Mermaids has hit the headlines.

It was bullying, no contest. The teacher in question had apparently repeatedly misgendered the child, in a manner calculated to cause distress & possible derision from other pupils.

However, this could have been dealt with by following the school's disciplinary policy, on the grounds of harassment. Mermaids could, no doubt, have assisted them with escalating the complaint when it was not asnwered correctly when they first submitted it to the school - I am sure they are well versed in the intricacies of the law in this respect. The police did not need to be involved.

I think this is indicative of the attitude of the vocal extremist minority of GRAs who are, sadly, leading the debate at present. I am glad it's been picked up by some of the national mainstream press.

I'd imagine that the teacher will have been advised by their union not to say anything.

Another one who while being as peak transed as the next woman, is not in favour of teachers ridiculing children. If this child is suffering from gender dysphoria the teacher has no business challenging them using the language they are reported to have used. Having said that, the school apparently supported the teacher so it may well not be as straightforward as Mermaids suggests.

For Mermaids to involve the police in this way is disproportionate. There are long established procedures to tackle teacher misbehaviour and to go to the police without going through the school's complaints / disciplinary procedures yet again sets up this group of children as 'untouchable'. The fact that the police are being used in this way to attempt to enforce one group's view of reality on the rest of society is unacceptable and an abuse of power.

'Two years in prison for refusing to say that 2+2=5. '

I don't think going to the police and threatening court action for someone who disagrees with a belief and refuses to tell what they see as a lie is something people in a free country should be taken to court over or involve the police.

This is precisely what can happen in Canada, though. Two years in prison for refusing to say that 2+2=5. A "liberal" country, my arse.

n this story also we really have Mermaids narrative for what happened and how it was meant/came across. And they have a very strong agenda, as mentioned above. That agenda may or may not be in a child's best interests.

Fair point Ouch I only refer to what I see in the article, as it is presented, it would be interesting to hear the teachers side or any witnesses to ensure that the corrective narrative is being reported.

This is being reported by mermaids using very emotive language - the teacher 'laughed in her face' etc.

I would be very interested in the opinions of some of our resident transsexuals/transwomen/transmen here?

Hmm, that was not reported in the Times.
Not sure if Mermaids can be trusted to tell the story with accuracy.
Also, it doesn’t say anything about this being done in public, it could have easily been 1 to 1.

I agree no teacher should ridicule a child.

I think a teacher should be able to say they don't believe a girl can become a boy (or vice versa) and act accordingly and openly (but sensitively) address that and the fact different people believe different things while they teach. If that stopped becoming possible we would no longer be living in a country with freedom of speech. And particularly in schools, to not be able to openly teach and discuss this in the classroom would be undemocratic, wrong and worrying on many different levels.

In this story also we really have Mermaids narrative for what happened and how it was meant/came across. And they have a very strong agenda, as mentioned above. That agenda may or may not be in a child's best interests.

Btw, just to clarify, I wholeheartedly agree that the police being called in was a ridiculous overreaction and unecessary. This should have been dealt with in school by the head and or governors.

Absolutely thrilled our Police service have so little to do these days that they have the time to go after teachers over "hate speech".

Although, that's second hand, so I really hope that Susie Green is accurately reporting what went on.

The fat example is not the same because “fat” clearly has negative connotations to anyone who hears it.
Being male or female doesn’t have negative connotations or shouldn’t. Granted, some sexist types don’t like female taxi drivers or male nurses but, generally, we are neutral about whether another human being is male or female.

From the article.

I would suggest this is pretty callous if a statement of the true facts...

Susie Green, CEO of Mermaids, a charity which supports transgender children and their families, told how the teacher had laughed in the child’s face and said “if you don’t want to be called a girl then don’t look like one”.

I have an issue with the ridiculing comments made by the teacher, which aren't how any teacher should be interacting with a child. That doesn't help the situation and cannot be defended. It would be different if the teacher had just continued to use the pronouns relating to the child's sex, without the ridiculing.

it comes from a teacher who is deliberately and callously singling out and targeting a pupil for public ridicule.

Do you have a quote for this? The article I read just talked about misgendering, there was nothing to suggest it was callous or inviting ridicule.

If you were a teacher who refused to say an anorexic child should lose weight, should someone call the police?

The teacher should have just used neutral (they/them) pronouns, or called the kid by their first name. The teacher was being a dick, but Mermaids completely overreacted.

I don't think going to the police and threatening court action for someone who disagrees with a belief and refuses to tell what they see as a lie is something people in a free country should be taken to court over or involve the police.

Given Mermaids approach and judgements court have made against them, and that they are speaking for the child, I don't think we can know what the situation was and whether there was bullying involved.

There is a big difference between bullying someone and refusing to lie.

If I was a teacher, who called out a fat child for being fat repeatedly, would that not be bullying? Just because it is the truth, doesnt make it ok (in THIS context.)

It is bullying when it comes from a teacher who is deliberately and callously singling out and targeting a pupil for public ridicule. Is this was we want from our teachers? I am as peak transed as the next person, but I will not climb the peak where it is found to be acceptible for adults to ridicule children in this way. That is a peak too far for me, sorry.

It’s not bullying, it is stating the truth. Why should we be forced to go along with “alternative facts”?

Hmmm, I actually happen to agree with the issue of the ‘misgendering’ in this particular case (not the police being called necessarily) the teacher (allegedly) did this deliberately and not accidentally, which would have upset the pupil immensely and is tantamount to bullying imho. I 100% agree that a transwoman is not a real biological woman and vice versa, but to deliberatly target and upset this child by not using the preferred pronoun is churlish and unecessary. Why not address as she/he if it helps the kid to feel accepted? This is not a bathroom/changing room issue, and it is a dangerous line to tow if we start agreeing with bullying and ridicule from those in loco parentis of our kids. I accept that this issue is very complex, but we cannot sink to the lowest common denominator, because it is cruel and vicious and in my opinion, does constitute an example of transphobia in this context.

Cross post