A Fair Game or Unfair Judgment?

In a primary school located in a medium-sized coastal town in western Finland, seven-year-old girls and boys were tasked with competing to see which group behaved better in class and kept their surroundings tidier. In other words, they were judged on adherence to behavioral norms that were taken for granted in the schools of my childhood.

The girls won the competition and were rewarded with a toy day. This, however, upset the boys’ mothers, whose little darlings couldn’t manage to be tidy or behave properly.

As a result, one mother contacted a national broadcasting company Yle, claiming that “the competitive setup and the criteria seemed unfair, and the group division went against the National Agency for Education's policies on segregation.” She also lamented, “Nobody does things like this anymore these days. Are boys wild and disobedient just because they’re energetic?”

Instead of having boys and girls compete in behavior and tidiness, she suggested rewarding the boys for, say, running a certain distance in the schoolyard as defined by a teacher. This, she argued, would allow them to please the teacher in a different way. Personally, I couldn’t see how this would promote children’s education or learning — unlike the competition at hand.

According to the principal of the criticized school, “The teachers certainly did not intend to act against the curriculum. This was a human error from which we will learn. We are all human and make mistakes.”

Undoubtedly, this was an effort to save face — and perhaps it succeeded. Time will tell.

* * *

To me, however, there was nothing odd or unfair about the competition. Calm and orderly behavior is something that promotes learning in schools. As such, it is an excellent — and learning-relevant — basis for competition, regardless of gender. Moreover, it is an event that especially helps wild boys improve their self-control.

Admittedly, the groups could have been divided without regard to gender, which would have prevented the boys’ mothers from blaming their children’s loss on their gender. But I believe that a competition between genders is the most motivating setup for seven-year-olds — especially for boys.

For this reason, I suspect that the mother who took her complaint to the national media should take a good look in the mirror. After all, the school competition reflected the general perception that mothers have long demanded better behavior and tidiness from their daughters than from their sons. The girls’ victory, therefore, was no great surprise — but hopefully, it offered a valuable lesson not only to the boys in the class but also to their mothers.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Safe Spaces or Freedom of Knowledge?
How to Increase Fertility Rates: A Finnish Solution
The Difference Between Left-Wing and Right-Wing Envy