We're not condemning her for trying. We're condemning her for being an idiot about it.
Kindergarten Teacher Bans Legos For Boys Citing Gender Equity
- Thread starter Trojita
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We're not condemning her for trying. We're condemning her for being an idiot about it.
Maintenance
Member
Legit not surprised there are people defending this crazy woman here.
Vigilant Walrus
Member
Pre-school ends at 12 after Lunch. there are 3 classrooms of 30 kids each. Teachers go home, and day care staff takes care of them.
All kids need to be out from 12- to 1. Some kids get picked up early, but some linger until 17:00 (closing time).
The rules is that we always have to be one person operating main floor (phone, emergencies, present adult so kids know where to go if anything is up). The other adult (usually 1 or 2) will circle around and talk to kids as best they can.
It works okay, all things considering. But the kids with autism and ADHD were always the one who could make a workspace intolerable for the other kids and the adults. I feel so bad that most of our engagement with these kids is- "go outside, youre too loud", "shhhh", "pipe it down!", I told you to stop 3 times!"
Are you kidding me? Trying? She's doind it completely wrong. This isn't promoting gender equality.
Thank you Stumpokapow.
shinobi602
Member
Are you really? Nothing should surprise you on here anymore.
Good stuff.
LegendofDragoonLives
Member
Massive problem with gender roles with kindergarden kids? Seriously, what are you talking about?
I don't think anyone is saying the male kids are horrified. She's just a terrible teacher with moronic ideologies.
I'm not surprised but it's hard not cringe at every post CD makes nonetheless.shinobi said:
Mammoth Jones
Member
Can't have that when you as a teacher have to have everything around you fit into your worldview....
"Girls preferring to play with dolls? That's that oppression!!"
Still doesnt make it ok dude.
Glendemonium
Member
That teacher is the definition of insane.
Legos are for ALL ages AND gender. Just buy a big bucket and let the kids pick the pieces they want to use. No need to enforce her irresponsibly convoluted "gender equality" mindset by taking it away from boys.
FFS they're children.
Legos are for ALL ages AND gender. Just buy a big bucket and let the kids pick the pieces they want to use. No need to enforce her irresponsibly convoluted "gender equality" mindset by taking it away from boys.
FFS they're children.
User 73706
Banned
has anyone mentioned how outraged they are yet?
Seriously. My daughter started kindergarten and started coming home upset that she was being told that she was doing all sorts of things wrong based on her being a girl. She was told to stop trying to be a boy for wearing pants all the time and liking science and pokemon. It took months of almost nightly conversations to get her back to feeling secure about liking the things she likes.
We raised her without setting gendered limits on her interests and just going with whatever she likes. Other kids were not raised that way, and they were extremely aggressive about trying to enforce the limits they were raised with. She mostly got it from the boys, the girls were more about trying to get her interested in Monster High rather than telling her she's not allowed to like Legos because she's not a boy.
Coffee Dog
Banned
How is an attempted leveling of the playing field not promoting gender equality?
I'm half expecting someone to come in here and say that the lego deserve to go to the most qualified children, lol
GeordieMark
Member
You certainly have your hands full!
Yes, you're right, let's willfully stunt the growth of one sex in an attempt to increase the growth of the other. There couldn't possibly be a better solution than that!
Coffee Dog
Banned
You know, considering there is a much larger world out there than the classroom, I think those boys are gonna be just fine.
Zoe
Member
Leveling the playing field would be raising the group that is neglected up to the level of the other group, not lowering the other group down to nothing.
Impeccable
Member
Or just a logical person who can see beyond the outrage and let the proper channels care.
I don't really know why people are calling this story outrage culture... People in this thread seem more incredulous and scoffing than outraged, honestly. It would be outrage culture if this story went viral and there was a massive Twitter hate mob calling for her resignation or something. That might still happen, though. We'll see.
I was kidding.
CarpeDeezNutz
Member
I was about to.
