Why do some infant teachers hate boys?

[ReallyTired]

My son's year 1 teacher just doesn't get boys. Apparently about four to five boys mucked about in class. As a result she decided that every boy in the class should miss golden time. All the girls got their full quota of golden time.

Its no wonder that many of the boys are very resentful and hate her.

This teacher complains that my son doesn't listen. My son wears hearing aids and finds it hard when there is a lot of background noise.

Even if all the boys were making the background noise, it seems harsh having a class punishment. I am sceptical that all the girls were perfect.

[CarGirl]

I'm absolutely that the teacher complains that your son doesn't listen - does she really have no idea how hard it is for him with the background noise??? What has been her reaction when you've explained to her how hard it is for him to hear in a classroom environment?

[PrettyCandles]

That's dreadful. Surely at this age they don't yet 'get' collective responsibility? And if she's going to use that, surely it should be everyone, including girls? Just sends the wrong messages to punish only the boys.

I think you need to talk to the Head. The fact that she doesn't take his hearing into account is very worrying.

[AbbeyA]

Boys are more lively and not so good at sitting still.
As a teacher I like boys-probably because I have three myself.

[expatinscotland]

why? because they are amazingly unprofessional incompetents who really shouldn't be teaching.

if she can't be adult enough to rise about personality conflicts with 5-year-olds, she has no business being a teacher.

[expatinscotland]

i also think formal education is started way too early in the UK and that's why you get problems like this.

as someone pointed out, most children at this age find it hard to grasp the concept of collective responsibility.

[Threadwormm]

My DSs had one teacher like this. She just didn't get boys, didn't even try. Loved the girls and found boys irritating.

[cornsilk]

I've also experienced this as a parent. I wanted to buy a copy of 'raising boys' and force her to read it.

[expatinscotland]

'Loved the girls and found boys irritating.'

Again, people like this shouldn't be teaching.

I'm amazed at how common this is.

We found out, thankfully well in advance, that the person who was supposed to be DD1's P1-3 teacher is unprofessional and can't put her own personal dislikes of 5-year-olds behind her to do her job competently.

If I allowed my feelings of annoyance and dislike with those I worked with to be so obvious, I'd have gotten sacked long ago.

And I wasn't in the incredibly powerful position of controlling the education and affecting the self-esteem and confidence of young children.

[onebatmother]

My DS's reception teacher was like this. Vile.
But not a huge amount that can be done I don't htink.

But I do think that the remark about not listening is very unpleasant (and actually, incompetent) and should be taken up, either with her or the head.

[Cathpot]

I dont think age is anything to do with it, you shouldnt use this type of punishment on children of any age, it is completely unfair to the well behaved majority and will do you no favours in the long run. She sounds like she is struggling and not addressing it.

[OverMyDeadBody]

the problem is that the education system is a feminine institution and saddly our boys suffer while the girls thrive.

As expat said though, she obviously isn't very professional or fit to be a teacher if she can't be sensitive to all the children's needs regardless of gender.

[Divastrop]

i have been having huge issues with my ds2 at school since his reception teacher retired in january and was replaced by a young(and i think,inexperienced) teacher-who has admitted to finding boys a challenge as she has 2 dds.

dont get me wrog,ds's behaviour isnt good(he has struggled though as he suffers from glue ear and had hearing and speech problems before having grommets put in last summer),but this teacher seems to have no idea how to deal with him,or the other 'lively' boys in the class.

when i was at primary school,there was such a thing as male teachers.whatever happened to them?

[Threadwormm]

Yes, overmydead. It makes me really angry that I had to grow up in a schooll system that let girls think of themselves as second-best and now my two sons are in a system that seems to be sleepwalking towards letting boys think of themselves as second best.

[Threadwormm]

Our primary school has one male teacher. Both my sons really warmed to having a male teacher when they finally got the chance. Such a shame there aren't more.

[BetteNoire]

"It makes me really angry that I had to grow up in a school system that let girls think of themselves as second-best and now my two sons are in a system that seems to be sleepwalking towards letting boys think of themselves as second best".

I wholeheartedly feel the same, Threadworm.

[ReallyTired]

Six year old boys are lovely creatures, but they need careful handling. They respond better to praise than punishment.

From what my son said some of the boys were truely dreadful to her. She made them sit on the carpet while the girls had their golden time. Some of the boys started to hum and it must have driven her up the wall.

Then again I think there is something seriously wrong with discipline if she feel that all the boys in the class should lose their golden time. Only the children who played up should be punished.

I think that punishing all the boys makes the better behaved ones think that there is no point in trying to behave. If they are going to get punished for someone else's behaviour then they might as well be naughty.

[expatinscotland]

WTF! And here I was thinking DD1's excuse of a teacher was the only one who was so blatantly unprofessional.

Coming from the legal and academic fields, I was speechless in a pre-SCAT meeting last week.

I simply could not believe such attitudes were tolerated, with the head sitting quietly by her side.

[cornsilk]

Pays not good enough to lure in male graduates who need to support a family. My ds has been very lucky and had 2 male teachers - it's made such a difference for him.

[Divastrop]

there is one male teacher in the junior school who looks about 14,()my ds1 had him for 2 terms and it did him alot of good.

when i was in juniors 3 of the 6 teachers,plus the head,were men.

[OverMyDeadBody]

half the teachers in DS's primary school are male, one of the reasons I chose the school, but it is still a feminine institution and always has been.

[OverMyDeadBody]

school is still a feminine institution is what I meant, not just DS's particular school!

[unknownrebelbang]

Funnily enough, it's the male teacher at the boys' school who doesn't handle boys particularly well. He always seems to favour the girls, and always has done.

He has two sons himself.

And the (male) Head struggles with DS3, as he is a rather strong-willed child.

[OverMyDeadBody]

That's because the setting of formal education is not suited to boys, so they are more difficult to 'control' in the classroom setting, as they are untimately being made to fit into a feminine setting and act according to ways set out by females. Like forcing square pegs into round holes.

Girls, fit in just fine so are easier to handle in the school setting.

[expatinscotland]

again, i think they also start formal education too young in the UK and expect infants to behave like good little soldiers.

then punish them when they behave according to their nature.

what a message to send to children!

[OverMyDeadBody]

yes I agree.

They really are too young to have to fit in and conform and sit still and listen and all of that at such a young age.

They should be running around free and liberated from mass institutionalisation.