Was Lord Coe being sexist or merely relating the findings of research? You be the judge:
Lord Coe was plunged into a sexism row last night after saying that most women teachers lack the confidence to take PE lessons in primary schools.
The former London 2012 chairman blamed their failings on training colleges that offer only six to ten hours of sports tuition over two years.
Although he was simply highlighting research carried out by a sports charity, his comments drew an angry backlash.
‘It is entirely unacceptable to be peddling such sexist nonsense,’ said Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers.
‘I’m sure Jessica Ennis and all those other female Olympians would be outraged by such views. To imply that female primary school teachers don’t have as much ability as men to teach sport isn’t right.’
But Lord Coe, the Government’s Olympic legacy ambassador, insisted it was not a question of ability, but one of training.
‘I was shocked by how little they get,’ he said.
‘Eight out of ten teachers in primary schools are women. And this is not remotely pejorative but I think that something like 80 per cent of them said they just did not feel confident taking physical education.
‘I am guessing that there will be a lot of men who will feel the same way.’
Lord Coe has long emphasised the ‘crucial’ need to provide better PE teaching in primary schools.
Tags: Education, Eight out of ten teachers in primary schools are women, female primary school teachers don’t have as much ability as men to teach sport, Feminism, Lord Coe, Lord Coe controversy, Lord Coe sexism, Lord Coe sexist comment, most women teachers lack the confidence to take PE lessons, sebastian coe, Sexism, Teaching
Topical Teaching 
July 29, 2013 at 6:08 am |
The very fact that 8 out of 10 primary school teachers are women has to be saying something that has nothing to do with the relative teaching ability of the sexes.
How many boys grow up with no effective male role model in their lives?
As for the teaching of PE and Sports, I can cite the example of one recently retired male primary teaching colleague. In his last decade of teaching he worked in 2 schools where he was the only male teacher. He was made responsible, in both schools for the teaching of sports, coaching teams, organising and running events and teaching PE, most of which was ducked by his female colleagues. This scenario is not uncommon in my experience.
When I began teaching, 45 years ago, nearly all K-2 teachers were women. In 3-6 the sexes were fairly evenly balanced. What we have seen over the last 30 years is the gradual feminisation of the teaching service with males deserting, or rather failing to choose primary school teaching as a career.
Has anyone done the research on the bullying of male teachers by female executives? I think most people would be surprised.
Sexism is alive and well in our schools. It’s just that it’s direction has changed. This has been the result of affirmative action, which, as any mathematician will tell you, is negative action in the opposite direction. Dare I say it, affirmative action has been used as a trump card in favour of females, who, when, other things being equal, would not succeed. It has led to the feminisation of the teaching service to the detriment of male teachers and the things they tend to excel at. Affirmative action is a trump card that has allowed people to progress in a career simply because of their gender.
The way to address this is to create a level playing field, not to handicap one group in favour of another.
We need competent teachers of both sexes in primary schools at all levels. It would be good to get rid of all the politically correct claptrap surrounding this issue and consider the needs of children, both boys and girls. There needs to be balance and equality of opportunity for all.
June 15, 2014 at 4:02 pm |
Great! Keep writing. 😀