Parents tend to be proud of their kids' accomplishments, and putting schoolwork up on the fridge is a pretty common aspect of the parenting experience.
But sometimes, kids give parents something to be extra proud of. One proud mom shared her son's 'mic drop' response to a work sheet question on Twitter.
While lesson plans are more inclusive than they were in decades past, teachers often wind up teaching their kids outdated conventions that can be construed as sexist.
That's the situation that mom and Twitter user Stephanie Parks Taylor wound up posting about.
As you can see, Stephanie's eight-year-old son rejected the very premise of the question — that Lara, the hypothetical person on the work sheet, had a title defined solely by her marital status: Miss, Ms., or Mrs.
Stephanie's son said that he thinks the woman in the question is a doctor. There's no evidence of this within the framework of the question, but it's certainly a valid response — particularly when the question is trying to place the woman's title within a framework defined by her marital status.
One of the responses to Stephanie's tweet correctly points out that men's titles are simple: they're always Mister. But women can be Miss, Ms., or Mrs., and it all comes down to whether they're married or not.
We've seen more of a shift towards women keeping their names after getting married, but there's still an expectation that they take their husband's name. And even though there's nothing stopping a husband from taking his wife's name, it's a rare situation and one not bound by the same societal norms.
This response echoes my thoughts: why is that question on a worksheet? Is that really the most valuable lesson we can be teaching kids when it comes to titles?
The tweet also gives a valuable life lesson: when in doubt, women can be called "Ms". It's the only all-purpose title that has nothing to do with marital status.
I don't think the worksheet should be hailed as a progressive model. Maybe kids learn about naming conventions through worksheets, maybe they learn about them from parents. In any case, any worksheet along these lines might want to note that "Dr." is the title that should be used by doctors, male or female.
In a workplace, most people likely refer to each other by their first names. But in a school setting, it isn't so simple. When I was in grade school, most of the women who taught me went by "Mrs.", but there was at least one "Ms." and a "Miss" or two as well. It was tough to keep things straight.
Language quirks are always fascinating, so it's interesting to know that these naming conventions don't necessarily cross language lines.
Stephanie's story is a fun one, and it's great to see kids thinking outside of the constraints of their worksheets and applying critical thought.
Let us know what you think of this story in the comments!
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