Mundu No Ta Pareu I

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I woke up this morning to the usual demand from my toddler, wanting her bottle within 10 seconds of opening her eyes, while I was still trying to figure out what year we’re in #joysofmotherhood. When my brain finished recalibrating, I noticed a very pleasant surprise… it’s raining! ⛈

We’ve had a long dry spell in Curaçao. It hasn’t rained much in a long time. So, the smell of rain, the sound of distant thunder, and the darkened atmosphere immediately put me in a good mood. After chugging down her bottle, we laid in the hammock on the porch, enjoying the scene and singing happy songs. In that moment, I remembered a conversation I had with a good friend of mine who’s currently living in the Netherlands. She had been telling me how there was a period last year when the weather was gray and gloomy for weeks, and it took a toll on her mental health. Meanwhile, I am here getting a dopamine hit from it and singing the Cocomelon version of ‘Rain Rain Go Away’. I know it’s not a good comparison—the contexts are very different—but still I kept thinking: ‘Mundu no ta pareu’ (the world is not even, or... life ain’t fair).

With that in mind, later during the day, I heard the news headlines on the radio, and one of them was about gender inequality in education in Curaçao. Now, I am going to give a disclaimer here upfront🚨: as soon as I heard the word ‘gender equality,’ I felt myself getting triggered and my eye almost started twitching, seeing how in my opinion this ‘card’ has been (mis)used to push through crazy agendas and silence even Mr. Logic.

But… I did my best to breathe through it, got curious, and searched for more information.

The news headline was referring to a research and publication conducted by our local CBS. The publication is called "Exploration of Gender Differences in Education in Curaçao" where the main question they set out to answer was: "To what extent are there differences in Curaçao between the proportion of boys and girls regarding the level and direction of education they follow?"

The first moment I had to pause and take a breather was when I read the following in the introduction:

"Here [in this report], we are talking about gender and not sex (geslacht). Gender refers to characteristics, behaviors, and role patterns that are culturally determined for each sex."

This publication is based on information from Census 2023. So naturally, I’m now really, really, really curious about how this was handled in reality. Did the Census interviewer ask people directly if they are a man or a woman? Or if they identified as a man or a woman? Were there more options? Did they ask the 4-year-old in the room if he/she/it/ze/they identified as a ___ (fill in the blank)? They didn’t visit my home, so please leave a comment and enlighten me. Thank you!

Okay, ultimately I told myself, "Don’t make such a fuss, Robyn, and move on."🙃

The rest of the report includes what you’d expect: graphs, tables, numbers, written explanations, and suggestions for further research. It concludes that there are clear differences between boys and girls within the education system in Curaçao, and I’d like to highlight three of these. But in order for this blog post not to become a whole essay, I will do so in parts.

Let’s start with primary education. The report shows little difference between boys and girls at this stage. However, significantly more boys than girls move on to special primary education and then to special secondary school.

Source: (CBS, 2024)

That's certainly.. something!

Let’s think about it for a minute. We expected to see an even distribution of 50% boys - 50% girls in special needs schools, right? Can one conclude that this means there are more special needs boys than girls? I would be very careful in doing so. I think it's much deeper than that. If you want to assume that, you should first completely trust that our primary schools cater to both genders equally, taking their normal, biologically inherent temperamental differences into account.

Are primary schools taking into account that it is 100% scientifically proven and known that, on average, boys tend to be more physically active, risk-takers, and explorers, and are more likely to engage in rough-and-tumble play as a form of social interaction than girls? It is normal for boys to develop emotional self-regulation skills later than girls, and girls usually develop language skills earlier and tend to have a larger vocabulary at younger ages compared to boys (Gurian & Stevens, 2010).

And no, I'm not saying that if this is not the case for your cousin, that it means than he’s not an average boy or is possibly transgender.... 😑 It just means that individual differences is also to be expected!

Back to the primary schools.

Is there room for these natural developmental differences between boys and girls in our (early) primary education systems? Are we considering them when making educational and behavioral assessments? Or are the indicators in grade assessments in favor of traits generally more common in girls?

I suspect this last one is the case.

I don’t know if you know, but there is a special place in heaven for kindergarten teachers!🙌🏼Have you seen how they manage a class full of thirty 4-year-olds who have to sit still for long stretches of time? Hats off. I would not last one day. Give me teens every day😅. Four-year-olds want to run and play and sing and be Spider-Man and build sandcastles, which is a more natural way of learning. I am not blaming the teachers, aye! But the system rewards certain traits and pathologizes what does not fit into it (Note: let's face it, we also can’t pathologize me for not having enough money for private school, home-schooling or moving to another country where there are more holistic child friendly approaches for education…)

So I wonder if some of these boys are wrongfully being labeled as 'special needs' for being... boys! With the self-fulfilling prophecy that comes with that🤔.

Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that what I just implied above is wrong and our primary education system is perfectly able to cater to the differences in the developmental needs of boys and girls and that they are assessed fairly. Why are there then seemingly more special needs boys than girls?

While there are biological differences, environmental factors such as parenting styles and culture also play a significant role in shaping the temperaments of boys and girls. Our Caribbean island is culturally diverse, but we still have remnants of macho/street culture where boys are raised to be 'tougher' and 'stronger' than girls. Some of these practices, I think, are borderline child abuse, such as insisting that boys may not cry or being more inclined to receive physical punishments. And let me not start about how this island was a slave-trade post and that we certainly have some generational trauma still alive today.

Some cultural norms can affect boys' emotional development and behavior, making them more likely to exhibit disruptive behaviors that might lead to placement in special needs education. For example, the emphasis on toughness and emotional suppression can result in difficulties with self-regulation and increased aggression, which are also symptoms of feeling unsafe. This leads to decreased learning and cognitive development, all factors often associated with special education needs.

In addition, boys might be more frequently diagnosed with conditions such as ADHD, which can contribute to higher numbers in special needs programs. Research indicates that boys are diagnosed with ADHD at higher rates than girls, partly due to differences in how symptoms manifest and are perceived by parents and teachers (CDC, 2021).

It is essential to consider both biological and environmental factors when addressing the educational needs of boys and girls as a group. Additionally, a comprehensive approach that also takes individual differences into account can help all children reach their full potential. And that’s the beauty and complexity in all of this. It starts with accepting and honoring our uniqueness on all levels: paso mundu no ta pareu!

Heck, I may be completely wrong, and there is something in the water or solar flares targeting boys that are causing all of this. Let me know your take in the comments.

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-            CBS (2024). “Verkenning van genderverschillen in het onderwijs op Curaçao.” 

-            Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2021). "Data and Statistics

About ADHD." Retrieved from CDC.

-            Gurian & Stevens (2010). "Boys and Girls Learn Differently! A Guide for Teachers and Parents."