A school district in Lincoln, Nebraska is now instructing its teachers to do away with gender assigning completely and instead calling children “Purple Penguins” instead of “boys” and “girls”.
According to NationalReview.com the document given to teachers states, “Don’t use phrases such as ‘boys and girls,’ ‘you guys,’ ‘ladies and gentlemen,’ and similarly gendered expressions to get kids’ attention.”
“Create classroom names and then ask all of the ‘purple penguins’ to meet on the rug,” it advises.
Furthermore, the document asks teachers to intervene whenever they hear a child use the term boy or girl and to explain to the child that this is wrong. “Point out and inquire when you hear others referencing gender in a binary manner,” it states. “Ask things like . . . ‘What makes you say that? I think of it a little differently.’ Provide counter-narratives that challenge students to think more expansively about their notions of gender.”
Teachers can not ask children to line up as boys/girl but can ask them to line up based on whether they like bikes/skateboards, juice/milk, dogs/cats, etc.
Each class is encouraged to hang signs stating that “all genders are welcome”, and if a teacher has to mention gender at all it must include “boy, girl, both or neither.”
The instructions were part of a list called “12 steps on the way to gender inclusiveness” developed by Gender Spectrum, an organization that “provides education, training and support to help create a gender sensitive and inclusive environment for children of all ages.”
What are your thoughts? Has gender equality and support of transgender children gone so far that our children should now be considered “genderless” at school?
