Today, I watched the "Woke Kindergarten" read-aloud of They, She, He: Easy as ABC by Christina Gonzalez. I found the video to be quite unsettling. While the intention seems to be a lesson on pronouns, it goes far beyond the commonly understood pronouns in American English, such as she, he, and they. The video introduces terms like tree and ze as pronouns, which are neither standard nor widely recognized.
As a 19-year-old college student, I was confused by sentences like, “Tree has all the sounds.” Grammatically, this sentence doesn’t make sense within the rules of English. Tree is a noun, not a pronoun, and using it in this way disrupts basic sentence structure. If I find this confusing as an adult, I can only imagine how unclear and perplexing it must be for a five-year-old. Think about young students who don't speak english as a first language too!
Incorporating non-standard terms like these into early childhood education raises concerns about clarity, consistency, and age-appropriateness—especially when the foundational rules of grammar are still being learned. While it’s important to teach inclusivity and respect, it should be done in a way that supports language development and comprehension. It is strange to want 5 year olds to explore identifying themselves as "tree" or "ze" because these topics are not suited for their age range. In ARTED301, there is a focus on appropriate content for the age that is being taught, because unsuitable material will cause confusion and damage the child's ability to think critically about the topics at hand.
Rhode Island Law states, "For the same reasons, school personnel should discuss with the student how the school shall refer to the student, e.g., appropriate pronoun use, in written communication to the student’s parent(s) or guardian(s)." Laws are made to be interpreted and my interpretation is that any type of "tree", "ze" pronoun would be deemed an inappropriate use of pronouns. While schools should show respect and sensitivity to students’ identities, they must also operate within a framework of clear communication and established norms. In official documents and parent communications, it may be reasonable to interpret “appropriate pronoun use” as referring to pronouns that are common and recognized and not those that are subjective in nature or made up.
This agenda is disgusting.
 |
I like what you had to say about this, and I agree. I loved how you said to think about students who doesn't speak English as a first language. It can be very confusing to learn English as well as pronouns like "tree".
ReplyDeleteThis blog was really informative, as I agree with you. There comes a time for students to be taught about different ways to identify, and pushing these norms onto them at young ages may confuse them from growing up and developing a consciousness before making large decisions.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100%. I think teaching young children they can classify themselves as 'tree' can be insanely confusing at a young age. I also like the fact that you brought up ESL children. It was something I didn't think of and it brings up a great point.
ReplyDelete