Non-binary teacher?

[Thompson198]

Name change.
I’ve got a 5 year old daughter due to go into year 2 in September. We’ve just been told that the teacher for next year is a non-binary/‘non-gender-conforming’ man who wants to be referred to by ‘Mx’ (pronounced mix) and they/them pronouns.
Quite a few of the parents have already complained and started looking for other places at local schools because of this.
what do you think?
My daughter has SEN and is one of the youngest in her class, I worry how she’s going to be able to keep up with the pronouns and understand this without us having to teach her about gender ideology at her age. My husband is extremely against teaching her gender ideology, especially so young, I’m not the most positive about it either but don’t feel as strongly as him. He also doesn’t want her being at the school in September but they have been very supportive for her so far and I’m concerned it might not be the same elsewhere.
Thoughts? How would you feel if this was your child’s teacher?

It’s more about the insidious assertion of gender identity than the individual themselves. If children are being asked to call him Mx then they, by default are being asked to subscribe to it.

We all know that gender identity is a load of misogynistic bullshit based on regressive stereotypes. It also disproportionately harms girls and women. Why would you want your little 6 year olds indoctrinated to believe that it’s all perfectly normal and lovely? It isn’t. It’s indulgent and damaging.

Yes exactly. Can flat earthers be "good" teachers? I'd expect this person to have a very concerning approach to safeguarding, having been clearly marinated in rainbow stuff.

On the ECT part he will be given lots of support and supervision normally by senior leadership.
As others have said you using Mx [name] your child will follow, i found children were really good at this.
My concern would be how using the wrong title/pronouns will be dealt with. As an infant teacher I was regularly called mrs/miss/ Mr/ mam/ dad....and none of them bothered me. My child having this teacher on the whole would not bother me, let his teaching do the talking BUT i could have concerns if misgendering was reacted to, in my eyes, inappropriately. These kids are 6, will probably never have met someone with this title and they will make mistakes and probably question why, as it's not within their current experience.

What is the SEN provision in alternative schools like?

I think a PP raised a very valid point - will gender ideology be subtly slipped into other areas of his teaching? Typically, many non-binary and/or trans folks feel very passionately about their gender identity and are extremely keen to raise awareness of this at every opportunity. This could be confusing in the classroom and as a parent, you'll have no idea whether this is happening or not.

Your child may only be young but neurodivergent children are particularly vulnerable to gender ideology. As your child has SEN I would be extremely reluctant to place her in a classroom which exposes her to this at such a young and influential age.

His title is just a bit performative and doesn't especially matter, but it's what it represents that would concern me, and how his beliefs might manifest in his teaching.

I don't think gender ideology is neutral, I consider it to be a dangerous movement that actively harms children. For that reason, I'd probably home educate if I couldn't find an alternative school.

5 year old children are learning how to use language. Teachers should not be deliberately ruining that by insisting on being addressed in terms that undermine that learning. The fact he's an ECT is very relevant and it's extremely concerning that teacher training courses are facilitating this.

It will also massively affect the children's written work because a known person being referred to using 'they' pronouns will result in any stories or essays being nonsensical. Bernadine Evaristo's Girl Woman Other is a prime example - if she makes a total dog's dinner of it at the top of her game, what hope has a 5 year old got? It's sabotage.

Wowzers!! That's quite an assumption to make about someone you have never met.

Such a load of old rubbish being spouted on these type of threads. You must be 'teaching' your vulnerable 5 year some pretty weird shit when you think like this.

I'd listen to him and get her into another school if you can.

Can he teach? Is he a decent human being? Will your child like him? Will your child thrive in this class? That’s all I would care about. Never mind the gender bollox and hysteria. Your child will be absolutely fine using Mx and likely won’t even care.

Not "corrected", told to deny reality.

It's horrible and coercive to put pressure on someone to deny the truth of their own eyes, but when that someone is a five year old child I'd call it borderline abusive.

Safeguarding experts now agree that we should be teaching children the scientifically correct language to refer to their own anatomy, so that they are better able to understand when something shouldn't be happening (for example, if someone touches a child's vulva, or shows a child his penis), and tell an appropriate adult what has happened to them.

Simultaneously telling them that we can't say that a man is a man if he doesn't want to be referred to as a man flies in the face of all that.

The children's education and welfare should be the priority here. Not this prat's "gender identity".

Mx doesn't exist, and you should not be making kids 'follow' at a warped reality.

Hard no from me. My DC has a non binary teacher, he was over heard by her saying 'did she just say (something to clarify his work)..?' And the teacher corrected him 'Did THEY say...'
Absolutely bloody ridiculous.

My DC is older and finds it hard enough, a 5 year will be so confused.

This is completely nuts. Fanaticism.

There is nothing inherently “correct” or “incorrect” about the honorifics (Mr, Miss, Mx, Mrs, Prof, Dr, Dame, Ms) used to address a person. These are words, conventions, a product of language , culture and entirely person/ context dependent.

This teacher might be teaching early years now but what if he’s moved to older children? What age is this acceptable? To me there’s no age , It would be a no from me.

Exactly this. Schools should be teaching children how pronouns actually work before introducing the concept of people who want their own special pronouns.

Mx is the odd one out here.

Fuck that.

Words have to have specific meanings or we can’t communicate in any meaningful way. Your version of horse could be my version of dog or whatever.

When DD was at school the teachers were either Miss or Sir. So would the children just call their teacher Mix?

I'm on the fence. We have a shortage of good teachers and wouldn't have an issue if this teacher was great with the kids. I do have an issue with getting young children involved in gender ideology.

Is Mix a mixed up person?

Thanks all, I will talk to the head today a bit more about how pronouns are going to be handled and what is going to be discussed in class etc. Will also try and talk my husband down. I think that if all is positive from the head then we’ll give it a try in September. If things don’t go too well then I’m in a position to homeschool

I think there’s a good chance she’ll forget all about it by the time she’s 6.

I would be extremely leery of having my impressionable 6 year old taught, day in, day out, by a sexist ideologue and would take steps to prevent it, up to and including moving schools (though it would be a great shame).

What about the pronouns?
The title is less of an issue, but
Are the children going to be taught 'they'?
Are they going to be regularly corrected for using 'he'?
What other gender stuff will be in the classroom?

I think the school needs to address these things upfront so parents and the teacher and others in school know where the boundaries are.

The teacher has a right to teach, but in my view no right to impose his beliefs on others.

There's been a thread on here recently about a child who was told off for misgendering a 'Mx'. I'd not be having that nonsense.

Please don’t send her to this school