School to refer to students as purple penguins

[Borgholio]

I don't see the point of bringing sexuality into a conversation about gender.

I brought it up to make a point that no matter what you feel like inside, you still look like something on the outside, and it is that something on the outside that you are initially sorted by. If the teacher asks boys and girls to line up, it's not forcing them to conform...it's just logistics. But as I said, the school should fully respect a child that feels more comfortable with the opposite sex or in a neutral third line.

Sticking to boys and girls creates an exclusive environment wherein some people are not included.

Is there a third sex? Remember I'm talking physically only here. Male or Female...there is no third sex in our species. So nobody is excluded.

Regarding emotional gender, see below.

Moving to they or using gender neutral terms when creating groups makes for an inclusive environment where you will miss nobody no matter who they are or how they choose to identify.

I don't think the problem is in how you address people, it's in how you allow them to express themselves. To use an old cliche example, if a little boy wants to play with Barbie dolls...why not let him? If you create an environment where children are allowed to acknowledge what they see with their own two eyes WITHOUT being to forced to conform to a specific identity, then that would be best for everyone. One can create an inclusive environment without censoring oneself from addressing someone as Young Man or Young Lady.

[HMS Sophia]

Is there a third sex? Remember I'm talking physically only here. Male or Female...there is no third sex in our species. So nobody is excluded.

Intersex/Intergender. Yes, there are various physical non binary sex conditions.

I don't think the problem is in how you address people, it's in how you allow them to express themselves. To use an old cliche example, if a little boy wants to play with Barbie dolls...why not let him? If you create an environment where children are allowed to acknowledge what they see with their own two eyes WITHOUT being to forced to conform to a specific identity, then that would be best for everyone. One can create an inclusive environment without censoring oneself from addressing someone as Young Man or Young Lady.

I'm not saying stop addressing individuals according to their expressed preferences. I'm saying when addressing a group, avoid excluding people. The more you bring it to the attention of these children that there are people who don't fit into neat little boxes, the more they will accept those people.

[Borgholio]

Intersex

Interesting. I had to google that to realize that it was actually a form of sex on par with male or female.

I'm saying when addressing a group, avoid excluding people. The more you bring it to the attention of these children that there are people who don't fit into neat little boxes, the more they will accept those people.

I think that's fair as long as it is kept reasonable. "Hey Kids!" is probably something that would work. Thing is though, that when dividing them into groups you end up always excluding someone. How would you get around that?

[HMS Sophia]

Interesting. I had to google that to realize that it was actually a form of sex on par with male or female.

Well done.

I think that's fair as long as it is kept reasonable. "Hey Kids!" is probably something that would work. Thing is though, that when dividing them into groups you end up always excluding someone. How would you get around that?

Hey kids works fine
As for dividing people... it's not as fast, but you can line kids up , number them all and then say "1's on this side, 2's on the other." or a's and b's. Takes maybe a minute, tops to give a group of thirty kids a number each and then you're sorted.

[Terralthra]

Not once in any of my classes have I divided people by sex, nor referred to them by such. It's really not that difficult.

[Simon_Jester]

Doable, but...

I'm not saying stop addressing individuals according to their expressed preferences. I'm saying when addressing a group, avoid excluding people. The more you bring it to the attention of these children that there are people who don't fit into neat little boxes, the more they will accept those people.

I think there's a perverse effect here.

If you're used to being called a "boy" or a "girl" because that's what you are (and this will be true of 99% of the population, or more)... what happens when you encounter a person who flat-out refuses to address a group this way? Will you think "oh, that's because not everyone is a boy or a girl?" Or will you think "that's weird" and have it draw negative attention to the sort of people being talked about? Children are stupid like that- if 99% of them are one way, it's very hard to convey the idea of tolerating the different to them.

[biostem]

Yeah.. just use "kids" or "students" or some other universally inclusive term; "Everyone, please gather at the gym" or somesuch.

My only issue is this - space-wise, it isn't feasible to have individual changing rooms for everyone - would you offer the use of, say, a private bathroom like in the nurse's office for those that do not feel comfortable using the regular locker rooms?