It seems that the majority of kids undergoing trans/identity things are white kids, especially girls.
Are there any studies on this? There is a whiff of 90s recovered memories mania here. As a note, I am gay and in my 60s and coming out and day life was never like this....where the percentages coming out just zoomed.
I’m very skeptical of a lot of this, as a parent, but I can see that there is some risk from some parents, and also that some kids may be feeling distressed and find it easier to talk to a teacher. I’m not of an absolutist mindset that a teacher must immediately disclose anything a child says back to the teacher. If a kid privately tells a teacher they’re gay, I think the teacher may hold onto that information, responsibly. And I think most people respect that kind of private confidence.
But social transition is quite different. It’s then not something only between the teacher and student, but something that everyone EXCEPT the parents know. That’s not a secret, that’s a deceit, and a kind of humiliation. “The last to know” carries very negative connotations, and as you say, risks I think a greater separation from the family.
Then the final issue is whether suggestion or influence played a part. Overall this seems very risky in terms of the parent-teacher relationship, not to be able to trust that you’re hearing the truth of what’s happening in the classroom from them, or that they’re advising in quite a different direction than you might want.
I never thought I’d be so thankful for sending my girls to a Catholic school. My younger two girls are alternative and edgy and begged to go to a cooler school. I did look into it but decided to keep them at the school that had served their older sister so well. Thank heavens! The other schools are now full of non binary and trans teens and the parents are kept in the dark. Our school vice principal contacted me personally to tell me my daughters had requested they be referred to by their ‘trans’ names and the vice principal asked me how I wanted the school to respond. I thank my lucky stars every day.
I am curious about the child you reference in your final paragraph. Are you able to say how long the child has been socially transitioned at this point?
It seems that the majority of kids undergoing trans/identity things are white kids, especially girls.
Are there any studies on this? There is a whiff of 90s recovered memories mania here. As a note, I am gay and in my 60s and coming out and day life was never like this....where the percentages coming out just zoomed.
I’m very skeptical of a lot of this, as a parent, but I can see that there is some risk from some parents, and also that some kids may be feeling distressed and find it easier to talk to a teacher. I’m not of an absolutist mindset that a teacher must immediately disclose anything a child says back to the teacher. If a kid privately tells a teacher they’re gay, I think the teacher may hold onto that information, responsibly. And I think most people respect that kind of private confidence.
But social transition is quite different. It’s then not something only between the teacher and student, but something that everyone EXCEPT the parents know. That’s not a secret, that’s a deceit, and a kind of humiliation. “The last to know” carries very negative connotations, and as you say, risks I think a greater separation from the family.
Then the final issue is whether suggestion or influence played a part. Overall this seems very risky in terms of the parent-teacher relationship, not to be able to trust that you’re hearing the truth of what’s happening in the classroom from them, or that they’re advising in quite a different direction than you might want.
I never thought I’d be so thankful for sending my girls to a Catholic school. My younger two girls are alternative and edgy and begged to go to a cooler school. I did look into it but decided to keep them at the school that had served their older sister so well. Thank heavens! The other schools are now full of non binary and trans teens and the parents are kept in the dark. Our school vice principal contacted me personally to tell me my daughters had requested they be referred to by their ‘trans’ names and the vice principal asked me how I wanted the school to respond. I thank my lucky stars every day.
such an important piece!
I am curious about the child you reference in your final paragraph. Are you able to say how long the child has been socially transitioned at this point?