Children begin to form a sense of gender identity between the ages of two and three. Cultural indoctrination or self-expression? With surprising and touching stories about children and the continuum of gender, kindergarten teacher Batya Greenwald straightens you out about all the ways you never knew you were bent. Her stories from 15 years of observing children might help you be a better guide to all children--even the one inside yourself--allowing you to be fuller in expression and more uniquely who you are meant to be.

Batya Greenwald is a Nationally Board Certified Teacher with more than 15 years of experience teaching elementary school and kindergarten. She is a lead faculty member for the PassageWorks Institute, a nonprofit organization which teaches educators to integrate social, emotional and academic learning, mindfulness, and cultural responsiveness (passageworks.org). Batya also facilitates courses for Girls Leadership Institute, teaching girls and their parents how express who they are and what they believe, and empowering them to create change in their world (girlsleadership.org).

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx