Instead of 'Old MacDonald', kids should rather sing: 'Tendai’s parents had a farm, E-I-E-I-O'

Nursery school teachers are being urged to make children’s rhymes and songs gender neutral in a bid to prevent discrimination against transgender pupils.

Teachers who ask children to sing the nursery rhyme The Wheels on the Bus are told to use the word “parents” instead of “mommies” in the lyric “the mommies on the bus go ssh, ssh, ssh”.

Children should also be encouraged to sing “Tendai’s parents had a farm, E-I-E-I-O” in place of “Old MacDonald had a farm”.

Aimed at helping children play in a manner free of gender stereotypes, these suggestions are contained in a 51-page manual for teachers and practitioners working in early childhood development (ECD) centres and Grade R classrooms.

The manual, like another draft discussion document, contains proposals for the provision of gender-neutral toilets at schools, saying children who are uncomfortable using a sex-segregated bathroom or who want increased privacy should be provided with a safe alternative such as a  “unisex” bathroom or a single-user restroom.

“Trans and non-binary children may not feel comfortable using sex-segregated facilities due to others’ reactions and because these facilities may not meet their needs,” the document states.

Earlier this month, news about proposed unisex toilets for all school-going children sparked an outcry. Cape Town mother Rudayba Rasool, who is fiercely opposed to the proposal, started an online petition that has so far garnered more than 114,000 signatures.

The teacher’s manual for nursery school children was developed in 2020 by the department of basic education in collaboration with Stellenbosch University and international non-profit organisation VVOB – education for development.

It was piloted in the Free State, North West, Northern Cape and Eastern Cape this year with R20m in funding from the Education Training and Development sector education and training authority.

It involved 3,000 nursery school teachers and  1,000 ECD officials, subject advisers and  principals from those four provinces. A further 165 practitioners from 103 ECD centres in KwaZulu-Natal were trained between 2020 and 2021.

The manual is intended as “a pilot document to be tested and refined through a series of consultative workshops”.

It states that “much of the fear about transgender learners in bathrooms rests on the false notion that a transgender learner wants access for an improper purpose, namely to leer at other learners”. However, research has shown that this is not an issue in schools, it adds.

The guide advises teachers to avoid sex-specific play materials such as dolls, saying that if they name a doll, “choose a name that is used for both boys and girls”.

“More traditional props such as princess dresses or firemen outfits may encourage stereotypical behaviours and limit learning experiences.”

The document calls for a range of colours to be used because boys may refuse to play with anything pink, “while girls may claim pink toys as theirs”.

The guide also advises teachers to be wary of pictures and words in storybooks and posters because they often “convey gender stereotypes”.

“The words used to describe characters in a book are often linked to gender stereotypes, such as boys are naughty, competitive, strong, brave, ambitious, clever and girls are beautiful, sweet, good, shy.”

The guide states that transgender and non-binary characters were often missing from pictures and stories.

Preschool teachers are asked to provide content challenging gender stereotypes — such as a story about a brave girl saving her brother from danger or a child who has two men as parents.

The manual strongly discourages teasing and name-calling and separating boys and girls into different groups.

Teachers are encouraged to avoid using binary words such as “good morning boys and girls” and should instead say: “good morning everyone.”

“Gender-neutral language such as ‘they and ‘them’ lets children know that we cannot assume someone’s gender identity just by looking at them. Allow and support children to use the first name and pronoun of their choice.”

Chris McLachlan, chair of the sexuality and gender division of the Psychological Society of South Africa, said by creating an inclusive environment in which children have space simply to play, experiment and be themselves, “we will be seeing a positive impact on their mental health”.

“The school needs to be a safe space for all and this manual provides practical ways to accomplish that. It is a wonderful tool for educators and parents to learn how to be more accepting of people who are not the same as us.”

However, Marie Sukers from the African Christian Democratic Party said the department was “enforcing a transgender ideology on our children”.

“We see this all over the world that people who have lived this transgender lifestyle suffer greatly into adulthood.

"Children are forming their identity in the most vulnerable phase of their lives and government is enforcing a belief that a boy is not a boy and a girl is not a girl.”

Basic education department spokesman Elijah Mhlanga said teaching children about gender equality from an early age helped prevent gender-based violence and bullying in later schooling years.

“There is no plan to create unisex bathrooms in ECD centres. It simply means that if a family finds this to be a situation about their child, they should raise the issue with the management of the ECD centre so that agreement can be reached on how best to support the child.”

Mhlanga said they did know when the manual would be piloted in Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape because there was currently no budget to do so.