At Tierra Pacifica, we teach about gender and gender identity beginning in our youngest grades. Parents sometimes have questions and concerns about this policy and practice, so we would like to take this opportunity to share our rationale.
Before we discuss rationale, we would like to briefly explain what we mean by “gender and gender identity.” Views and language about gender and gender identity are rapidly changing. Broadly, we understand gender to be the interrelationship among three dimensions: body, gender identity and social gender. With regard to body, we think of the sex a baby is assigned at birth based on the baby’s genitalia. Gender identity is the name we use to convey our gender based on our deeply held, internal sense of self. Gender identity and sex assigned at birth sometimes align, sometimes not. Identities typically fall into binary (e.g. man, woman) nonbinary (e.g., genderqueer, genderfluid, etc) or ungendered (e.g., agender, genderless) categories. Social gender is how we present our gender in the world and how individuals, society, culture, and community perceive, interact with, and try to shape our gender. Social gender includes gender roles and expectations and how society uses those to try to enforce conformity to current gender norms. There are many excellent books, websites and articles you can refer to if you wish to explore this topic further. One good place to start is https://genderspectrum.org.
There are many reasons why we teach about gender and gender identity beginning in TK. Most important is that we have gender expansive children throughout our school – beginning in our youngest grades and going all the way through to our oldest. We know that these children – like all children – need to see themselves represented in the literature we share and the curriculum we teach. It is important for their self understanding and self esteem, and it lets them know that they are safe and included at school. At Tierra Pacifica, we strive to provide a safe and inclusive environment for all of our students and families, especially those whose identities are far too often marginalized in our larger society.
We also know that children whose gender is viewed as different than what is expected can face very difficult circumstances – teasing, bullying and even violence. Teaching children to respect one another and work together regardless of difference is part of our mission at Tierra Pacifica. Learning about gender diversity is part of that work. Creating a more inclusive and accepting school environment teaches all children to recognize and resist stereotypes. We want our children to stand up for one another, resist bullying and work together.
Learning about gender identity is important for all of our children. Children encounter diverse presentations and experiences of gender almost everywhere they turn in their everyday lives – among their schoolmates and friends, in popular culture, on social media, in their own families and in families of friends. To not give them a way to make sense of that experience leaves them unprepared to interact with the rest of the world. Just as we help children make sense of other examples of difference they encounter, we need to give them the tools to understand differences in gender identity.
Some parents worry that teaching about gender identity is the same as teaching about sexuality. The short answer is that it is not the same. When we talk about gender, we talk about what people like to wear, what activities they like to engage in, and how they feel about themselves. This is not sexuality. Sexuality involves physical intimacy and attraction. Gender is about self identity. Gender identity is a person’s internal sense of where they fit on the gender spectrum.
We hope this answers your questions about our policy and practice of teaching about gender and gender identity. Please reach out if you have further questions.
Respectfully,
Tierra Pacifica Staff and Teachers
Also for your information The California Healthy Youth Act states that:
All instruction and materials in grades K–12 must be inclusive of LGBTQ students. Instruction shall affirmatively recognize that people have different sexual orientations and, when discussing or providing examples of relationships and couples, must be inclusive of same-sex relationships. (EC Section 51933[d][5]). Instruction shall affirmatively recognize that people have different sexual orientations and, when discussing or providing examples of relationships and couples, must be inclusive of same-sex relationships. (EC Section 51933[d][5]). Instruction must also teach students about gender, gender expression, gender identity, and explore the harm of negative gender stereotypes. (EC Section 51933[d][6]).
This means that all public schools in California are expected to teach this material to our students.
