How do you teach students about misogyny without alienating boys?
Keeping our materials up-to-date and relevant is a key aim for us at Chameleon PDE. We often release free activity packs to support schools with the issues that are ‘hot topics’. Our latest free offering combines CPD accredited training together with our latest lesson pack 'Misogyny, causes and consequences' available to any teacher who attends our online 'sexual harassment and misogyny' training. There are a number of sessions running between January and March and you can sign up online to book your place. The accompanying lesson pack on misogyny is aimed at 11-14 year olds, however, our partner schools have already told us that it is suitable for all ages, right up to post-16 with very little adaptation. Women and girls of all ages will be fully aware of and probably experienced misogyny, sexual harassment or sexist comments. In a progressive country like the U.K. we are protected from the very worst examples of ill-treatment towards women and girls, however, this doesn't mean that we’ve reached a point where everyone is treated equally and sadly, women and girls are the biggest target group for online hate speech. There’s lots that can still be done to address the problem of misogyny and education is just one part of the solution. However, the knee-jerk reaction of telling students that misogyny is wrong, shouldn't take place and then berating the toxic masculinity promoted by some online influencers is rarely helpful and can be counter-productive if it leads to boys feeling vilified and 'got at'. Our 'Misogyny, causes and consequences' pack works hard to ensure that male students are not alienated or stigmatised by the content and acknowledge that males are an important part of the solution when it comes to reducing misogyny and improving safety for girls and women. Using recommended best practice we are confident that this lesson pack is as relevant in an “all boys’” school as it is in any other setting. We are fully aware of the peer pressure surrounding male behaviour and how difficult it is for them to be an ‘upstander’ but hopefully, through consistent, relevant and up-to-date Personal Development Education we will get closer to the point where girls are treated equally and respected by their male peers and feel safer as a result. This lesson pack is just one part of our extensive, fully editable resource library that supports teachers with all statutory elements of PSHE and many other topics and themes that contribute to young peoples' personal development.
If you are not a subscriber to Chameleon PDE, sign up now to find out how you can become one of our fast growing group of partner schools.