Boys-This and Girls-That

During our class meeting today--specifically during the "issues" section of the agenda--Michael, a first-grader, raised his hand to say, "When Lerae was playing the Wild Words game she spelled the word 'boy' and then said 'Ewww!' to all her friends. I used an I-statement to tell her I felt sad when she said that."

I stepped upon my soapbox to explain that it's common for little kids to get wrapped up in cooties and boys-this and girls-that but that it doesn't make any sense. I pointed out that my best friend is a boy and that my "bridesmaids" will actually be three males and two females.

Later in the day, when Eridani asked me how long my wedding dress is, I pointed to mid-shin. Olivia said, "Oh, that's short for a wedding dress. They are usually way long." I reminded her that I only paid $15 for my dress and Eridani added, "Yeah, it's different. But it's way better to spend $15 instead of $2000."

It feels good to be able to say to little kids, "There's a different way." Not force-feeding them ideas about what they have to do or what is right. Just letting them know that "normal" isn't the same as "average."

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