Englands brexiters are americas trumpers. You could tell the tone of entitlement and as*holishness stupidity right away.

There are ways to admit being wrong: "Thanks for the heads up, I didn't know"; "I stand corrected"; "I defer to your expertise"; "Thanks, I learned something new"; "Thanks for the explanation, much appreciated"; "Good point, I hadn't thought of that". That's a bit more graceful than doubling down and waiting to be struck down.

It's not just courtooms where people can't take personal calls, I work in an ICU taking personal calls is highly discouraged as emergencies happen all the time, and leaving early for a non-emergent family issue is just Not Done. There's almost no flexibility, nurse-to-patient ratios are mandated by law, and if anyone leaves early another nurse has to take their assignment, and it's not like anyone is sitting around with nothing to do but take someone else's assignment. Even leaving early because you've been taken deathly ill and have to go to the ER causes huge problems.

On the positive side, I'm impressed by the number of dads who are stepping up and asserting that they want to be called first. My husband is generally very progressive and supportive of my career. But I have to say if he has a busy work week, he decides he simply doesn't have time for anything else (cleaning, pet care, bill paying, etc.). Which makes it my job, regardless of how busy my work week is.

In the Netherlands schools ask parents which person they should call first in case of emergencies. They don't assume that the mother is first person to call. I've seen contact lists where fathers, grandparents or even aunts and uncles were listed as first person to contact.

Especially these days, why are the moms being called first even if they are #2 on the call list? Lots of dads working from home now...

I was a Pastor during our 2 kids' 16 combined years in school. I had the flex time. Mom was always working weird hours away from home. But in all those years, I was never called when there were problems at school. "They" always tried and tried to call Mom first!

Child of a single father, my mum lived in a different state, the high school I went to called my mum to ask her to come and pick me up because I was sick, my mum just said sure, I'll just jump on a plane and fly 2000 kms, and then said to the school, what is wrong with you, ring her father, he has full custody.

Children can speak intelligently. Even when I take my child to the doctor, I have them explain to the doctor what is bothering them. It's empowering for them to do so. They're great communicators. I know my kids tell the school to call me because they know I can & will drop everything if they need me & that I'm the softy. But yes, the gender bias. So infuriating

Reminds me of the argument I had with two men who were insisting that only courts could bail people, and not police. I assured them that the majority of people who are bailed are bailed by police (this is in Australia, I know it's different in the US), on their own undertaking to be of good behaviour and turn up to court. Told them I was a lawyer and dealt with this all the time. They abused me, asked if I got my law degree online. I gave them links to the relevant legislation and to information from legal aid that said exactly what I was saying. Refused to believe me and kept abusing me. I'm sure if I was man they would have accepted it. Also, they were so wedded to their fable that 'left wing judges' let vicious criminals out on bail that they couldn't accept that it might actually be a police or voluntary bail justice decision, and that they might have had good reasons for bailing someone who then went on to commit serious crimes.

Could I add that the child asked the school to call the father? Why did the school ignore the child?

I'm not a parent, so never had this problem. Most responses seemed to be from the UK. Is it the same in the US?

Can someone teach me how to "clap sarcastically"? I'd really like to learn that.

I work in a secure facility, no phones allowed in period. Lockers outside, phones placed in them. You can check your messy at the end of the day.

I don't get this - I have worked in several schools, and have needed to call home many many times. In every single case, I start with the first number on the list. Parents and caregivers are asked to fill out contacts in this way. For an older child with a minor problem, I call whoever they want me to (provided it is on list). For younger children or serious problems, it is always contact as listed. Often grandparents numbers are listed first if both parents work.

As someone who worked in a Operating room. Surgeons do answer their phone in the OR. They just have a nurse hold the phone up to their ear for them.( Just saying this so people know that it's not all work back there). They also blast music, joke around, and take pictures of their finished work to brag to other surgeons.

I worked in a nurseries in Dubai. Unless child's paper would specifically say call dad first, i would dial the mum and if she didn't answer i would definitely call dad

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

It's men day today pandas. Though that was Monday. Anyways I never knew a man saying I would pick up the phone if it was me, was sexist and mansplaining. Oh and that awesome mike drop moment. Wtf,the guy is on about if I looked at phone and saw missed then the dropper appears I was the judge. Are you? You've not been mentioned before and that sounds like a repsonse. Did this site really hash up a story to make this s**t seem better. Ok is it pick on USA tomorrow my schedule is messed up

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Mansplaining is the most stupid word ever

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

The gender role thing has gotten a little out of hand. There are thousands of possible reasons as to why the school might have called the mom instead of the dad. Regardless, the human brain operates by forming heuristics. They're generalizations based on past experiences that decrease the amount of information processing our brains have to do. Heuristics are often incorrect but they fit the circumstances often enough that they're still an advantage. We need to stop shaming people because they see the world through a different lense. Racism is exactly the same way. If you take a person you consider to be racist and condemn them for their view of the world, you are invalidating their experiences and potentially insulting people whose opinions they trust, albeit erroneously. The point I'm making is that if a person sees the world through a broken lense, the best way to help them is to give them a new one, not insult them for it.