Nebraska Watchdog has discovered new training documents that have been given to Lincoln, Nebraska middle school teachers that are meant to train teachers to avoid using gendered terms such as “boys and girls.”

One document, entitled “12 easy steps on the way to gender inclusiveness,” tells teachers to never “use phrases such as ‘boys & girls,’ ‘you guys,’ ‘ladies and gentlemen,’ and similarly gendered expressions to get kids’ attention.” It also suggests a few “gender neutral” alternatives for teachers to use such as “campers,” “athletes,” or even “purple penguins.” (Yes it actually says purple penguins in the training document)

When dividing the class for any reason, using gender as the mechanism for doing so will be avoided. Instead, teachers should ask students to line up by “odd and even birth dates” or perhaps, “Which would you choose: skateboards or bikes/milk or juice/dogs or cats/summer or winter/talking or listening.” The document fails to warn teachers of the possibility of offending handicapped children or children with allergies with a few of those suggestions, but I’m sure that’s covered in a different reeducation document.

Much like political correctness has caused many of us to constantly examine every word uttered for some perceived form of bigotry, these teachers will be expected to ask themselves if they’ve created a “gendered space” anytime they split students into groups or pairs.

The third step on the list tells teachers to be sure and let each student choose which name and pronoun they prefer for themselves on the first day of school.

One of the more shocking items on the list demands that teachers have “visual images reinforcing gender inclusion.” The document specifies that the visual should be “pictures of people who don’t fit gender norms,” so don’t be surprised when you walk into your kid’s classroom and see pictures of the tranny that lives under the bridge downtown.

If a teacher finds it absolutely necessary to reference gender they must say, “Boy, girl, both or neither.” When that confuses the students and they ask about it the teacher should use the chance to explain how the school “recognizes and celebrates the gender diversity of all students.” When the teachers overhear children “referencing gender in a binary manner,” they should “Provide counter-narratives that challenge students to think more expansively about their notions of gender.”

Teachers are also expected to “teach children specific language that empowers them to be proud of who they are, or to defend others who are being mistreated. ‘You may think that, but I don’t.’ ‘You may not like it, but I do.’ ‘Hey, they’re called private parts for a reason.'”

The three page document also has a poster to help teachers explain gender to the kiddies. It is called the “Genderbread Person” and it asks middle school children to decide who they are sexually attracted to, and to choose a “gender identity” and “gender expression.” This particular poster is attributed to a self proclaimed “social justice comedian” named Sam Killermann. He explains that “gender is one of those things everyone thinks they understand, but most people don’t. Like Inception. Gender isn’t binary.”

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The Daily Caller reported that Lincoln Public Schools Superintendent Steve Joel defended the training material on a local radio show saying,

Our position, ours is inclusiveness… We know that there’s a correlation between bullying and gender, as well as sexual preference, and so you know, as a school district, we’re just trying to provide information for our folks to understand that a little bit better, and I think that’s what they’ve done, and I think they’re doing a great job with it.  I’m happy, I’m pleased, because we have to create an awareness amongst ourselves, that we have kids coming to us from so many different backgrounds, and some of those are confusing to the students themselves, to other students, and to some of our staff.”

Joel, when asked about teachers who may be religious and feel uncomfortable with these new materials, said that the school district doesn’t

Get involved with politics, we don’t get involved with gender preferences… The folks that have strong religious preferences, I mean certainly they might have a personal opinion on that, but the reality of it is we have to understand our children, and we can’t be judgmental, we can’t look at kids and say you know what, this child, this family doesn’t conform to the norm, therefore they’re not gonna get the very best we can. … If we have teachers that are offended or bothered by what it is we’re trying to do as a school system, in serving all students and all populations and all demographics, then they need to meet with their principal and talk through that, but the expectation is that we’re going to do it.

He did point out that the entire school district isn’t being given these materials because the administration prefers a case by case basis with these issues.

Now obviously there might be a school where this isn’t a conversation and maybe doesn’t need to be a conversation. … To Irving [Middle School]‘s credit, they have children that represent what the discussion points are and they’re helping their faculty understand, give definition.

Al Riskowski, executive director of the Nebraska Family Alliance, is one of many in the Lincoln area who are displeased with these findings. Riskowski thinks they go “way beyond trying to teach someone how to respect another individual,” by pushing a “whole new idea of boy-girl.” His other concern is that these materials are being given to teachers who are responsible for influencing the minds of very young children.

When asked about parents who may have a problem with this method of avoiding the male-female gender but pushing the “other” gender category, Joel said, “We’ll meet with anyone who’d like to meet with us. … we have to think about 39,000 students, more than 39,000… there is no one size fits all approach to this.  I don’t believe that this is going to cause us to make any changes.”

The radio host also asked Joel if the district had a bathroom and locker room policy for transgender students.

He answered cryptically saying,

It’s a work in progress, and it’s relatively new, but it’s individualized. It’s between the family and the administration, and determinations are being made in the best interests of the child. That’s not something we’re ever going to talk about publicly because it’s pretty emotional and it’s very very confidential, but you know it’s a real life issue, and you know I think most people will understand that it is, and there’s probably not a simple solution. So we have to work with the family, and that’s what they’re doing.

This is obviously just the start of this issue in schools. If these materials are being used in Lincoln schools, the safe bet would be that there are other schools around the country with the same or similar training for teachers. I would encourage all parents to be more actively involved in their child’s learning and also in their school district. If you haven’t learned that it is a mistake to trust any government operated entity, especially with your kids, then maybe now is the time to reevaluate that.

Full training document

http://shtfjournal.com/current-affairs/nebraska-school-banning-teachers-from-saying-boys-girls/