VIEWS & OPINION


Being gender aware - six


wellbeing issues teachers need to be more aware of


Comment by NIKKI GIANT, Founder of the social enterprise Girls Circle


A new school year brings a host of new experiences and first times for young people. But one thing we don’t want them to experience for the first time is gender disparity, which is still an issue across all walks of life. Gender inequality is not rooted in the workplace; it can start in school corridors, in the playground and even in the classroom. These issues have the potential to disempower young people, and teachers play a pivotal role in disrupting this trend.


With that in mind, here are my top six issues for teachers to look out for – by becoming more gender aware, we can all make a huge difference to girls’ life outcomes.


1. Bullying


Bullying is an age-old problem that affects both boys and girls, but sexual bullying can disproportionately affect young women. Sexual bullying often takes place over mobile phones and social media, and can be difficult for girls to report. Although there are continuous efforts from schools to combat bullying, sexual bullying can be overlooked with girls feeling shamed into inaction.


2. Body Image


Negative body image concerns are something every teacher should be aware of. In the age of social media, girls are constantly exposed to images of what the media perceives as the ‘perfect body image’. Educating pupils on the behind-the-scenes of media images, such as airbrushing, can help them to understand the unrealistic expectations for 21st century girls and improve their self-esteem.


3. Everyday Sexism


This is something a staggering number of girls experience. School uniforms can be a prime example of everyday sexism, with young women told to cover up or wear longer skirts to avoid enticing the attention of boys, rather than addressing any issues of inappropriate behaviour with young men.


4. Healthy Relationships


Cliques, bullies, young love - school life sees it all. Playground politics can set the foundations of childrens’ expectations for relationships in the future. For this reason, it’s important that girls – and boys – understand which relationships are healthy and which are not from a young age. Teaching this in the classroom is a lesson that children will use throughout life.


5. Social Media


Being a 21st century teacher can mean your pupils’ problems are not isolated to the classroom. Although social media can be a brilliant tool, it comes with its fair share of risks. With children as young as 10 years old accessing social networks, it’s important that teachers understand and communicate social media safety.


6. Gender Stereotypes


Often highlighted in schools by subject choices, girls tend to shy away from technical subjects such as science and maths due to gender stereotypes. Providing girls with female role models in male-dominant industries can alter their thoughts from “what should I do?” to “what do I want to do?”


At Girls Circle we believe in creating a level playing field for girls and young women, which will ensure that all young people can reach their potential in a country that is fair and equal.


www.girlscircle.co.uk October 2017 www.education-today.co.uk 15


Kids need more/less time online [delete as appropriate…]


Comment by MARK BENTLEY,


London Grid for Learning


Two headlines jumped out at me from my morning newspaper one day this summer: “Stop children bingeing on social media during holidays, parents urged” and “Encourage children to spend more time online, says former GCHQ head”. Both were equally interesting stories and both propositions were from people who know their digital onions. But which one was right?


On the face of it, these opposing views sum up neatly the conundrum that parents face and how difficult it is to boil down advice into a pithy instruction. What are we supposed to do? Cut back or encourage? Screentime – good or bad? Parents aren’t too sure, but surely teachers can give the definitive, research-based answer?


As so often, the headlines don’t tell the whole story. The message to cut back on screentime came from the excellent Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield in a report with guidance for a “Digital Five-a-Day” approach, laying out a framework for parents concerned about the effects of too much screen time. The seemingly contrary argument was put by former GCHQ Head Robert Hannigan who argued in The Telegraph that spending time exploring the digital world is equally as important as exploring the physical world and can help children develop the skills they and the UK need to be successful in a digital workforce.


I reckon that if you put Longfield and Hannigan in a room together, they would be in broad agreement about many aspects of screen time and its relation to digital well-being. After all, the Digital Five-a-Day isn’t all about digital detox, even though the ability to put down your device is a key health factor and very much part of the equation. However an important element of online responsibility, she says, is to spend time online in order to ‘get creative’, utilising the potential of the internet for activities from learning to code to creating video content. The key, according to Longfield, is to encourage children to spend time online actively.


This is the basis for a lot of the screen time research coming out of Sonia Livingstone’s team at the LSE Media & Communications Department, which has been myth-busting the evils of screen time over recent months. One myth they are quick to de-bunk is the so- called 2x2 rule, publicised by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommending no screen time for the under twos and two hours a day for children over the age of two. Whilst the AAP has now updated its guidance, this rhetoric continues to shape many parents’ opinions on both sides of the Atlantic.


It’s not all bad when we are looking at a screen, and it’s not all good when we stop either. That’s why this year, we at LGfL DigiSafe plan to look at new ways to support young people who feel they have to be ‘always on’. There is definitely scope to improve education and resources in this area. But how about that all-important ‘get creative’ element?


Let’s encourage the potential young people have to make the most of the devices and apps at their disposal to make music, videos, augmented and virtual reality scenes, plays, artwork, stories, blogs, vlogs, games, podcasts, and the like, or learn about the languages, sports and countryside just before they put down the pad and head out to enjoy them for real.


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