Boys are bullies!
Girls are tattle-tails!
I was playing four square at recess with a few 4th grade girls a few days ago and when I looked up the boys were pummeled in a pile in the center field. Headlocks, flying fists and kicking. As I began marching towards the scene all I could here was the the sounds of fists hitting a hollow gut, skin smacking skin, bodies being crushed, and the pain being muffled. No talking. No shouting. No tears. Just bullying.
My eyes were narrowed on the boys as recess continued when a group of girls encircled me. "She said I...", "But I said...", "It hurt my feelings when...", "Now we can't be friends and I..." and before the quarreling ended there were a few tears. No fists. No headlocks. No crushing. Just tattling.
I remember a time when I was in the third grade and there was a boy who chose to pick a fight with me. We decided we'd settle it behind the baseball diamond during recess. The next recess there I stood, in a pink corduroy dress with white tights and scraggly, windblown hair waiting to solve a problem behind the diamond. Finally he arrived and I began defending myself when out of nowhere he launched a big, juicy loogie at me and ran away. There it was. Problem solved... for him. No talking, shouting, or tears. Just bullying.
When I was standing there watching the boys wrestle and listening to the girls argue I really began to notice just how different boys and girls are. The girls play "house." The boys play football. The girls play with dolls. The boys play with destructive devices. Girls like to talk. Boys like action. When they're in the 3rd and 4th everyone has cooties. Then something changes. Why then do we like to spend time with once cootie infested people? And eventually fall "in love" and spend the rest of our lives with "the one." How can so many differences be compromised?
Girls are tattle-tails!
I was playing four square at recess with a few 4th grade girls a few days ago and when I looked up the boys were pummeled in a pile in the center field. Headlocks, flying fists and kicking. As I began marching towards the scene all I could here was the the sounds of fists hitting a hollow gut, skin smacking skin, bodies being crushed, and the pain being muffled. No talking. No shouting. No tears. Just bullying.
My eyes were narrowed on the boys as recess continued when a group of girls encircled me. "She said I...", "But I said...", "It hurt my feelings when...", "Now we can't be friends and I..." and before the quarreling ended there were a few tears. No fists. No headlocks. No crushing. Just tattling.
I remember a time when I was in the third grade and there was a boy who chose to pick a fight with me. We decided we'd settle it behind the baseball diamond during recess. The next recess there I stood, in a pink corduroy dress with white tights and scraggly, windblown hair waiting to solve a problem behind the diamond. Finally he arrived and I began defending myself when out of nowhere he launched a big, juicy loogie at me and ran away. There it was. Problem solved... for him. No talking, shouting, or tears. Just bullying.
When I was standing there watching the boys wrestle and listening to the girls argue I really began to notice just how different boys and girls are. The girls play "house." The boys play football. The girls play with dolls. The boys play with destructive devices. Girls like to talk. Boys like action. When they're in the 3rd and 4th everyone has cooties. Then something changes. Why then do we like to spend time with once cootie infested people? And eventually fall "in love" and spend the rest of our lives with "the one." How can so many differences be compromised?
In the office that I work in there's an older man who works with me and a couple student workers. He's real witty and funny, and loves to talk. He's probably in his mid to late 60s... anyway, from time to time we ask him advice about boys and things. And every time we start he says, "Now first of all...what do we need to know?" And then we all say in unison, "boys are idiots." "Yes," he says. "Now what's going on?"
ReplyDeleteWe're idiots too. To them, probably.
Anyway that doesn't have a whole lot to do with what you were talking about...I just think it's funny.
I think you're right, let's bring back the old way. The gender segregation seemed to solve a lot of problems. I'm sorry, I can't write this anymore, you have cooties.
ReplyDelete