Gender Neutral Kindergarten in Sweden

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by Heart

It's not the toys or the pronouns, it's the value placed upon them... It's not whether a little girl/boy plays with dolls/trucks, it's whether playing with a doll is as valuable and meaningful as playing with a truck, it's whether wearing glitter is as important as wearing a sherrif's badge. It's not war-games OR playing house, it's both (and neither for those who want to draw). It's not male or female essentialism or constructionism, it's whether feminine/masculine and every permutation/blend of these energies/performances are equally valued and necessary to society.

And I don't really have an opinion about the school in Sweden, as long as the kids are safe, happy, have healthy snacks and take naps.

Heart

ETA: When a little boy plays with dolls and wears a tutu it causes more angst then when a little girl plays with trucks or wears a tie, because "girl things" are less valued, have less status and currency, than "boy things." That's why sissies are more closely policed than tomboys. So I guess my question is: does the Swedish school experiment have an impact on the valuing of gender tropes?

As being someone that has seen more than a few of these types of "gender neutral" experimentations over a span of 40 years, I can't agree more with you. It is not about gender, it is about what is valued and de-valued within a society.

Thankfully, I was gieven Tonka Trucks and baby dolls as a kid not based on anything other than the fact that I liked both. My choices were accepted and validated based upon what I enjoyed, not my gender or any fear of my not "playing right" according to my being female. Now, this all changed outside of my home as I grew up.

The valuing of male gender tropes outside of my home began my experience of learning that anything female was not as good as male. The focus on gender neutrality in terms of child's play is not the issue at all. To think that these kids will somehow miss gender discrimination and de-valuation in the future is wrong until or unless male and female (and all variations) become equal as social currency.

[ScandalAndy]

Originally Posted by AtLastHome

As being someone that has seen more than a few of these types of "gender neutral" experimentations over a span of 40 years, I can't agree more with you. It is not about gender, it is about what is valued and de-valued within a society.

Thankfully, I was gieven Tonka Trucks and baby dolls as a kid not based on anything other than the fact that I liked both. My choices were accepted and validated based upon what I enjoyed, not my gender or any fear of my not "playing right" according to my being female. Now, this all changed outside of my home as I grew up.

The valuing of male gender tropes outside of my home began my experience of learning that anything female was not as good as male. The focus on gender neutrality in terms of child's play is not the issue at all. To think that these kids will somehow miss gender discrimination and de-valuation in the future is wrong until or unless male and female (and all variations) become equal as social currency.

I might go so far as to say this isn't really about insulating children from gender discrimination or devaluation, so much as raising them so that they can objectively recognize and value these things on their own terms.

[Chancie]

Originally Posted by InsatiableHeart

As a teacher I am not in the classroom to validate or invalidate anyone or any gender. I am there to teach children how to count, spell and read ect. I think we are placing too much emphasis on peoples genders. I am sure this will be taken wrong and I apologize if it is but, what does it matter what someone's gender is especially in 2nd grade? We need to teach children and adults alike to respect people not their gender. Once again this is my opinion.

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.

I teach math in a public high school, and of course I don't teach in a vacuum.

My students are people first, with life experiences and a culural context, and then learners of math and robotics.

There is no pretending that they don't walk into my classroom, in the school where my classroom is located, in the town where the school is located, etc, without a strong sense of race, class, and gender.