There are a couple of problems I'd like to address. And we can use the last of the links you gave to discuss it.
Firstly, citing individual examples and then extrapolating them to the whole is nothing but a debate tactic. If you have an idiotic parent who is a Christian or a bad teacher in any one example then it's nonsensical to say it's representative of all Christians, all teachers or representative of the topic in question. But people on both sides of the political divide do it. It needs to stop.
Secondly, media outlets need to make a buck so online versions want you to click their link. And they will write the headlines as bait. We are all familiar with this. And this headline is no different. It gives the impression of some secret attempts by teachers to inculcate students to transition and purposely keeping that information from parents. That was not the case. It actually involves one set of parents and their two children. More details can be found here:
Two conservative law firms filed a lawsuit on behalf of two set of parents against Ludlow schools.
www.masslive.com
The facts of the matter are that one of the children appeared distressed and troubled at school. The teacher did the right thing and contacted the parents. I might note that that is not necessarily the first step in some instances. If the child appears to be suffering from abuse at home then the parents aren't the first port of call. You don't ring a father and tell him that his daughter says he's been assaulting her. There are well thought out protocols for addressing certain situations. I know because I teach young children part time and there are very definite procedures as to who needs to be told of any concerns about any child. But in this case the teacher did the right thing.
The child then disclosed to the teacher that she was having problems regarding gender. The teacher offered support and to act as a liason with her parents if needed. The parents then emailed the teacher, thanked her and said that they would be seeking professional help and please leave the matter with them and not to discuss it with their daughter.
Now, is there anything so far about secret moves to transition children? Anyone overstepping any reasonable lines of authority? Any underhand moves being made? Of course not. Everyone has done the right thing.
The girl then sent an email to the school saying that she wanted to be known by a different name and pronouns and the school complied.
Now here is the
actual problem. They didn't contact the parents to tell them of the email. I personally think they should have as it wasn't anything that needed to be kept from them. And in fact might have been helpful to the parents if they had that info. Was it a big deal? Well, if I were one of the parents I would have been frustrated. The school was obviously open in contacting them in the first instance so there certainly wasn't any intentional subterfuge in keeping the child's problems from them. They had been quite open and helpful. So I put it down to them either not thinking it was important enough and the child would have told her parents in any case, or it was a simple clerical error.
Either way, it is most definitely NOT an example of some secret attempts by teachers to transition children. That conclusion, from the facts, would be completely nonsensical at best. And, in my opinion, at worst, a deliberate attempt to suggest some underhanded ideology by our educators to infiltrate the minds of our youth.
Now I'm not saying that you are being underhanded. But I'll bet that you didn't dig any deeper than the story given in your link. If the only story that you had available was the one I gave, which is where your linked story came from, I'm certain that you wouldn't have used it. Because all there was was some minor breakdown in communication and that was it. But the parents flared up and mentioned all sorts of unrelated library problems etc (you know, the usual suspects for a court case by frustrated Christian parents) and decided, as is the American way, to sue.
So, what sort of burger do we have here? One of the nothing variety I'd guess. Now do we need to go through each one that you posted to find a real example of some wrong doing? Because if we find one, that's all it will be. A teacher doing the wrong thing. Maybe needing a slap on the wrist. But what it won't be is an example of what is happening nation wide.
thepostmillennial.com
