was really sexist. I'm not sure what I should have done or what I should do tomorrow.
There are 4 people in the SLT and two of them are very supportive of play-based learning and the other two are much more interested in getting results even if the children have a worse experience of school. As my class have SATs very soon we have been doing quite a lot of practice in the last few weeks because I am under a lot of pressure to get them to the right levels and exam technique does make a difference. I don't like teachinglike this but it's the system we're in and I would be disadvantaging my class and my school if I didn't prepare them for their SATs.
Today one of the play-based-learning supporters on the SLT told my that the boys in my class need to be doing more outdoor activities and that it's not fair to expect them to focus this hard all morning without a break. She has now set up a timetable for children to go outside to play in the afternoons. Every child gets at least one turn per week but several children get 2 turns. All of the children who get 2 turns are boys. This is a class where 65% of the children are girls. She has also set up a trip to the building site behind the school for 6 children from my class and she has picked all boys. The boys in the class are very badly behaved and they do take up a lot of the SLT's time dealing with it, so I can see that they probably think this is a solution to that problem, but it feels really unfair to me. The girls are generally cooperative and because of that they get fewer fun activities and it is just assumed that they'll be happy doing SATs papers.
What should I do? The teacher who set this up is senior to me so I can't really change her plan but I'm not happy with it.

OP posts:

rosy71 · 06/05/2015 21:03

How old are these children? I can't imagine Year 6s needing play based learning but your talk of exam technique doesn't sound like Year 2 either.

Original poster

Mousing · 06/05/2015 21:44

It's year 2. There is exam technique for year 2 SATs too.

OP posts:

Mopmay · 06/05/2015 21:48

That seems wrong to me but I'm not a teacher etc My dd however would be complaining bitterly as she's mainly friends with the boys. She'd be gutted to be lumped in with girls just because she is one. I'd be hacked off on her behalf

YonicScrewdriver · 06/05/2015 21:51

Could you ask if the activity will be for all girls next time it happens? Still crap for now but makes your point non-aggressively?

almondcakes · 06/05/2015 23:33

What are the boys learning in the outdoor play based learning?

kelpeed · 07/05/2015 10:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BarbarianMum · 07/05/2015 13:56

I think it is fair if she picks the children on the basis of who needs the physical outlet the most (the kids who have difficulty focusing over long periods, those who are constantly on the move). That might give you the same outcome, but it wouldn't be a case of prioritising boys over girls with similar needs.

There should also be destressing options for other types of children too though -the most anxious perhaps?

luccui · 09/05/2015 14:16

Do primary schools still have that sexist "girls before boys" policy for everything? My primary school was big on that.

And I know this Q is off-topic but are kids in primary schools still forced to say the lord's prayer every morning whether they like it or not? I had to even though I'm athiest.

Mrgrowlyface · 25/04/2018 06:56

If this happened to my ds he would hate since 80% of his friends are girls and he's a bit of a stereotypical girl

DisturblinglyOrangeScrambleEgg · 25/04/2018 07:27

I'm with Barbarian - it all depends if the choices are a result of the needs of the kids - and that needs to be properly thought through - for example, I have a son, he's quiet, he'll sit and do his work but he's dyspraxic, and that means he needs to hit a kind of level to do his best work.

What we have discovered is that if you can get him to do a bit of heavy work, burn off some energy, tire his muscles a bit, then it'll make no difference to his concentration, but an enormous difference to the quality of the work, especially his handwriting.

So on the face of it, because he wouldn't be fidgeting or causing trouble, he wouldn't need the run around, but in practice, to be his best, he does - and the only way you'd know that is if you knew him (and you were trained - we got this through OT assessment, I would never have thought of it, or believed the difference it makes if I hadn't seen it). I bet that's true for many, many children.

My son's teacher introduced GoNoodle on the back of this, where the whole class gets up and does some silly song/dance stuff a few times a day - which also means he's not singled out which is nice (he'd had bad experiences with a previous teacher)

jellyfrizz · 25/04/2018 08:16

I agree Disturbingly, as with your son, girls may also have the same needs but are conditioned to behave, sit still etc. from a young age whereas boys are often indulged in their behaviour because 'boys will be boys'.

butTIRFlies · 25/04/2018 10:33

How long have you been a teacher? Why didn't you question the SLT member(s) at the time?

Do you think that the plans are because of behaviour and other issues or do you think that she chose the boys because they're boys? You've mentioned their behaviour being an issue so I would presume the former. It doesn't sound like sexism.

The perhaps bigger problem is Y2 children learning through play. It doesn't work. Play is important and structured learning is important. When you bring the two together it is neither. You don't do play to a child and if they could learn through undirected play then schools and teachers would be unnecessary. I know that's an oversimplification but I've seen play based learning fail time and time again.

GrimSqueaker · 25/04/2018 12:49

I'm with disturbingly but I have a daughter with dyspraxia who needs as much in the way of movement breaks and opportunities to work on gross motor skills as much, if not more, than any of the boys. Having a bit of a battle with school at the moment who don't view her as educationally a concern compared to others in the class - the others in the class are loud boys who struggle to behave and funnily the school are (trying - they're bloody well NOT) to sideline the placid, fidgety but very compliant in school little girl as lower priority (she's got multiple different departments all taking her on for various kinds of therapy - she's not exactly a mild case of the disorder).

aaarrrggghhhh · 25/04/2018 13:04

I agree Disturbingly, as with your son, girls may also have the same needs but are conditioned to behave, sit still etc. from a young age whereas boys are often indulged in their behaviour because 'boys will be boys'.

This. Don't know how to handle it though!

ErrolTheDragon · 25/04/2018 13:23

She has also set up a trip to the building site behind the school for 6 children from my class and she has picked all boys.

That sounds sexist. Ok, so when my yr1 DD said she wanted to be a 'builder' she really meant 'engineer' but I'm pretty sure she'd have wanted to go on this trip. (Her teacher told her girls can't be builders. Some teachers really are sexist)

jellyfrizz · 25/04/2018 13:37

Some teachers really are sexist

It is taught in teacher training (not even joking but hope things have changed). I remember having to write an essay on how girls and boys learn differently - this involved all the usual stereotypes.

It really bugs me when people talk about how the traditional education system is feminised and does boys a dis-service. Girls weren't even allowed an education traditionally so it certainly wasn't designed with them in mind.

butTIRFlies · 25/04/2018 13:56

@jellyfrizz

So how do you explain girls out performing boys up to, and including, degree-level?

A slanted education system or innate ability?

jellyfrizz · 25/04/2018 14:03

So how do you explain girls out performing boys up to, and including, degree-level?

A slanted education system or innate ability?

I believe it's because girls are socialised to behave and conform (do their homework, sit still in class etc).

jellyfrizz · 25/04/2018 14:04

So neither a slanted education system or innate ability.

ErrolTheDragon · 25/04/2018 14:07

Socialised in a way that tends to promote better educational outcomes?

butTIRFlies · 25/04/2018 14:09

So very positive socialisation?

Pay attention, do the work, out perform.

Wonderful news!

jellyfrizz · 25/04/2018 14:16

Socialised in a way that tends to promote better educational outcomes?

That depends if you believe final grades are what proves a better educational outcome.

jellyfrizz · 25/04/2018 14:19

Is being another brick in the wall a better outcome than being encouraged to have the confidence to think and speak for yourself?

butTIRFlies · 25/04/2018 14:20

When this trend continues into more independent study such as degrees, absolutely.

We don't really have any other metrics for educational success.

jellyfrizz · 25/04/2018 14:29

Why do you think girls out perform boys butTIRFlies?

Flip

1 2 3