CURRICULUM
Use the questions and example responses below as a guide to reflect on your program’s curriculum. Illustrations for this section are coming soon!
transitions
1. Do I dismiss, call on, and group children in a variety of ways rather than by gender?
Examples
Try "turn to your elbow partner;" "get in three groups - glitter, sparkle, and sequins;" "everyone with green on their clothes may head outside," instead of, "boys, line up."
routines
2. Are our bathrooms and toilets segregated by gender?
3. When conversations about anatomy come up between children, do I offer clear, clarifying, affirming information without shutting down or shaming children's curiosity? Do we explain that body parts don't dictate gender?
Example
Leah: "Sadie is a girl because she has a vagina, right?"
Teacher: "Sadie is a girl, and she does have a vagina! But a person decides if they are a boy or a girl or both or neither based on how they feel, not by what body parts they have."
4. Are our extra clothes bins labeled by type of clothing rather than by gender?
5. Are our children's cubbies segregated by gender?
6. Do I address our class in gender-inclusive ways instead of saying "boys and girls"?
CURRICULUM
7. Do we set up open-ended activities and projects that allow children to explore and create themselves through various artistic mediums?
8. When conflicts around gender or gender-based exclusion arise, do we ask students if we can share the story of what happened with the class and get their help working it out? Do we use children's questions, curiosities, and ideas about gender to shape the curriculum and share stories that address those questions or counteract their stereotypes?
9. Do we use persona dolls or puppets to address gender bias in the classroom without putting individual students on the spot?
10. Do we intervene in moments of gender bias between children by asking questions and offering information without blaming or shaming children?
11. Do we support the children strategizing around solving problems of unfairness around gender? Do we reinforce that classroom rules we generate together might be different than rules at home or in other places?
12. Do we introduce children to gender resources and diverse gender narratives, expressions, and identities? Do we practice normalizing gender expansiveness and queerness by sharing narratives of queer and trans people that are not centered on struggle or othering?
13. Do we recognize the connection between gender and all curriculum topics and integrate it throughout the year?
LANGUAGE
14. Do I talk directly about stereotypes and practice using words like “most” and “many” rather than “all.” (A stereotype is a generalization about a group of people that isn't true of everyone in that group. Many times these ideas are unfair and can hurt people.)
15. Do I explicitly name and identify “normed” identities like heterosexual partnerships and cisgender identity rather than only talking about “other” identities like LGBTQ identities and lifestyles as examples of diversity?
16. Do I use inclusive or specific terms to refer to groups of children, instead of referring to groups of children by gender?
17. When I talk about people who I don't know the gender identity of, do I use language that avoids assigning them a gender?
18. When I talk about animals, plants or objects, do I use gender-neutral pronouns or a variety of pronouns, rather than always using "he" as a default?