Egalia

Coordinates: 59°18′47.119″N 18°4′1.436″E / 59.31308861°N 18.06706556°E

Egalia is a preschool located in Södermalm, a borough of the Swedish capital of Stockholm.[1] The school is state-funded and directed by Lotta Rajalin.[1] The school opened in 2010 and serves children from ages 1–6.[2]

Background

Egalia is an offshoot of Nicolaigarden, a preschool that has 115 students. Three teachers from Nicolaigarden stated Egalia in 2010 as a result of the success of the larger school.[3]

Controversy

The preschool has received attention for its refusal to use the terms "him" and "her" and encouraging the children to say "friend" or to use the gender-neutral pronoun hen instead. They have avoided books that have gender specific roles and definitions. Nearly all of the books that they use for teaching deal with gay couples, single parents or adopted children.[4]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hebblethwaite, Cordelia. "Sweden's 'gender-neutral' pre-school". BBC. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  2. ↑ Soffel, Jenny. "Gender Bias Fought At Egalia Preschool In Stockholm, Sweden". Huffington Post. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  3. ↑ Tagliabue, John. "Swedish School’s Big Lesson Begins With Dropping Personal Pronouns". NY Times. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  4. ↑ Soffel, Jenny. "'Gender-neutral' pre-school accused of mind control". Independent. Retrieved 12 June 2014.; John Tagliabue, "Swedish School’s Big Lesson Begins With Dropping Personal Pronouns", The New York Times, 12 November 2012

External links