Gender Neutral Kindergarten in Sweden

[InsatiableHeart]

Originally Posted by ScandalAndy

A is for Apple, B is for Boy... a gendered term is right in the beginning of the ABCs, but that is not the point I'm trying to prove, it just happened to pop into my head.



When you address your class, do you say "alright boys and girls, it's time for snack"? Are boy's cubbies and coathooks delineated by nametags with trucks and frogs on them, while the girls' tags have butterflies and flowers? Do any of your students have "boyfriends" or "girlfriends"? I think gender and its associated roles are present in your classroom whether you know it or not. You are a teacher, and what you teach is very important to youngsters (i commend you for being a teacher, it is a difficult and absolutely necessary job). I remember my 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Love, she taught our class about diabetes because we were curious about why she needed to use that plastic box on her finger every day. Treating it as something normal that she did was enough to de-mystify it for us, help us accept it, and educate us about something that we could have viewed as scary (blood = scary for some people). Along those lines, I absolutely think teachers should validate all genders while teaching genderless concepts such as mathematics and language.

As a side note, all language (with the exception of english) is gendered. Crazy!

You are right, it doesn't matter what gender anyone is, but that's a concept that needs to be taught.

Actually I address my class as students or children. I have never been one to point out the differences and not for any politically correct or incorrect reason but, just because that is what they are. I teach at a private school and no there are not little trucks or butterflies at the coat hooks. They do although have their names above them, so they can locate them by name. I am not saying that every teacher is like I am, of course they are not but, I do feel that parents are relying too much on teachers to educate their children basic manners but, that is getting into another discussion lol.