“Through my experiences at school, we were all treated equally and gender wasn’t really an issue that affected me when I was a child.”

This was originally how I felt gender was provoked at primary school, but after sitting back and reflecting on my experiences, I was wrong. Gender in fact was an issue that wasn’t addressed more closely.

At break and lunch times, all the boys would go off and play football or basketball – the more ‘masculine’ sports. While the girls would just stand and chat or do ‘girly’ things. These are both very stereotypical opinions, but both very true. School culture plays a big part of gender, especially in a school environment.

It wasn’t just outside of the classroom where gender became an issue, it was also inside. Boys were stereotyped to be academically brighter than girls and higher achievers. But this case has now been proven wrong. There have been some radical changes where girls now tend to outperform boys in languages, maths and science.

I found Jill Shimi’s lecture on gender very informative and it made me realise how big an issue gender is in schools. For me, gender plays a big role in day to day life and I feel it should be addressed more closely.

I definitely agree with Jill’s final thoughts…

“Being aware of the gender debate and the impact of stereotyping it is incumbent on us all, as teachers, to respect our pupils as individuals with their own experiences and interests. Boys and girls must all be treated equally and fairly.”