She says....
We had an informal meeting (glass of wine in hand-chatting like old friends) with our daughter's school Principal recently. Not a scheduled meeting - she was doing a marketing visit to our hometown so we had an informal meet-and-greet. Mr Rocker and I were the last to leave and she offered us a glass of wine. We chatted about school politics, what parents want out of a school and why we chose the schools we did. She raised some very interesting points, but one stands out for me.
Just to give you some background - this is a very old school, as in nearly 140 years old. That's a whole lotta history and a whole lotta tradition. It is also an Anglican school - that means even more history and more tradition with religious rites thrown in for good measure. The interesting thing about this particular school though is that despite its strong patriarchal history, it is very much a modern, forward-thinking institution.
The principal is an amazingly strong character and is one of the main reasons why the school appealed to both Mr R and I. Her husband has followed her to this particular posting, instead of the other way round, which is the norm in our neck of the woods. She believes very strongly in the place of women in the workforce and the ability (and necessity) of woman holding top positions in companies. She's our kinda girl. Our daughter's education is being guided by a woman who supports my theory that a man is not a pension fund and wants every girl who passes through the halls of her school to be emotionally strong and financially independent. What a goal.
What struck a cord with me though is her questioning of school leadership and gender bias. In Southern Africa it is the norm to have single-sex schools. It is also the norm for a boys' school to have a male head but also perfectly acceptable for a girls' school to have a male head. There is not a single boys' school that I am aware of that has a female head. Why? I'll tell you why, because we've always accepted that girls can be led by men but the flip side of a woman leading boys to excellence is a totally foreign concept. Our son's school (the brother school to his sister's) is an equally old and prestigious school. No one would ever suggest that it have a female head but the girls' school has had more than one male principal in its recent history. If the girls can benefit from strong male leadership, then surely the boys could benefit from strong female leadership? Does this suggest that my son can only reach his full potential if his education is driven by a man and that a woman is only "good enough" for my daughter and not my son? This bias infuriates me.
I'd love to hear about schools where this is not the case - boys' schools with female heads. Please tell me that somewhere out there in the world someone has seen the light.
