The use of the words “male” and “female” will be discontinued by a Vermont elementary school when teaching fifth-grade students about puberty and human reproductive systems.
On April 20, a letter was sent to families of students at Founders Memorial School to notify them about the modifications to the science and health curriculum.
According to the letter written by Principal Sarah Jablonski, the district has made some changes to use language that is more inclusive of all genders.
“In an effort to align our curriculum with our equity policy, teachers will be using gender inclusive language throughout this unit. With any differences, we strive to use ‘person-first’ language as best practice,” Jablonski said.
Teachers will use the terms “person who produces sperm” instead of “boy/male” and “person who produces eggs” instead of “girl/female”.
The Essex Westford School District sent a letter stating that teachers are revising worksheets to incorporate the recent updates.
The district has stated that its emphasis will be on teaching “the physical and emotional changes that occur during puberty and briefly introduce the basic structure and function of human reproductive systems.”
Parents and guardians who would like to see the materials can find a binder with the handouts at the main office of the school.
The letter shared on Twitter was from the director of outreach for Parents Defending Education, a group advocating for parents’ rights.
“New language rules just dropped for 5th graders in Vermont and they don’t include the words boy and girl or male and female,” said Erika Sanzi.
On Wednesday afternoon, Caroline Moore, who is the vice president of Parents Defending Education, criticized the alteration in a statement to The Post.
“This manipulation of elementary anatomy and physiology is a bridge too far and a precursor to what we will see everywhere if the proposed changes to Title IX go into effect,” Moore stated.
“A boy is a boy and a girl is a girl. We all know this. So why are we pretending we don’t? This is the primary way to differentiate human beings at birth, not “assigned” like a class project. You cannot politically correct yourself out of this.”
On Twitter, people had differing reactions to the letter. Some users made comparisons to Aldous Huxley’s novel “Brave New World,” while others advocated for students to be removed from public schools.
“Absurd. A person who produces sperm is, by definition, a male. A person who produces eggs is, by definition, a female,” one Twitter user wrote. “And sex is not ‘assigned’ at birth, it’s observed at birth. How exhausting all this nonsense is.”
According to a report by the Burlington Free Press in June 2021, the school board of Essex Westford School District implemented a new equity policy that will “use anti-racist and LGBTQIA+” affirming viewpoints to guide curriculum decisions. The policy is designed to impact students from Pre-K onwards.
The policy was approved with a vote of 8 in favor and 1 against.
