What do educators make of what is happening in our schools?

[imwideawake]

I wonder what Head Teachers, teachers (and anyone else involved in the nurturing and educating of our young people) are really thinking about the worrying way in which activists have turned their attention to children and have successfully infiltrated the school system, to the point they seem to be having having a very real and disturbing influence on young impressionable minds and their bodies.

What do they make of this mass bombardment of our children - encouraging children to go down the trans route, instead of leaving them be - to dress and behave how they want to, and to grow up with minimal interference to their minds and bodies.

The constant scaremongering of parents by so-called experts. The rolling out of dubious stats as a threat as to what might happen if the parents don't listen to the current advice.
Children taking hormone blockers when the long term effects haven't been properly tested.
Children being encouraged to mutilate their perfect bodies.

Frankly, I'm horrified that children appear to being used in some massive social experiment and I would would hope that people involved in education, more so than most, would at the very least question the advice that's being given out instead of blindly following things without questioning as to whether those things are right.
I appreciate that schools are sometimes bullied into following the current guidelines and are stuck between a rock and a hard place - we live in an environment, whereby to question and go against the flow could cause a person to lose their job, but what are they really/privately thinking?

Surely they can't all have been brainwashed!
These are serious times.
It really is a case of
Leave them Kids Alone!

Maybe this should have gone in Staffroom.

Thanks for this thread, and for the posters who have to keep holding the line. It is appreciated.

SarahCarer's comments inspired me to tell this story here. I'm not a school teacher, but something recently crossed my path that has me concerned. This involves a young trans person (post age of consent, but still young) who is in a relationship with a much older man who has taken them OS for and paid for SRG. I have no evidence that this is about coercion or grooming, but the real potential is there for it to be and for such relationships to develop (just as they do when there is no trans involved and the coupling is about sexual exploitation). I've long wondered when we'd begin to see instances of this and now I have. I do think that we need to be very vigilant re those adults who are encouraging, mentoring and supporting young trans people, including where associated with schools.

SRG = SRS (sorry).

That is chilling Yet.

Teachers - you could spread some awareness if needed via this lovely online magazine. Good article here:

sonshinemagazine.com/magazine/boy-in-a-dress

The first step is to introduce them to the narrative (wrong body/wrong brain theory which has no scientific justification). The second is to glorify the 'brave' trans children. The third step is to offer them an alternative community, a loving, accepting community in contrast to the social isolation they have experienced thus far. The final step is to distance them from their parents by suggesting their parents are cis and therefore the children are 'othered' from their parents. Gender ideologists and trans activists then supplant the parents. Finally the parents are forced to give in by the threat that "your child will commit suicide"

These are the tactics of cults to coerce young people into their membership - watch the docos about ex Scientologists if you don't believe how dangerous this is - they will lose their life and choices whilst under the undue influence of others as well as have their relationships with their family and friends severed. SM has a lot to answer for as it can pervert minds in the hands of skilled manipulators

Love bombing, isolation and controlling the person and their communications are also the MO of intimate partner abusers

This idea of giving children agency to believe that they are actually born in the wrong body is like a child saying they met and talked to God. No one is believing kids talking in tongues are they?

This article from the Guardian May 2018 is important for those in education as it outlines many of the issues.
(Also worth reading the comments underneath)

(concludes)
"[Stephanie Davies-Arai Trandgender Trend] says her broader concern is that by affirming students’ gender identity, schools may be nudging them down a route that can lead to cross-sex hormones and life-changing surgery without enough time to reflect. Teachers, she says, “are essentially being forced to collude in an experimental approach towards children with gender dysphoria”. She adds: “You can support children and accept them, without affirming their belief that their body is ‘wrong’.”

Adele Robinson (not her real name), a head of year at a secondary school, shares Davies-Arai’s worries. The school has had 12 children, all girls, come out as transgender in the past 18 months. The majority, she says, have autism, and some have experienced sexual abuse.

When they come out, she says, they have brought in information sourced from Tumblr blogs and YouTube videos. Although her team does its best to “support every child in a loving, kind and compassionate way”, she feels that staff are too frightened to challenge what she sees as harmful practices: “We have chest binders worn in school, which is horrible. If a child was cutting, they would be straight in with a counsellor. Yet damaging developing breast tissue goes unquestioned. It’s a gross failure in terms of child protection.”

[Susie Green CEO Mermaids] disagrees, and argues for a biological underpinning to transgender identity: “If a child or young person consistently, insistently and persistently states their feelings, to ignore, punish or repress their gender identity would effectively be reparative therapy.”

