Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/gender-expression-in-early-childhood-how-to-support-all-children-in-our-classrooms/5026230/
Gender means something completely different in today’s world than it did even a few years ago. Not only have we seen a shift in what defines gender, but we can also observe that language and conversations around gender are changing almost daily. This can be confusing, especially when it comes to our work with children. What does gender mean for children? For teachers? For families? For our classrooms? No matter your personal views on the shifts that we have seen in the idea of gender over the last couple of years, these are the questions that we must work diligently to answer if we hope to create early education systems grounded in equity and diversity.
In order to answer these sometimes tough, but crucial, questions, we should start first by thinking about what gender means and by defining some terms that are important to understand. Sometimes it can seem overwhelming to see all of these terms that may be relatively new to people. The main idea to remember as we all continue to navigate, grow, and learn about these ideas is that we must always strive to come from a place of equity, kindness, and respect.
Do not be so hard ...