Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Add Good to your Google News feed.
Google News Button

Teacher stunned as student brilliantly shuts down sexist homework question

8-year-old exposes problematic homework question with one brilliant answer.

sexism in education, gender stereotypes, sexist homework, gender roles, women in STEM, representation matters, challenging stereotypes, female surgeons, gender bias, career stereotypes

Problematic homework question

Reddit
GOOD Staff
By GOOD StaffMay 06, 2025
GOOD Staff
See Full Bio

From an early age, children absorb societal norms—including gender stereotypes. But one sharp 8-year-old from Birmingham, England, challenged a sexist homework question designed to reinforce outdated ideas.

An English teacher created a word puzzle with clues containing “UR.” One prompt read “Hospital Lady,” expecting students to answer “nurse.”

While most did, Yasmine wrote “surgeon”—a perfectly valid answer. Her father, Robert Sutcliffe, shared the incident on X (formerly Twitter), revealing the teacher had scribbled “or nurse” beside Yasmine’s response, revealing the biased expectation.

For Yasmine, the answer was obvious: both her parents are surgeons. Her perspective proves how representation shapes ambition. If children only see women as nurses, they internalize limits. But when they witness diversity—like female surgeons—they envision broader possibilities.

As Rebecca Brand noted in The Guardian: “Their developing minds are that little bit more unquestioning about what they see and hear on their screens. What message are we giving those impressionable minds about women? And how might we be cutting the ambitions of little girls short before they've even had the chance to develop properly?”



X users praised Yasmine while critiquing the question. Such subtle conditioning reinforces stereotypes early. Research confirms this: a study found children as young as four associate jobs with gender, with girls choosing “feminine” roles (e.g., nursing) and boys opting for “masculine” ones (e.g., engineering). Even preschoolers avoided careers misaligned with their gender, proving sexist conditioning begins startlingly young.


- YouTubewww.youtube.com

The problem spans globally. Data from 50 countries reveals that by age 15, girls disproportionately abandon math and science, while boys avoid caregiving fields like teaching and nursing. This segregation perpetuates stereotypes—women are underrepresented in STEM, and men in caregiving roles—creating a cycle that limits both genders.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

This article originally appeared last year.

sexismeducationgender stereotypessexist homework questiongender roles for kidswomen in stemgender biasculture

The Latest

Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker, Star Wars, LGBTQ+ fans, William Shatner, Luke sexuality, headcanon, inclusivity, Jedi code, fandom debate, Out Magazine, Mara Jade, asexuality, interpretation, clickbait, online discourse, sci-fi icons, Hamill quote, misquote, Luke debate
Past Events

Mark Hamill was asked if Luke Skywalker is gay and had the perfect response

phish, jam bands, halloween, halloween concerts, cover songs
Culture

5 full-album Halloween live covers by Phish that you'll love, even if you hate jam bands

space discovery, second moon, nasa, astronomy, outer space
Science

NASA confirms Earth has an extra 'moon' for the next 58 years. Here's how big it is.

twin peaks, tv quotes, therapy, special agent dale cooper, kyle maclachlan
Culture

These 'Twin Peaks' words of everyday wisdom feel profound. But what do therapists think?

More For You

Ireland, basic income, artist income, universal basic income, culture

Ireland paying artists without any strings paid off with return on investment.

via Canva/Photos

Ireland paid artists a basic income and it was a boost for the economy. Here's what they earn.

Since mankind took form, humans have been making art —from cave wall paintings to today's computer-generated animation. Art has been made to serve the public for commercial purposes and for the illumination of the people. With that in mind, the question is whether the government should pay people to make it.

For the past three years, Ireland has invested in 2,000 artists, paying them around $1,500 per month in basic income. Some may argue that it would be a waste of taxpayer money. However, after the three-year trial ended, the endeavor was a net positive for the Irish economy, so the government made the program permanent.

Keep ReadingShow less
neuroscientitsts, mind hack, learning, 2-3-5-7 method, grasping information, brain power, forgetting curve

Practicing playing guitar.

Image via Canva (ianmcdonnell)

Neuroscientists swear by this mind hack that makes learning anything faster and easier

When it comes to memorization, repeating something over and over again has been the basic tactic most of us have used since starting elementary school. It's long, tedious, often ineffective, and sometimes feels just plain exhausting. But there's good news: the 2357 method is here to help. Yes, this involves repeated visits to subject matter—there's no escaping that part, but it integrates subtle changes that really help. These are the basic steps:

What is the 2-3-5-7 method?

  • Day 1: Revise your initial notes — This might be the biggest hurdle, because nobody, after just learning something, wants to dive right in. Going back over what you just learned and refreshing and cleaning up the notes goes a long way. A 2025 study in the Oxford Academic found rewriting your notes helped with recall, especially for learning details.
  • Day 2: Revise and review them — A 2024 review by Brown University released by the Department of Educational Services found that revisiting and restructuring notes after initial exposure was a strong practice for memory, retention, and productivity.
  • Day 3: Revise and review again — It's the same principle behind Day 2. You can take a slightly different approach this time by focusing on other details or subjects you're not grasping as well. Try to find new ways that things connect and fit together.
  • Day 5: Revise and review again — The good news about Day 5 is that you get to take a break with no Day 4. Taking breaks between study sessions is crucial for combating the "forgetting curve." A 2022 study in the National Library of Medicine discovered that forgetting happens at different time intervals (short, intermediate, and long). Expanding the memorization structure helps tackle each hurdle.
  • Day 7: Revise and review again — The importance on Day 7 is to review more than revise. A great technique suggested by Ellefson is 'blurting.' It involves writing down everything you know about the subject, then checking your notes to find what you missed.