Anyway, boys can be pretty aggressive about playing with toys and not sharing, that's why you make stations with time limits on who gets to play with what. Call kids randomly and have them use a clip to show they are at that station. If a group of kids were already at one station they need to let kids that haven't had a chance to play at that one. If the Lego station was that popular you can sort it out that way. (Tablets and computers are the popular choice these days).
Edit: man I hope people don't generalize educators with this woman and her dumb idea.
I can personally promise you that all those kids have LEGO at home. It's a town of 20,000 (well-off) people. This straight up doesn't matter. A teacher said some dumb things but so what? Those kids aren't coming away harmed or disadvantaged in any way.
Scientist Supreme!
Banned
-Talk to the girls.
-Buy more Legos.
-Get rid of the dolls.
-Buy more Legos.
-Get rid of the dolls.
The reverse could be said of the girls not being able to play with the Legos. And it would be stupid to say that as well.
How you get treated at school has a huge impact on kids.
bobbychalkers
Member
This sounds like a Portlandia sketch.
Mammoth Jones
Member
So why bother doing anything at all if all those girls have Legos to run home to?
This story is 1 month old. Reddit? Sounds like a story Reddit would love.
Anyway, here is the latest update, 3 days old already
http://www.bainbridgereview.com/lifestyle/351888341.html
Anyway, here is the latest update, 3 days old already
http://www.bainbridgereview.com/lifestyle/351888341.html
Receiving equal treatment is different than receiving the same treatment. I think a distinction needs to be made between "sameness" and "equality" because sameness doesn't always serve a social good/need.
Scientist Supreme!
Banned
Better.
Exactly.
User 73706
Banned
something something boys will be boys
Getting rid of dolls is treating female gender preferences as inferior, which is the actual issue- the teacher has internalized the "male" preference as the superior/correct one and is now essentially trying to turn the girls into boys. You see it all the time with this stuff and it's sad.
Vincent Grayson
Member
I can echo this with my own daughter. She didn't start feeling like she wasn't "supposed to" like the things she liked until Kindergarten when other kids started making her feel bad for wearing shirts with superheroes on them and talking about scary movies, and being generally a girl not into dresses or skirts at all.
Luckily, she eventually powered through and now just doesn't give a fuck. She knows who she is and what she likes, and if people are going to give her shit for it, she just shuts them out.
I don't think she fully comprehends the meaning of "equality".
Nothing wrong with encouraging children to try different things, but outright preventing a group from partaking in a fun activity is stupid. How are you supposed to explain to a five year old that because they are not born to a certain sex, that they are not able to play with a certain toy?
Nothing wrong with encouraging children to try different things, but outright preventing a group from partaking in a fun activity is stupid. How are you supposed to explain to a five year old that because they are not born to a certain sex, that they are not able to play with a certain toy?
CloudyTuba
Member
I think think this idiot teacher knows what the word "equality" means. Another unfortunate person with good intentions who misunderstands her own goal and completely flubs the execution. Major overcompensation from ignorant people.
Equality means...equal. Nice to hear about all those learning and development boosts she's citing, and currently denying to many of her students.
Wasnt there a guy on gaf recently like this? He was actually mad at his family for giving his daughter a pink something-or-other and took it away from her. This sort of overcompensating view is becoming more prevalent.
First two, yeah. Last one, no that's more misunderstanding overcompensation. You don't eliminate the dolls, you just dont force girls to play with them. There's absolutely nothing wrong with a little girl liking to play dolls more than legos, its only problem if you force her to like the dolls and dont give her a choice.
My girlfriend was forced to play with dolls and vacuum cleaners when she was little and she hated it because she just wanted to play with transformers and dinosaurs. Even she thinks its stupid to eliminate toys like that. You just give them a choice. Some little girls like dinosaurs but others really will like vacuum cleaners. And so will some of the boys. It's all good.
I'm a dude and when I was a kid I loved the broom and stove for some reason, even though playing house is more typically viewed as a girl thing. I was allowed to like whatever I liked and it was great.
Twisted is definitely the right word. Helping one child should never mean fucking another one over.
