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Teachers in England will have to tell parents if children question their gender
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2023
272 points (94.7% liked)
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No, I think things like this that can cause a potential dangerous situation shouldn't be told. Coming out about anything, sexually, gender identity etc is a personal choice. Taking that from someone is a form of control.
If a teacher tries any of this shit when my kiddo is in school, I'm gonna lose it with them. It's up to my child if and when they feel comfortable telling me those things, if they ever realise they aren't straight or aren't the gender they were born as. It's their right to choose to tell me this. Not someone else. Just because they're children, doesn't mean we have rights to know everything. Their privacy is important too. Children are people, not possessions. They deserve respect. We don't demand someone's boss tells their family if they find out this stuff. We don't demand higher education teachers of over 18s to do this either. Just because their minors does not mean were entitled to know their private thoughts and feelings. Unless a child has admitted to thoughts of suicide/ harming themselves or others, I don't believe we should be told.
If they think a child has behavioural issues that need looking into, fine. That's good information. But outing someone, no matter their age is wrong and potentially dangerous. Luckily there's parents out there who will be accepting if they get information like this. But unfortunately there's parents who won't be, and depending on what those parents are like, it could result in some seriously bad situations arising.
I know my own parent was less then impressed when she found out Im pansexual. And they tried the whole 'but kids' and 'its just a phase thing.' which isn't as bad as some people/ children would get. But being invalidated doesn't feel good, especially on something that isn't an opinion, but a fact. Being told you're wrong for your sexuality or gender identity can do a lot of damage to people.
This is stupid. It shouldn't be a thing. I'm sick of the 'but the children' bullshit the government keep pushing as a cover for wanting more control. No end to end encryption, because we want to protect the children. Our children, because we want to protect the children. Access to your private messages, the children.
It's all bullshit they use to get people on board because children are an easy pawn to use. The government's of the world need to stop using children in pawns of their stupid games and just be honest. But how likely are people to listen if they say 'we want more control' over 'we are trying to protect the children!'
I'll say it again. Fuck the government.
If the kid is socially transitioning at school, I think that falls under behavior parents should know. Same if the kids are being shitheads in class or getting beat up at recess.
There's a gap between questioning and transitioning. Kids need people they feel safe talking to. Kids need to be able to ask questions about the world without feeling like they'll be punished. You mentioned in other comments about programs to reduce abuse, but what about something as simple as:
Mr Teacher, I have questions about what it means to be a boy or girl. I don't want to ask my parents because they get mad when the topic comes up on the news.
Well, little Timmy, you shouldn't have told me that because I now need to legally tell your parents. Hope you're ready to feel unloved just for asking a question, nerd.
If Jimmy is now going by Cindy, that's a social cue of transitioning.
I agree they need people they feel safe talking to. Schools have counselors.
It shouldn't be up to teachers to determine the morality of what the kids saying and whether they should share it with the parents or not.
See? You have to be incredibly hyperbolic to even create a situation where it'd be bad for parents to discuss with parents about the children's behavior.
If instead of a teacher, your kid starts going to church and has these secret meetings with pastors and priests, are you comfortable with that?
You say I'm using hyperbole in the same comment as this. You do know it's possible to question gender without changing your name, right?
I did use hyperbole to make my point, but only in how bluntly it would be said. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say there are shitty, but not abusive enough to lose their kids, parents out there, and I do think there are kids out there who would rather ask questions of other adults in their lives. I am making this argument about the edge cases, because I think the argument "this will only fuck over a small percentage of people" is a shit take. So is "teachers are government employees who should act as interchangable robots that kids can't trust or confide in."
Yes, which is why I think it's weird that you try to draw this line that encourages teachers to hide that from parents.
And you think government employees should determine that simply because of their intuition? The movement from objectivity to subjectivity at the whim of the government is tragic.
Therapists. Religious leaders. Aunts. Uncles.
Why does it have to be the teachers? The education system is a failure - our spending on schools tops the world. Literally 30% more per full time student than our peer countries. Our test scores are constantly at the bottom of those countries.
Then we're being told that our schools are shitty because they're underfunded. Then they tell us the students will do better if the teachers can teach them about gender and sexual ideologies at young ages, and have private conversations with the teachers.
Nah, dog. If our schools showed that they could teach our children math, english and science with the vast sums of money we keep throwing at them, maybe I'd buy it. But not with how shitty they've shown the education system is.