At Wadebridge school, Miles’s former headteacher says: “You just have to put the child at the centre of everything to enable that child to feel comfortable and supported. The biggest message I’d want to get out is that this is not a transgender issue, this is a supporting young people issue.”

The best way of providing support is, however, something that the two sides seem unlikely to agree on."

www.theguardian.com/education/2018/may/15/transgender-row-teachers-afraid-challenge-breast-binding

Teachers who are saying that you only have to be tolerant and this really isn’t an issue haven’t done enough research and haven’t thought about it enough.
Or some of us are gender critical, think it is absolutely right to debate the issues, explore what some people feel/perceive and explore the power of stereotypes and ideologies, faciliate students asking questions and present ideas as 'some people feel they...', but also hold to the idea that we should teach manners and tolerance.

E.g. Absolutely discuss and question what it is to 'feel like a boy/girl' and enable thoughtful discussion, absolutely allow students to discuss how trans might link to someone's sex preferences etc, but at the same time make it very clear that bullying someone for being trans, using 'tranny' as an insult, walking up to a transboy in a situation where biological sex isn't an issue and call them SHE is being an arse.

It's not a case of 'be stubborn, call people by their biological pronoun, go on a campaign at every opportunity to rubbish other people's perceptions' or 'love mermaids, support a TRA agenda and hate women'.

There is an important current thread highlighting and discussing the scope & issues of systemic failures of safeguarding and the possible consequences.

I would urge all inolved in eduaction to read it:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3301266-Safeguarding-girls-and-protecting-women-post-Jimmy-Saville-metoo

Schools should also check their Equality & Diversity policies.

It was recently identified that many LAs had misquoted the 2010 Equalities law (principle legislation for E&D policies) replacing sex with gender / gender identity.

See Womans Place UK summary: womansplaceuk.org/grassroots-womens-pressure-forces-local-authorities-to-comply-with-the-law-over-sex-and-gender/

"The 9 protected characteristics are:
Age
Disability
Gender reassignment
Marriage & civil partnership
Pregnancy & Maternity
Race
Religion or belief
Sex
Sexual orientation

So far we have found many policies that fail to comply with the Equality Act 2010 and ignore that sex should be protected by equality law. The reason we feel strongly about this is that it particularly impacts on the perception of what legal protections women [& girls] have and the extent of the duties organisations have towards women [& girls]"

As it is likely that some schools will have considered their LA a reliable source of information, the incorrect ones will have likely been used.

The Eq&D policy is intended to have wide ranging implications when implemented.

Thanks everyone for the pointers and links.

I’ll check our Equality and Diversity Pooicy when I’m back in tomorrow

[Stephanie Davies-Arai Trandgender Trend] says her broader concern is that by affirming students’ gender identity, schools may be nudging them down a route that can lead to cross-sex hormones and life-changing surgery without enough time to reflect. Teachers, she says, “are essentially being forced to collude in an experimental approach towards children with gender dysphoria”. She adds: “You can support children and accept them, without affirming their belief that their body is ‘wrong’.”

Adele Robinson (not her real name), a head of year at a secondary school, shares Davies-Arai’s worries. The school has had 12 children, all girls, come out as transgender in the past 18 months. The majority, she says, have autism, and some have experienced sexual abuse.

When they come out, she says, they have brought in information sourced from Tumblr blogs and YouTube videos. Although her team does its best to “support every child in a loving, kind and compassionate way”, she feels that staff are too frightened to challenge what she sees as harmful practices: “We have chest binders worn in school, which is horrible. If a child was cutting, they would be straight in with a counsellor. Yet damaging developing breast tissue goes unquestioned. It’s a gross failure in terms of child protection.”

You've hit the nail on the head.

staff are too frightened to challenge

I recently called one of the many -vultures- LGBT groups that go into schools about their "gender neutral" toilets and trans guidance to be told that according to the equality act all schools must have gender neutral toilets.

These arseholes are advising schools FFS.

This is a conversation with Stephanie Davies-Arai (Transgender Trend) & Posie Parker which covers a great deal that is important.

@therealposieparker
The DfE have just issued new guidance reminding schools that the law makes it compulsory for schools to have single sex toilets and washing facilities (so that's changing rooms) for all children over the age of 8:

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/719398/Gender-separation-guidance.pdf

It also clarifies various issues about PE, sex segregated lessons - where they might be helpful and if they are provided, how to ensure that there is parity in terms of resources and access / entitlement.

