“You’ve heard the story of Dr
James Barry, haven’t you?” asked Ann enthusiastically, whilst explaining the
various ways teachers can create opportunities for children to engage with the
idea of gender equality. I had to confess to Ann that I had not but made a
mental note to read up about it.
I am glad I did as it is a most remarkable story about
a young Irish woman who pretended to be a man so that she could study medicine.
This took place in the early 1800s when only males could enter the medical
profession. She graduated as a doctor and went on to serve as a military
surgeon in South Africa and other parts of the world. Wikipedia explains that
she “not only improved conditions for wounded soldiers, but also the conditions
of the native inhabitants, and performed the first Caesarean
section in Africa by an Irish surgeon in which both the
mother and child survived the operation”. She rose to the rank of Inspector
General before retiring. It was only after her death that it was revealed that
she was in fact a woman.
Gender equality at PNPS
Ann explains that stories like this provide a starting
point for conversations with children about whether one’s gender should in any
way dictate what you may achieve. The absurdity of Dr Barry’s story also
motivates Ann to ensure that no child at PNPS is in any way limited by the
straitjacket of gender stereotypes.
Therefore,
at PNPS you will not hear, “Boys and girls line up, please”; rather you will
hear, “Children line up, please”. You will not see a boys’ line and a girls’
line; rather the children line up in alphabetical order. You will see both boys
and girls with long, tied-up hair or with short hair. You will see both boys
and girls in the woodwork room and in the needlework room. You will see boys
and girls playing cricket and soccer. If you sat at the back of a classroom,
you may hear about strong children and sensitive children, not strong boys and
sensitive girls. You may hear about heroines and heroes who take turns in
rescuing each other. You may encounter a female sports person as the event
speaker, or a male poet as the competition adjudicator. Your child may be asked
to consider more deeply what it means to say, “Girls don’t do that” or “He
can’t, because he’s a boy”. Through these deliberate actions, and many more,
our children will come to see that it is not their gender that determines their
ability or their participation.
For some of us parents this may come as a shock, as we have grown up
within the norms of societal gender stereotypes. For other parents, it is a
relief that their children can just be themselves. Some parents may not even
have noticed, because gender inclusion has been done so matter-of-factly that
it seems as though it has always been like this at PNPS.
How things have changed at PNPS
But it has not always been like this. Recently, Ann
submitted an article to the Independent Schools of South Africa which
documented the mind-shifts in PNPS history. In 1995 the school made a move away
from single-sex sports. Boys entering the netball court was led by a boy in a
wheelchair who found netball the most accessible for him. In 2004 the SGB
introduced the gender-neutral uniform. Ann encouraged this move, recognising
that girls should be afforded the same freedoms as boys, which she views as a
basic human right.
The biggest mind-shift for Ann took place about seven
years ago when a mother of a child who is transgender shared their story with
Ann in the hope of finding a place at PNPS for her daughter. In deciding to
offer the child a space, Ann knew that she could not remain the same, and
neither could the school. Although PNPS was already on the road towards gender
equity, Ann knew that deeper work needed to be done to ensure that the child
felt that she belonged.
Mind-shifts are vital
Mind-shifts were required of the teachers too.
Recognising that teachers are gendered beings and products of their society,
intentional training took place with the staff to support them to become
reflective and examine their own biases. This is something that we parents
should consider doing too.
Further, guidelines were developed for new staff to
help them embrace the school’s gender-inclusive ethos. All school policies were
aligned to this ethos too. Classroom practices and the curriculum changed to
ensure gender was not used to define any child’s potential or participation.
Library books were reviewed to include stories that challenge gender
stereotypes. The SGB made provision for the installation of gender-neutral
toilets at the tuck shop and in the main building. This is ground-breaking in
the traditional South African school system and should be celebrated and
encouraged within other schools too.
As a parent I wonder if I need to make some
mind-shifts too? What is happening in my own language and thinking? How often
do we limit our child because of their gender? Where do we agree with gender
stereotypes in a way that stops us from being who we are? We are never too old
to break free from the gender stereotype straitjacket!
All our children benefit
The school’s decision to include children who are
transgender required significant changes within the school, requiring
intentionality, time and finance. However, we need to see that all our children
benefited from these changes. The work done to include children who are
different to my child ends up benefiting my child too, that’s how inclusion
works.
Today, my child may be a boy who loves ballet, a girl
who is into mechanics, or a child who is still figuring out his or her gender
identity; and we, as parents, will be reassured to know that they will be fully
accepted at PNPS for who they are, and encouraged to develop in whichever way
they need to. This is thanks to the mind-shifts that Ann and the staff embraced
when a transgender child was welcomed into the school.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Written by Jacqui Tooke, parent with 2 children at PNPS, and an older child who used to attend.
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