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A SCHOOL in Nebraska has instructed its teachers to stop addressing students collectively as “boys and girls” when getting their attention in the classroom.
According to independent news website Nebraska Watchdog, the teachers were last week given a training document asking them to refrain from using gendered expressions like “boys and girls”, “you guys” and “ladies and gentlemen” and instead say something like “hey campers” or even more bizarrely “purple penguins.”
The recommendations are part of a list titled “12 steps on the way to gender inclusiveness” developed by an organisation called Gender Spectrum.
The handout also asked teachers to stop asking children to line up in rows of girls and boys, and ask them to line up depending on their preferences: “summer or winter, dogs or cats, skateboards or bikes.”
Step 3 suggests that teachers provide an opportunity for every student to identify a preferred name or pronoun at the beginning of the year and Step 6 asks teachers to inquire when they hear students referencing gender in a binary manner and ask “what makes you say that?” to start a discussion about gender stereotypes.
Lincoln Superintendent Steve Joel said the training manuals were introduced because the school district “wants all children to be successful and not feel like outcasts or be afraid to go to school,” Nebraska Watchdog reports.
According to Mr Joel, the school is currently in the process of rethinking how they use gendered locker rooms and bathrooms.
If teachers are offended by the training material, the are advised meet with their principal to discuss their concerns, Mr Joel said.
The program has received a range of feedback, with some parents praising the school for being inclusive, and other parents condemning the change.