Teachers of disadvantaged children receive training on how to treat all kids equally, both within and outside of the classroom. One of the teaching heads in the NGO that is conducting the series of workshops remarked that, whether intentionally or unintentionally, teachers frequently make statements that result in gender discrimination. Many children experience prejudice at home, where what few resources there are are frequently set aside for the boys and they left the girls to deal with the hardship of daily life.
“Often unknowingly teachers end up saying something that leads to gender discrimination. We want to train our teachers to be more sensitive,” said Ananya Chatterjee, school administrator, Calcutta Rescue.
Statements like “do not cry like girls”, or “why didn’t you finish the homework, because you were washing utensils”, “math is not for girls,” or “you are a boy but cannot solve this sum,” leads to discrimination amongst children.
“Teachers end up making comments to a student that he or she won’t be able to do it. A teacher should not judge their student. The school or the classroom should be a safe space for the children to share what they want,” said Anindita Majumdar of the activist Foundation that has been conducting the workshops with Calcutta Rescue.
“Society, at times, leads to a patriarchal mindset. Teachers have to speak and learn the language of equality and diversity because they are the role models for students,” said Majumdar.
“But for them to do that, they have to be convinced themselves and be aware of how they are addressing children. There could be some teachers who have some preconceived notions and the workshops will help them come out of that.”
It is not acceptable for teachers to tell students that math or science is not for girls.
According to Chatterjee, sometimes a girl with strong academic credentials decided against studying science because her brother told her that “ladies don’t pursue science.”
The goal is to eradicate these stereotypes. A girl’s or a boy’s self-respect cannot be damaged, according to Chatterjee. Children in slums are not the only ones who experience this discrimination; wealthy metropolitan households also experience it.