lightbulb, maximize retention, memorization techniques, sessions, studying, retrieval practice, active rewriting, results Creative concept of human brain in light bulb.Image via Canva (berkay08)

Keep ReadingShow less
Lauren Chan, Sports Illustrated, SI Swimsuit, body positivity, body diversity, plus-size model, LGBTQ+, lesbian, authenticity, Vogue, Henning

Model Lauren Chan's 2025 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue cover, photographed by Ben Watts

Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated, https://swimsuit.si.com/swimsuit/model/lauren-chan-2025-si-swimsuit-photos

SI's first out lesbian swimsuit cover model shares the powerful photos that didn't the magazine

Lauren Chan made history this past April when she became the first out lesbian to cover Sports Illustrated's famed swimsuit issue.

Chan has been a plus-size model for over a decade, and in that time has been a vocal advocate of body diversity and size inclusivity in the fashion world.

Keep ReadingShow less
ChatGPT, AI, education, college, writing, term paper, critical thinking, cheating, technology in education, artificial intelligence

A professor stands in front of the class with a robot

Canva

College professors share the secret of how to catch ChatGPT in term papers

Some current college students welcome our A.I. overlords, especially when it comes to writing up term papers. ChatGPT has become a popular way for many students to cut corners when typing up essays, to the point where some barely write anything at all aside from the prompt. However, a study is showing that ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence programs aren't fooling any college professors and can expose students who are slacking off.

A published international study is showing that college professors can tell which essays are genuinely written by students versus ones that are compiled and cooked up by ChatGPT. The researchers at University of East Anglia and other universities that participated in the study analyzed 145 essays written by British university students and 145 essays written by ChatGPT with both batches writing about the same topics. What they have found is that while A.I. and large language models (L.L.M.s) wrote with proper grammar and were academically coherent, all of those essays lacked engagement techniques that are typically used by humans.

Keep ReadingShow less
The Bee Gees, The Beatles, 1973, The Midnight Special, medley, cover, acoustic, Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Paul McCartney

The Bee Gees paid tribute to The Beatles in 1973, playing a five-song acoustic medley on late-night TV.

Photo credit: YouTube screenshot ('The Midnight Special')

The Bee Gees honored The Beatles with this stunning covers medley in 1973

The Bee Gees are rightly remembered, first and foremost, for dominating the disco era. Their work on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack is unimpeachable, from the sidewalk-strutting "Stayin’ Alive" to the tender balladry of "How Deep Is Your Love." But for fans unfamiliar with their earlier work, it’s often shocking to learn about the brother-trio’s other musical phases, including psychedelic-pop and folky soft-rock.

One excellent showcase of that range dates back to August 10, 1973, when they played a stripped-down acoustic medley of five Beatles classics on late-night show The Midnight Special. It was an interesting (and perhaps savvy) promotional choice: The band’s 11th and most recent LP, that year’s Life in a Tin Can, earned middling reviews and below-average sales, only reaching No. 69 on the Billboard 200. Perhaps looking back to The Fab Four—who’d broken up in 1970—was a safer bet than their single "Saw a New Morning," which petered out at No. 94 on the Hot 100.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jack White, The Upholsterers, The White Stripes, vinyl, hidden vinyl, Third Man Records, rock history, art, treasure hunt, Detroit music

(L) Jack White speaks into a microphone; (R) a ripped couch

Photo credit: YouTube screenshot from 'Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend' (Jack White), Photo credit: Canva (couch)

Jack White's former garage-punk band recorded a single and hid 100 vinyl copies inside furniture


Few rock stars know how to build mystique like Jack White—from playing super obscure vintage guitars to color-coding his various musical projects. The coolest example dates back to 2004, when he recorded a single, pressed 100 vinyl copies, and hid them all inside random pieces of furniture.

Before we dive in, let’s tackle some backstory. Prior to his music career, White worked as a professional upholsterer in his native Detroit—first as a teenage apprentice, assisting friend and future bandmate Brian Muldoon. White opened his own shop, Third Man Upholstery, at age 21 and made enough money to pay the bills. But he also turned that business into a kind of art project, likely alienating potential repeat customers with his unique style.

Keep ReadingShow less
boomers, millennials, emojis, thumbs-up emoji, generation differences

Why does the thumbs-up emoji feel so charged?

Photo credit: Canva, Wasin Pirom from Pexels (left, cropped) / Hurrah suhail from Pexels (right, cropped) / Khwanchai Phanthong's Images (box)

I analyzed my Boomer dad's use of the thumbs-up emoji. I learned something about us both.

"You guys have always been there for me over the years. I want you to know how much I appreciate it."

"👍"

Keep ReadingShow less
8-year-old, child, girl, letter to god, god, dog, puppies, post, reddit, redditor

Young girl writes a leter.

Photo credit Canva (Alena Ozerova)

Angry 8-year-old girl dying for a dog writes a letter to God. Six months later, a response.

When we are young, it can be difficult to understand that just because we desire something doesn't mean it's available or necessarily in our best interest. The holidays are often a moment for kids to write what they want to Santa Claus. But at other times of the year, where might a child reach for solutions?

One young girl decided to take matters into her own hands when her parents refused to give her a second dog. To solve her problem, she looked towards the heavens and sent a letter to God. Six months later, her parents were shocked when a response came through the mail—from a "Friend of God."

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2025