Biased Judgments

Early grades activity to confront gender stereotypes.

This is a part of Gender Doesn't Limit You! [1], also available as a PDF [2].

Note: Substitute your school's name for "St. Francis." You can replace the provided student names with names of your students, too.

Problem: Sometimes one group of kids thinks that they are better at something than another group because of their gender. Remember that gender is whether you are a boy or a girl. Sometimes boys say to girls that they are better at school or better at sports just because they are boys.

Rationale: Saying something like this isn't a nice thing to do. It's not true that all boys are good at school or sports and all girls are bad at school or sports. Boys and girls can be equally good at any sport or subject in school. Making fun of people for not being good at something because of their gender is a type of bullying, and bullying is not allowed at St. Francis.

Question: What should you say when someone tells you that you aren't as good as they are because of your gender?

You should answer: "Give it a rest, no group is best."

Case Practice:

I. Okay, so let's practice what we should say if someone tells us that we aren't as good as they are because of our gender! Megan is doing her math homework in class, and her classmate Brandon says, "Boys are better at math than girls." What do we tell Brandon? One, two, three GO!

Answer: "Give it a rest, no group is best."

II. Good job! Let's try another one. Maria and Ricardo are on the same soccer team together. Ricardo says that boys are better at soccer than girls. What do we tell Ricardo? One, two, three GO!

Answer: "Give it a rest, no group is best."

III. Good job! Let's try another one. Oliver takes ballet lessons outside of school. At the talent show, Lisa tells him, "Girls are better at ballet than boys." What do we tell Lisa? One, two, three GO!

Answer: "Give it a rest, no group is best."

IV. Good job! Let's try another one. Paul and Vanessa are baking cookies together. Vanessa says that girls are better at baking than boys. What do we tell Vanessa? One, two, three GO!

Answer: "Give it a rest, no group is best."