As a teacher, I think it's completely untrue.

There have been numerous occasions where I've been accused of being sexist and favouring the girls over the boys. Completely untrue!

Of the students I have most enjoyed teaching, I think there are just as many girls as boys on the list, and the same also for the students I have least enjoyed.

I have noticed that if a boy is misbehaving with a female teacher, it's all too easy for the boy, when disciplined, to say "she just doesn't like me because I'm a boy", just as it's quite easy to say "she doesn't like me because I'm *insert description here*". It's often easier for a child to decide that they are being picked on and treated unfairly than for them to acknowledge that they are behaving in a really revolting manner. I'm not talking about the ones who are loud, inattentive, etc - I'm talking about the ones who are just plain in-your-face rude!

I've also noticed the phenomenon of parents blaming the school/teacher for everything and not believeing that their child could ever put a foot wrong. The number of times I've had a parent accuse me of lying about a situation is not worth counting!

We also have a particular problem with the "car park mafia" at the school - certain teachers get an undeserved reputation and are targetted by parents - it's not nice to be on the receiving end!

For me, each child is an individual, and I accept each of them as they come - there are some whose behaviour I simply cannot tolerate and do not enjoy teaching them as a result.

I have noticed that there are some boys who are completely unresponsive for female teachers. I'm seeing this with a class I taught last year - I had a lot of trouble and switched to another group this year. That class now has a male teacher, and are doing so much better. I'ts not a matter of me disliking them (I was sad not to be teaching them this year), but a matter of them finding it difficult to relate to a female teacher.

I guess this is starting to ramble - I don't doubt that there are some teachers that could be seen as being like that, but I'm sure that if looked into, you may find an explanation for the apparent dislike that is not nearly so obvious or simple as just "not liking boys"

BW