'Person who produces sperm': US school deletes 'male', 'female' terms from reproductive system lessons

Vermont

An elementary school in the US state of Vermont has issued a circular stating it will no longer be using words such as 'male', 'boy', 'girl' and 'female' while teaching fifth-grade students about human reproductive systems and puberty.

Sara Jablonski, principal of the Founders Memorial School sent a letter to parents last week where she announced the removal of the said words and adopting a 'gender-inclusive' language. 

"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 the best practice," read the note to parents. 

"We will be using the following language with students: Person who produces sperm in place of boy, male, and assigned male at birth/ Person who produces eggs in place of girl, female and assigned female at birth," it added. 

The school added that it was in the process of editing worksheets and that some may still reflect the old terms. Those looking for more information could approach the main office where a 'binder' of what material teachers will be using has been kept. 

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Negative reaction from netizens and parents' group

The letter was sent to the parents’ rights group Parents Defending Education (PDE) whose Director Erika Sanzi shared it on Twitter, thereby attracting attention from the netizens. 

"Speaking about anyone in this way is dehumanising in any context but these new language rules specifically apply to a health unit for 5th graders about puberty and reproduction," a spokesperson of PDE was quoted as saying by Fox Digital. 

“It is clear that the school has decided to be derelict in their duty to educate students in the name of equity. If anyone is wondering what it looks like when an elementary school has been captured by gender ideology, this is it.”

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The letter received negative reactions with one netizen saying, “Absurd. A person who produces sperm is, by definition, a male. A person who produces eggs is, by definition, a female,” while another added, "This is why I left teaching in the system 6 years ago but also why I’m leaving America. It is past the point of no return. The breakdown of reality and gaslighting is straight from the communist playbook. I’ll take my love of teaching & reason to El Salvador & never look back."

Notably, the Essex Westford School District’s school board in 2021 had accepted and adopted new equity policy under which the educational institutions have been instructed to use anti-racist and LGBTQIA+ affirming perspectives 'to inform curriculum decisions starting in Pre-K'. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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