A preschool teacher at an elementary school in North Carolina used LGBT visuals to teach color recognition to her three and four-year-old students. One of the cards depicted a man who was pregnant with a child.
Erin Paré, a Republican state representative from North Carolina, was made aware of the actions taken by the teacher at Ballentine Elementary School by one of her constituents.
NC preschool teacher using LGBT flashcards depicting pregnant man https://t.co/PShjwNIF9s
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) May 30, 2022
Swift Action
Representative Tim Moore, a Republican who serves as the Speaker of the House of North Carolina, said Representative Paré “immediately called the primary school principal to warn her of this voter issue and verify the use of the flashcards in the classroom.”
ByUs Box, a firm that no longer exists, but was responsible for the production of these cards, was also responsible for the production of other sets of flashcards.
These cards included gender-neutral nursery rhymes, non-binary, as well as transgender animals, and a “Blackness Collection.” Two women who founded the company claimed the killing of George Floyd served as their motivation.
This cute pic shows a 3-year old enjoying the ByUs Box that teaches gender-expansiveness (trans & non-binary identities) to preschoolers:
Including a puppet who uses they/them pronouns, so the family can practice!
(Click for full pic)
It also comes with… pic.twitter.com/8r7s8Am4ve
— Nicole Stamp (@nicolestamp) November 15, 2020
According to the website for ByUs Box, “Last summer, when the pandemic was already months old and days had passed since George Floyd was murdered, we were determined to translate our feelings into meaningful action.”
The website goes on to explain that around this time, “the Black Lives Matter movement was bringing anti-racism conversations farther into the forefront, while pandemic shutdowns meant many individuals were at home feeling unsure of what to do.”
“We rapidly moved fast on a concept that we’d already been discussing: a means to introduce anti-racism and inclusivity straight into family households.”
Appropriate Material
Moore said the school principal took quick steps to investigate and respond to the information after hearing about the incident.
“Without delay, the principal took custody of the cards, informed the WCPSS area director, and enlisted the assistance of human resources.”
According to Paré, “schools should be using age-appropriate information and it is evident these flashcards do not fulfill that requirement for a pre-school classroom.”
“I hope schools all over Wake County and the region of North Carolina will follow the lead of Ballentine.”
“I hope they react quickly when a parent raises concerns and make sure that aggregates like this are not being used to teach young pupils.”
The school district issued a statement expressing its concern over discovering an inappropriate educational resource in a preschool classroom.
They aspire to produce high-quality instructional materials that will enrich and support the curriculum, as well as promote student learning.
This is in order to contribute to the fulfillment of the educational goals and objectives of the school system.
An initial investigation revealed the district’s Pre-K curriculum was not incorporated into the flashcards; furthermore, the flashcards did not supplement, enrich, or extend the district’s Pre-K curriculum.
Moreover, the flashcards were utilized without the principal’s review, knowledge, or approval.
