There should be no rush to reassign genders to kids

In the coming days, children across Canada will be heading back to school to continue their education and gain the skills they will need to access employment. In Vancouver, however, educational goals are different: A new day at school is little more than an opportunity for social experimentation.

The emphasis on academics is long gone and the higher, far nobler goal is to instil a broad understanding of tolerance related to sexual preferences.

This past June, the Vancouver School Board determined it was necessary to adopt a policy that went even further by better accommodating those with gender identity issues. Most significantly, the policy encourages children to focus on self-identification rather than biological realities. That is, the student can choose his/her own gender; the one assigned at birth and by biology is secondary.

Schools will now adopt gender-neutral pronouns to refer to children and teens who identify as not male or female. They will now be referred to using the terms xe, xem and xyr, pronouns referring to third person, plural and possessive, respectively. Should you feel the need to look these terms up, be prepared for a grammar lesson that will leave you flummoxed and reaching for aspirin.

Students will be able to dress in a manner that “is consistent with their gender identity or gender expression.”

They will have access to the washroom of their choice, or, if they desire greater privacy, an alternative washroom.

Their chosen gender identity will be utilized whenever possible in school lists, but not in letters to parents. In other words, the school will actively encourage gender choices and then actively work to conceal such decisions from parents