No 'him' or 'her'; preschool fights gender bias

[CelticViking]

STOCKHOLM (AP) — At the "Egalia" preschool, staff avoid using words like "him" or "her" and address the 33 kids as "friends" rather than girls and boys.

From the color and placement of toys to the choice of books, every detail has been carefully planned to make sure the children don't fall into gender stereotypes.

"Society expects girls to be girlie, nice and pretty and boys to be manly, rough and outgoing," says Jenny Johnsson, a 31-year-old teacher. "Egalia gives them a fantastic opportunity to be whoever they want to be."

The taxpayer-funded preschool which opened last year in the liberal Sodermalm district of Stockholm for kids aged 1 to 6 is among the most radical examples of Sweden's efforts to engineer equality between the sexes from childhood onward.

Breaking down gender roles is a core mission in the national curriculum for preschools, underpinned by the theory that even in highly egalitarian-minded Sweden, society gives boys an unfair edge.

To even things out, many preschools have hired "gender pedagogues" to help staff identify language and behavior that risk reinforcing stereotypes.

Some parents worry things have gone too far. An obsession with obliterating gender roles, they say, could make the children confused and ill-prepared to face the world outside kindergarten.

"Different gender roles aren't problematic as long as they are equally valued," says Tanja Bergkvist, a 37-year-old blogger and a leading voice against what she calls "gender madness" in Sweden.

Those bent on shattering gender roles "say there's a hierarchy where everything that boys do is given higher value, but I wonder who decides that it has higher value," she says. "Why is there higher value in playing with cars?"

At Egalia — the title connotes "equality" — boys and girls play together with a toy kitchen, waving plastic utensils and pretending to cook. One boy hides inside the toy stove, his head popping out through a hole.

Lego bricks and other building blocks are intentionally placed next to the kitchen, to make sure the children draw no mental barriers between cooking

http://www.mediacomtoday.com/news/read.php?ps=1018&rip_id=<D9O3IJ1O0@news.ap.org>&_L T=HOME_LARSDCCLM_UNEWS

[alnortedelsur]

Is NOT gender bias, is REALITY! WTF

[Ranger0075]

The equality

[NSXD60]

There's an old 20s silent movie called The It Girl, but I'm sure that will soon be changed to read The It.

[frankhammer]

Just don’t send your kids there. You’re responsible for raising them so make good decisions. You’re university educated but can’t use common sense?

[Celestia]

Unbelievable. Time to shift from public to private schools.



Came across this crap the other day too.

[Aldaris]

Facking child abuse painted pink.

[Anglo-Celtic]

It gets more insane by the day. I feel like we're trapped in a Mad Magazine from 1995. We need to combat and confront this blatant social engineering that's designed to destroy traditional values. You know that the world has gone mad when there are more "genders" than flavors of Starburst.

[Smitty]

Just don’t send your kids there. You’re responsible for raising them so make good decisions. You’re university educated but can’t use common sense?

Unbelievable. Time to shift from public to private schools.

[IMG]

Came across this crap the other day too.

I do not understand how any parents can send their children to public school these days. Do people not stop and think about their children's education? Probably nothing shapes a person as much as what he is taught during those early formative years. Who would send those impressionable minds off to be taught by complete strangers who believe who knows what? Put in some effort, people. Raise your own kids instead of leaving the task to government-run indoctrination centers.

[calxpal]

This is so stupid, I really hope this insanity doesn't go too far ): especially some of these ridiculous obsessions with pronouns.