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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Telegraph: Teaching union opposes schools having to tell parents if child changes gender

137 replies

ResisterRex · 06/04/2024 08:39

Read it and weep:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/05/union-against-schools-telling-parents-child-changes-gender/

"A teaching union will campaign against government plans to force schools to tell parents if their child changes gender.
Members of the National Education Unionn_ (NEU) agreed on Friday to oppose what teachers described as the “compulsory ‘outing’” of pupils to parents.
Teachers at the union’s annual conference in Bournemouthh also said they would campaign against a ban on any aspect of “social transitioningg” in schools, which could include allowing children to change their pronounss_ or use lavatories or changing facilities of the opposite sex.
The motion, approved by the majority of delegates at the conference, was drawn up in response to draft government guidancee_ on gender-questioning children.
The long-awaited advice states that schoolss_ in England should not accept all requests for social transitioning and should involve parents in any decision that is made.
Speaking in favour of the campaign against the guidance, Kathryn Barton, an NEU member, said she knew of a seven-year-old who had transitioned during the summer holiday and said that “not a single pupil” had a problem with it.

...

Midge Lowe, a teacher from Doncaster, said the Government’s draft guidance was “regressive trash” and said teachers must campaign for it to be withdrawn.
...

No delegates at the conference spoke against the motion, which also stated that “schools, colleges and external providers should not change or remove LGBT++_ inclusive policies or curriculum content as ‘knee-jerk’ response to political rhetoric”."

The same union voted to affiliate with Just Like Us

https://x.com/safeschoolsuk/status/1776511307564335381?s=46&t=WHoOZZ_3Kv5G6-FyQuvE0LQ

OP posts:
Thread gallery
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borntobequiet · 06/04/2024 09:57

I’m a retired teacher.
This makes me so angry.

Caaarrrl · 06/04/2024 09:57

*highest membership

Caaarrrl · 06/04/2024 09:56

I'm seriously considering changing unions at this point. The NEU has the hoghest membership among teachers, but absolutely does not represent the views of any teachers that I know.

ResisterRex · 06/04/2024 09:53

The utter gall of this union. They've got to be trolling us by this point.

www.theguardian.com/education/2024/apr/05/teachers-union-leader-calls-for-inquiry-into-misogyny-among-young-men-in-uk

OP posts:
MissScarletInTheBallroom · 06/04/2024 09:10

As a thought experiment, how does this read if we swap out the words "changes gender" to "shows signs of gender dysphoria"?

A child doesn't have "a gender", other than in the grammatical sense. You can't change something you don't have. "Changing one's gender" is no more concrete than "changing one's favourite colour" or "changing the name of one's imaginary friend".

But the implications of transitioning are much more significant than those things.

So if we swap out "changes gender" for "shows signs of gender dysphoria", what we have here is a teaching union campaigning against a policy of teachers being required to tell parents if their child is exhibiting signs of psychological distress which could potentially lead to serious mental and physical health problems if not addressed in an appropriate manner.

If a teacher noticed that a teenage girl had lost a lot of weight and had not been observed eating anything for a while, they would inform the parents, wouldn't they? They wouldn't say, "I understand, you want to be thin, don't worry, we'll support your diet at school and not tell your parents."

ResisterRex · 06/04/2024 08:59

Another related story (CofE schools)

Illegal to deny sex can change, teachers told

digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/1667/reader/reader.html?social#!preferred/0/package/1667/pub/1667/page/32/article/NaN

And the print version of the one in my OP

Teacher union opposes school gender plan

digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/1667/reader/reader.html?social#!preferred/0/package/1667/pub/1667/page/34/article/NaN

OP posts:
ArabellaScott · 06/04/2024 08:54

MrsOvertonsWindow · 06/04/2024 08:47

The depth of ignorance is frightening.
Kids - your bodies are wrong but we can fix them with a quick sex change (and we'll keep all this a secret from your parents). 😡

Ignorance is the charitable assumption.

BettyFilous · 06/04/2024 08:54

This is a potentially helpful development. It strengthens the case for making the guidance statutory.

AlexandraLeaving · 06/04/2024 08:53

“Not a single pupil” had a problem with it. Because seven year olds’ grasp for the world and ability to understand the future is always so prescient.

MrsOvertonsWindow · 06/04/2024 08:51

The quote from the woefully ignorant Midge Lowe says it all:
“This guidance, refusing to acknowledge the existence of trans children, is a risk, is harmful. Refusing to allow a cautious but early social transition is harmful and encourages risk-taking behaviour in later stages of life where it presents much greater harm.”

There is zero evidence for this statement yet it's made with all the over confidence of an activist. Shame on the NEU for promoting such an appalling anti safeguarding approach.

MrsOvertonsWindow · 06/04/2024 08:47

The depth of ignorance is frightening.
Kids - your bodies are wrong but we can fix them with a quick sex change (and we'll keep all this a secret from your parents). 😡

ArabellaScott · 06/04/2024 08:43

Bloody hell.