She seriously brought up the obvious, ideal solution and said "lol fuck that and fuck boys." If everyone took turns then everyone would get to play with them.
She even used school funds to buy more legos in typical "girl" colors to try and make them play with them, which seems to be counter to her own cause of making toys gender neutral.
She shouldnt be a teacher. If a normal teacher saw the boys hogging all of a certain toy and girls getting upset about it, they would simply handle it, make sure the girls got a turn and nobody would ever hear about it because that's the kind of shit kindergarten teachers handle every single day.
This is really the best solution because it doesnt involve any sort of segregation. Putting up walls is not the answer. Making sure everyone gets a turn is the answer.
Yup.
Equality means...equal. Nice to hear about all those learning and development boosts she's citing, and currently denying to many of her students.
Wasnt there a guy on gaf recently like this? He was actually mad at his family for giving his daughter a pink something-or-other and took it away from her. This sort of overcompensating view is becoming more prevalent.
First two, yeah. Last one, no that's more misunderstanding overcompensation. You don't eliminate the dolls, you just dont force girls to play with them. There's absolutely nothing wrong with a little girl liking to play dolls more than legos, its only problem if you force her to like the dolls and dont give her a choice.
My girlfriend was forced to play with dolls and vacuum cleaners when she was little and she hated it because she just wanted to play with transformers and dinosaurs. Even she thinks its stupid to eliminate toys like that. You just give them a choice. Some little girls like dinosaurs but others really will like vacuum cleaners. And so will some of the boys. It's all good.
I'm a dude and when I was a kid I loved the broom and stove for some reason, even though playing house is more typically viewed as a girl thing. I was allowed to like whatever I liked and it was great.
Twisted is definitely the right word. Helping one child should never mean fucking another one over.
She seriously brought up the obvious, ideal solution and said "lol fuck that and fuck boys." If everyone took turns then everyone would get to play with them.
She even used school funds to buy more legos in typical "girl" colors to try and make them play with them, which seems to be counter to her own cause of making toys gender neutral.
She shouldnt be a teacher. If a normal teacher saw the boys hogging all of a certain toy and girls getting upset about it, they would simply handle it, make sure the girls got a turn and nobody would ever hear about it because that's the kind of shit kindergarten teachers handle every single day.
This is really the best solution because it doesnt involve any sort of segregation. Putting up walls is not the answer. Making sure everyone gets a turn is the answer.
Yup.
DarkHeartedKill
Member
Why not...I dunno...ask the girls why they don't play with Legos or other building blocks? Maybe they have a damn good reason, like they don't want to? Is this simpleton seriously hating on kindergarten boys for simply being boys? The actual hell is going on? Please fire her...please?
BobbyRobby
Member
Okay, but this is pretty biased behavior from the teacher. If I had a kid there, I'd be worried about her treatment and evaluation of boy students in general.
MisterR
Member
There is a defense force for everything here on Neogaf. It's very helpful for making an ignore list though.
There's nothing wrong with wanting to pay with dolls. It's the kids free play time; let them play with what they want. There are better ways to encourage girls to play with Legos that does not include banning the boys from them. Like maybe having a Lego building session in class.
I also find it funny that she's doing this in the name of equality but got pink Legos, which is a "girl" colour.
I also find it funny that she's doing this in the name of equality but got pink Legos, which is a "girl" colour.
Sho_Nuff82
Member
So she's losing her job for this, yes? Smh at stifling male creativity and female choice just to try and force an "optimal" outcome.
Aeriscloud
Banned
Oh look, just another teacher who shouldn't be a teacher.
D
Deleted member 20415
Unconfirmed Member
The solution to this is mixed gender play groups, and a rotation on toys, right? So if there is a lego station, all the kids get a chance to go through the station and play... together?
Sucks to look at a little kid, and think "yes, this is where I'll make a political stand"
Sucks to look at a little kid, and think "yes, this is where I'll make a political stand"
anotherVegan
Member
Gender equality...
Ur doin it rong
Ur doin it rong
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