9 yr old told off for calling non-binary teacher Sir

[Nowherecitizen]

My friend’s son was told off by a teacher at his school for referring to them as ‘Sir’. The teacher is male but identifies as non-binary.

Their title is Mx which the children are aware of. But the little boy simply looked at an adult who is visibly male and used the term Sir.

I have seen this teacher and they are 'masculine' looking but will sometimes wear a skirt and heels.

Friend’s DS felt bad and can’t recall exactly what was said to them but said the teacher was ‘very cross’.

AIBU to think this was mishandled? Surely the child should be reminded gently of the preferred identity of this adult but should not face a telling off?

What is the non-binary version of Sir anyway?

Put a skirt and sling backs on indoors but don’t bring it into a place of work, especially with small children some of whom may be finding navigating life difficult enough. Utter indulgent bollocks

It is not nasty for a male teacher to be addressed by a student as Sir.

I would say it is nasty for a teacher to punish a child for failing to go along with something so illogical and scientifically and grammatically illiterate.

Biologically the teacher is Sir so the child was just staying scientifically reality. Why are we teaching children to ignore the evidence of eyes and ears?

i feel sorry for the kids

It honestly depends whether it was a genuine mistake or a student deliberately aiming to upset their teacher. I'm a mum albeit not to a school aged child yet but I'd be encouraging my child to remember a bit better what they've been told. I was also taught in a 'good' rated school by my teachers, that gender and sex are not necessarily the same, as gender is a social construction and not limited to biology . I'll be teaching my DD the same.

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Yeah sure it did.

We don’t know what really happened here so no point in diving into all sorts of things- friend should make appointment to discuss with school to understand what went on

Which as you freely admit, they might have done.

'Regardless of what your opinions are on the gender debate, it's reasonable to respect a person's right to be addressed as they wish.'

And to the quote above, no it isn't reasonable. It's variously colluding with a mental illness, pandering, lying, done out of fear, denying reality - take your pick out of any of those, but it is not reasonable or kind and needs to be knocked on the head.
Society deciced what pronoun you were and whether you were a sir or a miss a long time ago. You have no say in the matter

Did the kid get detention? Did the kid have to write ‘I will never call Mx Brown Sir again’ 100 times? Where is the punishment? Being corrected is not punishment.

It is irrelevant what you think, what I think, what anyone thinks. Lawfully, you can use whatever title you wish.

Explain how it is abuse?

Mx - FFS! I wonder how people 100 years hence will look at this era and think that mass insanity had taken over.

It certainly feels that way.

And I speak as someone with a dearly loved transgender grandchild who does not expect everyone to dance to their tune, but just blends in and gets on with life.

Has the teacher never been called Dad or Mum? There is no need for any performance here.

@Zoono the child is 9 and comes from a very innocent family so I suspect he’s not been involved in the gender ideology debate or been exposed to it beyond the class teacher saying ‘This is Mx X’. I would not be surprised if the older pupils at the school - which goes all the way up - had been offensive when they first announced that they were becoming a ‘they’.

As for the other posters who suggest the teacher should not be there, they’re very talented in their subject area.

I wonder if any female primary teachers ever wear a skirt with heels these days? None of my kids teachers did, and they left primary years ago.

The teacher has children so I assume so.

Are we quibbling about the meaning of the word punishment now rather than engaging either the substance of the issue?

My friend’s son was told off by a teacher

Getting a telling off by the teacher was a punishment in my day.

It's really simple.

A child is there to be educated, not forced into compliance with a fringe ideology and it's made up titles.

I'm against religious schools and their forced compliance with honorific titles too, but you generally have a choice about sending your child there.

Children do not exist to comply with that teacher's ideology, belief system or demands. They do not exist to validate their feelings.

I would make this incredibly clear to the teacher, the head teacher and the governing body.

Exactly. There's an awful lot of self importance involved in an adult needing to be validated (without fail) by the kids in their class.

I'm a 53 year old woman and a Miss. I get mistakenly called Mrs all the time. I'd never get angry with someone about it, and certainly not with a child.

What your friend's DS did was to correctly use and apply his knowledge of language, biology and reality. No-one should care if this bloke's feelings are hurt, he is a transvestite showboating his fetish in a primary school and he deserves to be called out on it. Children should not be forced to deny reality or to bow to the gender-woo nonsense.

How do you pronounce Mx?

It’s obviously ludicrous to tell him off unless he was deliberately goading the teacher over a period of time.

A gentle reminder is all that’s needed. I’ve been mistaken for a man a number of times, by assumption ( the job I do and a name that could be male or female) and also because I don’t look very feminine especially from behind.

I don’t get angry I just smile and say “I’m a woman.”

If this teacher has a naming requirement he just needs to politely remind the child “I prefer to be called Mx not sir”

The pupil isn’t at school to validate the teacher’s gender identity especially when the child is 9 years old.

Absolutely mishandled. The number of times I’ve heard people call their teachers mum or dad by mistake and they haven’t been told off, it was a simple mistake but the teacher is obviously sensitive to it. Not the child’s fault. If my child was very upset I’d be bringing this up with the headteacher to have a word with the teacher about the way they handled it.