Lifestyle
We all know how impressionable kids are - soaking up new information at a surprising speed. That's why it's vital that we refrain from perpetuating potentially harmful beliefs - lest it sticks with them all the way into adulthood.
Sometimes something as seemingly innocent as, say, a piece of homework can reinforce such damaging views - one mom from New York being a very recent case in point. She decided to completely rewrite her daughter's homework in protest against its 'sexist' tone.
When Lynne Polvino looked over her child's 'fill in the blanks' worksheet, she noticed that it was full of outdated stereotypes.
But rather than ignoring it, the outraged mother wrote her own version and posted it on Facebook alongside the 'correctly' answered sheet filled in by her daughter.
The homework centered around a story about a girl who felt sad that her mom was going back to work.
The doting mom posted the photos with the caption, "Here’s the homework assignment my daughter brought home yesterday, side-by-side with my rewrite."
Polvino's daughter's homework starts:
"Lisa was not happy her mother was back at work. Before Lisa was born, her mother worked in a big office. Yesterday, she told Lisa that she was going back to work. The morning was terrible. Lisa had to get to school on time. Her father had to get to work on time. And now, her mother was in a rush, too. Lisa’s father made breakfast, it was not too good."
Credit: Facebook / Lynne Polvino
The 'correct' version of the homework implies that it is a negative thing that mothers go to work, and that fathers are incapable of tending to their children's needs.
Obviously, these sorts of gender-centric preconceptions can be easily absorbed by kids and their impressionable minds.
Take a read of Polivino's much more enlightened rewrite:
Credit: Facebook / Lynne Polvino
I think we could all learn a thing or two from Polvino's homework rewrite. Mostly that no one should feel confined to certain outdated gender expectations.
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