How did gender affect me during primary school?

I was taught by all female staff whilst I attended primary school, I was always very comfortable in the classrooms as I felt I could relate easily to another female. I never felt that I was categorised by gender throughout my early years of education as the boys and girls all took part in the same activities for example sewing and art. As a class every pupil was treated in the same manner regardless of gender. This made me feel that my gender did not impact me significantly.

However during physical education in my latter years of primary school I felt very intimidated during lessons as the boys were much more competitive and aggressive than what I was. This made me nervous to play sports such as basketball or football as I was not able to play at my best ability.

There are no studies that prove that gender affects the ability to learn in a classroom, and from my own experience of being within a school environment I found that the teachers ability to inspire and engage a child was more integral on how the child learns. My teachers that I found to be the most inspiring were the lessons that I can still recall now many years later.