Anonymous wrote:So my question is, when you have a girl who regularly wears athletic clothes to school, what should she wear? This just highlights and reinforces gender stereotypes. I think it's insensitive (and for what it's worth, I'm also a MS teacher). It highlights the ridiculous cultural norms we have, that boys shouldn't wear skirts unless they're being silly, and that wearing athletic clothes is a boys' thing.
And to those citing what happened at schools in the 80's and 90's, I hope we've progressed socially since then.
+1000. Thank you for saying this. I have been shocked at how much gender bias still exists in MS. I thought we would have progressed in the 30 years since I was in middle school, but based on my child's experience, not so much has changed. Your post gives me hope that not all teachers/administrators are so ante-diluvian as at our school.