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?

I got told off at primary school loads of times for not putting my hands together and closing my eyes for the morning prayer, and for refusing to say grace before dinner.

Even at that young age I knew I didn't believe any of that.

Sad to see that the same is happening now to kids who don't believe in the gender identity religion.

@Nowherecitizen - frankly in my experience on this forum you are going to have a very skewed response towards agreeing with you mainly because it speaks of trans issues as this forum is from what I observed not friendly towards this subject. Having said that, I agree that regardless of the topic trans a 9 year old should be spoken to in a gentle manner, assuming that it was an honest mistake.

Your friend just needs to speak to the head teacher of her son’s school if she hasn’t already. Personally I would suggest that the teacher concerned reiterates how they wish to be addressed to the class. Children are very accepting, it’s the parents that turn them into bigots there’s no need for them to be told of for using Sir, unless they were being intentionally provocative, which from what you have said wasn’t the case.

How about the teacher gets a fucking grip and that's the end of it!

The teacher should get a formal written warning for his behaviour.

Children should not be co-opted into the fetishes of adults.

I meant it’s very common for children to accidentally call their teachers Mum or Dad. And still not a big deal.

My DC wouldn’t be going back to that school.

It’s literally the title of the thread then OP confirms that the child said the teacher was ‘very cross’

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

Even if a ‘telling off’ didn’t happen to pps standard, it’s still not ok to require a child to use the illiterate nonsense of a harmful ideology.

I disagree with this. Words are words. They're all ultimately meaningless. Biological sex I understand. Think of how many times on here people complain about parents in law addressing cards to Mrs X when they're not married or worse Mrs Brian Coleman. Thats a long established protocol. Doesn't mean we stick with it. I'm certainly not Mrs Brian Coleman despite my father and grandparents insistence. (Not my name BTW!)

I'd complain.

Why the hell are we teaching young kids this? Going against scientific facts.

If a child argued that sperm and egg didn't make a baby, they would get told that scientifically yes, a sperm and egg make a foetus.
But if a child argued that the sex we are born IS our sex, they'd be told for that too because now apparently we can deviate from science.

Appalling.

I'm surprised children at junior school are calling teachers Sir anyway, we didn't at my Essex primary school 40 years ago and my children didn't at their primary school either - it was Mr Whoever. But maybe its more common than I think and those two schools are outliers, is it? (we didn't do Sir/Miss at secondary school either, but I know my kids do).

It’s not a mistake for a student to use ‘Sir’ for a male teacher.

Trans ideology is highly contested and harmful and should not be taught in schools.

Dear me...the world has gotten out of hand. Poor kid.

When my children were at school (mid 1990s to early 2010s), I wanted the teachers to teach them facts, skills and (ideally) critical thinking, along with modelling respectful and appropriate behaviour. I wanted them to be people my children could look up to for their intelligence and common sense. I didn't expect my children's heads to be filled up with absurd demands to use newly coined forms of address and non-sex-based pronouns. It's a distraction.

@Nowherecitizen

Just as well he wasn't teaching when I was a kid. There were several occasions where I called the teacher 'mummy' by mistake. I wasn't the only one.

Maybe it's ..

Ris
Surs
Suss
Mate
Ir - sounds like err
Teacher

But why should these children be participants in this man's nonsense?
Would they be expected to call a teacher who's a furry "your meowsome"?

If this is true (and I have my doubts but the way the world is atm who knows?)
I would be removing my child from that school - I'd rather home school than send them anywhere that kowtows to this bollocks.

Would that be all teachers getting a formal written warning for telling off a pupil when the parent doesn’t agree with them or just teachers who identify as non binary? Plus all we have is the third hand account of a nine year old whose definition of Very Cross we cannot quantify. Let’s get some facts before a formal written warning don’t you think?

Children aged 9 still believe in Father Christmas. Of course they don’t comprehend Queer Theory in their classrooms and nor should they.

The teacher needs to find another job. Using children to validate himself is a red flag. He should not even be there to begin with. How did he get past Safer Recruitment processes? I’d be asking the school this question.

I'll be glad when this nonsense ends. He shouldn't be foisting his fetish (crossdressing) and non existent "identity" on to the children.

We move away from long established protocols when the interests of wider society are served by this move.

Who's interests are being served when we tell 9 year olds off for recognising a man as a man?

So we've had:

1. It didn't happen
2. It did happen, but it was all the child's fault - they're annoying, being deliberately provocative, a teenager, disrespectful
3. It did happen, and the child was 9 and not being provocative, but they need to learn to comply with whatever adults tell them they must do, even the worrying ones
4. It did happen, but the adult's feelings are much more important than any child - the child is only there as a prop to the adult after all

The teacher @ResisterOfTwaddleRex is highly experienced and talented in their chosen subject. They normally teach older children but will do some lessons with younger ones too. They should definitely be in teaching. I don’t want anyone yo infer that they were ‘inappropriate’. They were just overly stern if the small child came away feeling bad.