Our favourite fairytales are under the spotlight. For a good reason, really.

AUSTRALIANS woke to news of the brutal murder of Little Red Riding Hood in schools today. After 2000 odd years of storytelling, the Victorian government has finally achieved what the wolf never could: The girl in the crimson coat is no more.

And she’s not the only one. All fairytales promoting gender stereotypes are at risk.

Apparently — according to some media reports today — the state government will also be doing away with preschool toys that reinforce gender stereotypes.

Ignoring the red-faced tears of little people ripped apart from their beloved stuffed animals, the state government will remain steely and resolute. Barbie dolls, tea parties and miniature vacuum cleaners? In. The Bin.

First it was Baa Baa Black Sheep, reworded to be about rainbow sheep so as not to cause offence. Then came a ban on schoolyard catch and kiss, which raised issues about consent. Next it was cartwheels in the playground because heaven forbid little Jessica cop a rogue sneakered foot to the face.

And now the “politically correct types” are coming for Snow White and her innocent Seven Dwarves. What’s next? A redesign of the exclamation point because it’s too phallic? Is nothing sacred?

But as it turns out reports of the demise of fairytales are a little overblown.

This isn’t quite what the government had planned when it announced the release of a teaching aid for early childhood teachers designed to help them tackle the subject of gender stereotypes.

In fact, what they do have in mind is actually pretty sensible.

The government program is designed to teach students of all ages about respectful relationships. There is a new teaching aid document for early childhood teachers, which encourages them to consider how their classrooms could be more inclusive.

In that document there is no suggestion that little boys should be banned from playing with trucks or that little girls are forcibly separated from the toy stove. The teaching aid is simply designed to support teachers to support their students. It’s aim is to make sure the little girl who does want to play trucks isn’t made to feel like she’s not supposed to.

The teaching aid encourages early childhood teachers to consider their own use of language, particularly gendered statements like “boys don’t cry”. There is no all-encompassing decree or a strict prohibition being imposed here. Teachers won’t be locked in Rapunzel’s tower if they call a little girl “princess”. All the document does is recognise the immense power and influence teachers have over their students.

When you’re five-years-old, your classroom teacher is one of the most important people in your world. What they say can have an enormous effect on a little kid and can stay with them for a long time. Encouraging teachers to be mindful of this when it comes to gender stereotypes seems pretty reasonable. It is part of making children feel safe and included while they explore a variety of interests at school.

And then there are the fairytales …

You’ll be relieved to learn that Little Red Riding Hood isn’t actually dead. Daniel Andrews hasn’t come for her personally this time around. But please, keep an eye on him by all means.

What’s actually changing is that children in the upper levels of primary school are going to be taught to read and view more critically. Specifically, fairytales have been suggested as one of the tools teachers can use to teach kids how to analyse a story — rather than just take it on face value. Presumably this is because fairytales are stories most schoolchildren are already familiar with.

Children of eight or nine will be encouraged to ask questions about the stories they read and the videos they watch. A teacher might ask why, for example, Sleeping Beauty just lay there waiting for the Prince to come for so long. Couldn’t she have sorted herself out? Or students might be asked to consider why Cinderella’s new dress was important in her transformation. Shouldn’t we fall in love with people for who they are, not what they wear?

Surely it doesn’t hurt to ask why the princesses in fairytales always need rescuing.Source:Supplied

Of course there will be some parents who bemoan this particular focus in their kids’ education and wish for the good old days of reading, writing and arithmetic. That’s fine — every parent is entitled to a view about the relative merits of what their children learn.

But it’s important to remember that today’s curriculum isn’t designed to please parents or to mimic the world that we grew up in. It’s designed to benefit students and the world they will occupy.

Text and media literacy will be fundamentally important to our children’s futures. Being able to consume critically, to separate news from opinion and question the source or intention of whoever created a piece of work, is a really valuable skill.

It’s why teaching this kind of content to upper primary school students isn’t unique to Victoria. This new teaching aid is in line with the curriculum students are taught nationally.

In the era of doctored photographs, the sidelining of experts and heaven forbid, #fakenews, children should learn how to be engaged, analytical and critical readers.

Jamila Rizvi is a writer, presenter and news.com.au columnist. You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter.