A Vermont elementary school has published a circular indicating that it will no longer teach fifth-grade children about human reproductive systems and puberty using terms like “male,” “boy,” “girl,” and “female.”
In a letter to parents last week, Sara Jablonski, the principal of Founders Memorial School, announced the elimination of the said terms and the adoption of “gender-inclusive” terminology.
“In an effort to align our curriculum with our equity policy, teachers will be using gender-inclusive language throughout this unit. With any differences, we strive to use “person-first” language as the best practice,” read the note to parents.
“We will be using the following language with students: Person who produces sperm in place of boy, male, and assigned male at birth/ Person who produces eggs in place of girl, female and assigned female at birth,” it added.
The school further stated that it was revising the worksheets and that some of them might still use outdated terminology. Those wishing for more details can go to the main office, where a “binder” containing the textbooks the teachers will be utilizing is kept.
The letter was delivered to the parent advocacy organization Parents Defending Education (PDE), whose director Erika Sanzi tweeted about it and garnered attention from online users.
“Speaking about anyone in this way is dehumanizing in any context but these new language rules specifically apply to a health unit for 5th graders about puberty and reproduction,” a spokesperson of PDE was quoted as saying by Fox Digital.
“It is clear that the school has decided to be derelict in its duty to educate students in the name of equity. If anyone is wondering what it looks like when an elementary school has been captured by gender ideology, this is it.”
The message drew criticism, with one internet user writing, “Absurd. By definition, a man is someone who produces sperm. Another individual responded, “This is why I left teaching in the system 6 years ago but also why I’m leaving America. It is past the point of no return. The breakdown of reality and gaslighting is straight from the communist playbook. I’ll take my love of teaching & reason to El Salvador & never look back.”
Notably, the school board of the Essex Westford School District accepted and implemented a new equity policy in 2021, which instructs the educational institutions to apply anti-racist and LGBTQIA+ accepting perspectives “to inform curriculum decisions starting in Pre-K.”