Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars
‘there is neither Jew nor gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus’
(Galatians 3:28 )
Dear Students, Parents and Carers
Recent history, at least in the Western World, has featured many polarisations. The statement which serves as the topic of this newsletter is one example. Another is the oft repeated mantra, at least in the past, ‘It’s a man’s world’. Historically, that has been largely true, through most recorded history. Ancient societies were patriarchal. Even through to the middle of last century, a woman’s place was said to be in the home. In my own profession, teaching, once married, a woman would be required to resign. While that is no longer the case, and there is gender parity in salary in schools, women in the commercial world are often paid less than men for equivalent work.
Last week at Shore we recognised and celebrated International Women’s Day. The mere fact that such a day has been codified indicates there is a way to go to achieving equitable outcomes for women. My experience tells me that boys, for full development, need the experience of being taught over time by men and women. For this reason, our teaching staff features a good balance of both. This has been the policy at Shore for some time.
In some families where boys have no sisters, they have little referent in terms of female peers. This may be interpreted as requiring some other socialisation, given the need for boys to treat girls and women with respect. Apart from the merit of such in itself and of ethical considerations, young men will often enter mixed gender residential colleges and mixed gender university campuses and, subsequently, mixed gender workplaces. Many will need to submit to the authority of a female CEO in their workplace or industry.
There are of course other considerations. We don’t believe it is healthy to experience the company of girls in, or mostly in, the heady situation of Saturday night parties where, unfortunately, some hosts may break the law by serving alcohol to minors. In any case, some boys’ apprehension in Australian society of girls is mostly as romantic appendages, where objectification rather than relationship can easily occur. For this reason, while preserving single sex education from Year 3 to Year 12, Shore seeks helpful socialisation opportunities for our boys in relating to a range of girls schools which we believe are appropriate partners.
Accordingly, we undertake a range of activities, mostly in the co-curricular domain, with Abbotsleigh, PLC Pymble, Queenwood, Roseville College, SCEGGS Darlinghurst and Wenona, all leading girls’ schools. Many of these connections are being further developed.
In order to focus on International Women’s Day and to expose our students to a female leader in authority, we invited the Principal of Roseville College, Ms Magill, to give the keynote presentation on Assembly. Ms Magill challenged our boys to make a difference in the world in terms of being people of truth and justice, who oppose gender inequality and are hopeful and compassionate young men. These are of course messages we would want to thoroughly endorse.
It is not often recognised sufficiently that in western civilisation a great fillip was given to women’s status and freedom by Jesus. He took women seriously, showed compassion for them and freed them from the shackles of rigid opinion. The Apostle Paul continued this development and famously wrote ‘there is neither Jew nor gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus’ (Galatians 3:28). Paul, in context, was not dissolving genders. He was speaking of equality and inclusion before God of both genders. He was not “woke” (2,000 years too early for that!).
Boys and girls are different, beyond physical differences. Teenage boys go through periods of testosterone surges as they grow and develop. Adults need to help regulate and direct that well.
Women are from Venus, men are from Mars? A stereotype, one might say. With a son who is an astrophysicist, I have a great interest in Space. Should we indeed ever colonise Venus or Mars, I suspect we will need both genders on each!
Given the theme of this newsletter, it may be an opportunity to convey that men and women are welcome to contribute to the staffing of our Sports canteens, at North Sydney and Northbridge.
A further request is that senior school parents please not use the Prep School drop-off points in Edward and Lord Streets to deliver their boys to school in the morning, unless, of course, they have brother in Prep who is being dropped off at the same time. We are keen to ease the traffic density in this area.
Dr J Collier
Headmaster