Keywords:
inclusive language, preferred pronouns, gendered language, high school applications, school forms, TDSB
inclusive language, preferred pronouns, gendered language, high school applications, school forms, TDSB
Transcript
Ruby: Um, I think it’s important to let the students kind of express, like, a lot of teachers when they start the conversation to ask, they start by putting it into a box. So, oh, tell me what your mom and dad do, instead of what your parents do. Right? And then I always feel awkward doing like, well my mom does this, and my other mom does this. But if it’s just what your parents do, it’s just, oh, they do this and they do that. When you say, like, there are certain words and phrases that just, that you can switch it to being gender neutral, like parents instead of mom and dad, or like, stuff like that, right? Um, or even, like there’s a lot of stuff about asking for preferred pronouns, right, before you even get to know someone. I saw there were a couple high schools there that started putting that on their applications. Like, they have legal name, preferred name, preferred pronoun.
Tara: Wow.
Ruby: Which was really cool to see but it’s not enough places yet. Or even if it’s not, like, for a teacher, I think, to take action and to even have that in their classroom if it’s not set by the TDSB or the school yet, to kind of move that forward.
Ruby: Um, I think it’s important to let the students kind of express, like, a lot of teachers when they start the conversation to ask, they start by putting it into a box. So, oh, tell me what your mom and dad do, instead of what your parents do. Right? And then I always feel awkward doing like, well my mom does this, and my other mom does this. But if it’s just what your parents do, it’s just, oh, they do this and they do that. When you say, like, there are certain words and phrases that just, that you can switch it to being gender neutral, like parents instead of mom and dad, or like, stuff like that, right? Um, or even, like there’s a lot of stuff about asking for preferred pronouns, right, before you even get to know someone. I saw there were a couple high schools there that started putting that on their applications. Like, they have legal name, preferred name, preferred pronoun.
Tara: Wow.
Ruby: Which was really cool to see but it’s not enough places yet. Or even if it’s not, like, for a teacher, I think, to take action and to even have that in their classroom if it’s not set by the TDSB or the school yet, to kind of move that forward.