Place marking for later.

enough

That’s the document I’ve contacted the DfE about - if they can’t even get the terminology right (the document talks about sex all the way through, not gender), what hope do we have?

Seriously what this woman said in the phone call was really really scary. Good job I'm a quick transcribe.

It seems to me that there is a willfull intention to misrepresent legislation and also the intentions of government.

LGBT Youth Scotland released 'Supporting Transgender Young People – Guidance for Schools in Scotland' and said that the Scottish Government endorsed it. It turns out that they have done no such thing, and the claim was an 'error' according to the head of LGBT Youth.

An error my hairy arse

This was also the document that:
advised that parents were not to be informed when a trans person was sharing sleeping accomodation with children of the opposite sex

www.scotsman.com/news/politics/confusion-over-transgender-guidance-1-4765713

LGBT Youth Scotland boss Fergus McMillan said: “While the Scottish Government are supportive of the guidance and the need for it, the inclusion of their logo in the list of organisations endorsing the guidance was an error, which is being corrected.

That will be the same kind of error as reporting 48% suicide attempt rate based on 48% of 27 people

www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/lgbt-campaign-group-u-turn-12876161

Re the issue of teachers challenging young people in schools about this. This a bloody difficult issue for schools but teachers have to make sure that school is safe, supportive and free from harassment for young people - just as teachers have described upthread.

It's never up to a teacher to personally challenge a child's decisions about this - not their role. For every kind gender critical person earnestly wanting to 'support' a child through their gender dysphoria, there will be another adult wanting to 'celebrate' a gnc child for being brave and a role model or someone else wanting to push their own personal religious view and 'rescue' a child. None of these are OK. Teachers need boundaries.

We are in this mess partly because adults with no boundaries or understanding of child welfare and safety and limited understanding of child / adolescent development have been given funding and access to schools to promote their own world views.

Schools are in the spotlight and I reckon we can best help them by exposing and challenging the unsafe training being offered by some groups and making the DfE, the NHS etc justify why they are letting these groups erode safeguarding rules like this.

What's particulary concerning is that these organisations, who are advising against standard safeguarding for children, are being heavily funded by the Scottish Government

This is a document providing details of the funding for the 4 LGBT charities in Scotland. All of them are very trans focused. Key figures include:

LGBT Youth Scotland £900,000 over 3 years

Equality Network £1,425,000 over 3 years

Stonewall £290,000 over 3 years

LGBT Health & Wellbeing £240,000 over 3 years

Really interesting document:
pinksaltire.com/2017/06/28/big-four-lgbt-charities-in-government-funding-windfall/

However, given what happened at Pride London and the subsequent violent tirades on twitter, can I draw your attention to the chilling irony of this:
LGBT Youth funding includes £40,000 per year for a project called “Voices Unheard” from the Violence Against Women & Girls Fund as well as £260,000 a year to continue youth work in a number of areas across Scotland.

There is a current thread here discussing the wider issues from the perspective of a young person describing their experience of gender dysphoria. I think theirs is an important voice to listen to & a perspective rarely heard. Includes their description of issues in school.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3301971-Gender-Dysphoria-Is-A-Mental-Illness

thefederalist.com/2014/08/27/radfems-versus-trans-a-different-breed-of-catfight/

Even though the following is about the States, it highlights the sheer amount of funding and backing the TA's receive. The same is probably happening in this country.
It's a real eye opener as to how they operate.

Trans activists are well-organized and generally take no prisoners when it comes to shutting down any real debate or criticism of their agenda. Radical feminists who have stubbornly refused to get with the trans program are an especially sharp thorn in their side. So whenever radfems try to have a forum, trans activists tend to gag them hard. (But they seem to know how to adapt and play the angles, too)

Transgender activists are far better positioned than radical feminists could ever hope to be. As a big part of the LGBT lobby, they have huge amounts of influence and money behind their agenda. Hollywood has their back, as well as academia and the media. They have the full support of the Obama administration, which actively promotes the trans agenda.
Radical feminists who have stubbornly refused to get with the trans program are an especially sharp thorn in transgender activists’ side.

Transgender activists have successfully petitioned to have radfems disinvited from scheduled speaking events, gotten venues taken away from scheduled conferences, and have pressured radfem associates to withdraw from events and distance themselves.

What's particulary concerning is that these organisations, who are advising against standard safeguarding for children, are being heavily funded by the Scottish Government

Exactly. No wonder they've become so powerful.