Is MCPS systemically Biased against Boys?

[Anonymous]

I have a boy and girl in elementary school in Bethesda, both good kids but not angels. My daughter can do no wrong. Even when she tackled and punched a boy giving him a black eye after she got shoved in soccer, all the teachers did was ask her if she was ok.

Any small amount of aggression on the part of my son results in him being sent to the office or an email to us—making a joke in class, yelling at a girl that shoves him at recess etc.

I thought it was just my perception. But in speaking to other parents the common feedback I have received is that MCPS is much, much, tougher in the way they discipline boys compared to girls…aggression is harshly punished in boys, but almost encouraged in girls.

Has anyone had a similar experience?

[Anonymous]

Boys are probably noticed more and so is their behavior.

[Anonymous]

There have been studies about this and books written. Schools are definitely more designed to help girls succeed. And check out how many special programs are offered for girls - girls in STEM, girls Coding.

I have two girls and a boy and there is definitely a difference.

[Anonymous]

It’s culture-wide, not just MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Why are your kids so aggressive? Work on that

And no. Studies show schools are more lenient on boys

[Anonymous]

Like everything else, there's been an over correction. When I was in school girls did not perform as well as boys. Efforts were made to correct it and here we are now.
The girls on the run thing, etc pisses me off too.

We have also run into teachers who clearly favor girls no matter what.
And bullying against boys is tolerated much more than bullying against girls.

[Anonymous]

Yea, the entire U.S. education system is now biased against boys. Starting in the 1970s, we rightly started to focus on girls because up to that point, things were horribly tilted against them. However, what started as pro-girl policies quickly turned to anti-boy policies. Schools rewarded what girls do well (quiet listening, non-violent playing, etc.) but punished boys for “aggression”, “fidgeting”, etc. Boys have been left behind. If you need evidence look at the boy / girl split at any top university (usually something like 45 / 55). Without the baggage of feminism and “white male privilege”, we would be embarking on a national program to help our young boys *succeed as they are* not as some idealized pacifist class of post-gender people. But we won’t, because even mentioning that boys might be discriminated against will get you immediately canceled by the Brahmins.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are your kids so aggressive? Work on that

And no. Studies show schools are more lenient on boys

I know, right. I have two boys, and neither has been sent to the office. They should at least consider the possibility that your child is just too aggressive and needs support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a boy and girl in elementary school in Bethesda, both good kids but not angels. My daughter can do no wrong. Even when she tackled and punched a boy giving him a black eye after she got shoved in soccer, all the teachers did was ask her if she was ok.

Any small amount of aggression on the part of my son results in him being sent to the office or an email to us—making a joke in class, yelling at a girl that shoves him at recess etc.

I thought it was just my perception. But in speaking to other parents the common feedback I have received is that MCPS is much, much, tougher in the way they discipline boys compared to girls…aggression is harshly punished in boys, but almost encouraged in girls.

Has anyone had a similar experience?

I noticed this too, at the elementary school level. I am not sure what goes on at MS or HS so not sure.

My kids have both commented (and I have witnessed) on how girls who call boys names are almost accepted, but if a boy remotely says anything in retaliation to a girl it is deem as inappropriate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Like everything else, there's been an over correction. When I was in school girls did not perform as well as boys. Efforts were made to correct it and here we are now.
The girls on the run thing, etc pisses me off too.

We have also run into teachers who clearly favor girls no matter what.
And bullying against boys is tolerated much more than bullying against girls.

I actually hadn't realize how much some teachers (this goes for both males and female teachers) favor girls over boys. It was a bit of an eye-opener for me during covid when kids were zooming at home.

[Anonymous]

In all of my kids’ years in school, not once did we get a call, complaint or report about one of them being aggressive. Thats a lot OP if both of yours are repeatedly aggressive.

[Anonymous]

My oldest is now a senior after having spent all his school career in MCPS, in Bethesda schools.

I have never seen what OP describes, but I made sure to tell my kids never to act aggressively, but always to complain to the teacher if they were bullied. This is how it works here. I come from a British boarding school where schoolyard differences were solved physically, and the Headmaster didn't much care.

My son was bullied by other boys, and as soon as I complained to the teachers, she spoke to the others boys and the matter was resolved.

OP, it's not normal that your kids are fighting. It's not normal that the teacher ignored that your child was the aggressor. You can't let that fly in your house. You have the power to stop this - please do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Like everything else, there's been an over correction. When I was in school girls did not perform as well as boys. Efforts were made to correct it and here we are now.
The girls on the run thing, etc pisses me off too.

We have also run into teachers who clearly favor girls no matter what.
And bullying against boys is tolerated much more than bullying against girls.

I have a boy and a girl and I hate that the school focuses so much time an attention on ‘girls only’ activities. Agree about Girls on the Run. As if boys wouldn’t benefit from releasing some extra energy by training for a 5K and discussing issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a boy and girl in elementary school in Bethesda, both good kids but not angels. My daughter can do no wrong. Even when she tackled and punched a boy giving him a black eye after she got shoved in soccer, all the teachers did was ask her if she was ok.

Any small amount of aggression on the part of my son results in him being sent to the office or an email to us—making a joke in class, yelling at a girl that shoves him at recess etc.

I thought it was just my perception. But in speaking to other parents the common feedback I have received is that MCPS is much, much, tougher in the way they discipline boys compared to girls…aggression is harshly punished in boys, but almost encouraged in girls.

Has anyone had a similar experience?

I noticed this too, at the elementary school level. I am not sure what goes on at MS or HS so not sure.

My kids have both commented (and I have witnessed) on how girls who call boys names are almost accepted, but if a boy remotely says anything in retaliation to a girl it is deem as inappropriate.

We had a girl in my kid’s class that year who was physically aggressive. She hit several girls. Not much was done about it, except she did go have some discussions with the counselor.

I remember a few years earlier that my son had an aggressive boy in his class and they treated that a bit differently.

[Anonymous]

Wyngate 10 years ago? Yes. Boys always in the office. Mine included.