Hi everyone,
Here is an article about gender neutral schools in Sweden.
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/28/health/sweden-gender-neutral-preschool/index.html**********
From the moment a child is born, its gender pretty much determines how they will dress, which toys they'll be given and ultimately how they are meant to behave within society.
But some schools in Sweden are trying to strip away such gender norms.
There are no designated areas to play with dolls or building blocks. The toys have been strategically jumbled to create an environment for girls and boys to play together.
These two preschools in Sweden -- Nicolaigarden and Egalia (meaning 'equality' in Latin) -- go to great lengths to de-emphasize gender. Children are given the freedom to challenge and cross gender boundaries.
Rather than encourage children to do particular things, the teachers are careful not to box children based on their gender or subtly discourage them from doing certain things.
The school has removed the terms "girl" and "boy" completely. Instead they make a deliberate effort to call each child by their first name or the gender-neutral pronoun "hen".
But is it necessary to intervene at such a young age, and what are the long-term effects?
"It's an open question what happens to these children when they move into primary school," he says. "My guess is it [gender neutral pedagogy] could continue to influence their behavior potentially, not in a very strong way necessarily. But it may have some lasting effects."
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Any views?
Sriram
