Stereotypes

This morning third graders were given a true/false quiz. They were asked to answer the following:

Mechanics are boys.
Nurses are girls
Doctors are boys.
Football players are boys.
Ballet dancers are girls.

Their responses were fantastic! I asked them to complete the "quiz" the best they could and be sure to raise their questions and concerns during our discussion.

The discussion was quite animated. Many children had very strong feelings about the statements made. The most challenging to get over were - Nurses are girls and doctors are boys. Football players are boys was also particularly challenging. Some children had difficulty being convinced otherwise. It is hard for children to understand that something can be true if it's something they have not seen or experienced themselves.

The point of this experience of course was to introduce the children to the concept of stereotypes. A stereotype is when we make an assumption about a person based on the group they belong to - in this case 'boys' or 'girls.' We will have more conversations about stereotypes. You can have some interesting conversations about this with your child at home. :o)