I opened the can...

[AsTreesWalking]

...worms exited.
Yesterday morning I shared a quiz with some students. There was a question that quoted thus: 'I'm not going down that rabbit hole', and, 'it depends on the context' - what was it that these MPs would not define? My students could not think what it could be. So I told them 'A Woman'. They were most surprised. Then they realised and did a spectacular volte face. I pointed out their cognitive dissonance. I told them why I have a problem with self id, and about rapes in prisons.
They went to another member of staff, and today I was summoned to a member of SLT and told that they had said I was transphobic, and had upset them.
I have had to type up 'my version' of the conversation. How I wish I'd just skipped that question! I'm now afraid that my form will all decide that I am a dreadful person.
Why does wrong think on this topic trump all other evidence of a person's good will?
I refuse to lie to my students. I stand by what i said, It was all true. But I'm feeling afraid, and still shaking.

Solidarity to you sister. Call your union rep. I’m not saying this to frighten you but so that you feel protected.

It’s the hill we’re all going to die on, but we’ll be on it together xxx

Oh dear, I can imagine why you are shaken up but I really applaud you, this is not easy and you are being principled and doing what you feel is right for your students. I hope they can see that you are clearly not a dreadful person, but one who cares deeply about women and girls. And boys and trans people - this ideology ultimately harms everyone!

Thinking has become a dangerous pastime. it would be the ideal next lesson to introduce those kids to other times in history and other cultures where this has happened and people have been afraid to speak reality under threat and oppression: their cognitive dissonance won't survive it for that long and that's why they've been taught that its absolutely taboo to talk about this or think about this or dare to question it.

OP. very brave of you.

You have not said what age it is you teach.

That is the response I would expect in these times.

As someone said, contact your Union. But well done , you have sown seeds, some of them will take root ,grow, flourish and in their turn sow seed. If no one challenges ridiculous ideas they are accepted as fact, kids have malleable minds, who do we want to be the ones moulding them?

I suppose you're teaching upper secondary/ sixth form?
The visceral reaction from your students is normal for that age range.

They'll side with Emma Watson rather than JKR for example because they don't have the life experiences necessary to critique gender ideology, but do have immense peer pressure to accept it.

You've done something very brave. Brava. (Clap!).

So is this your form?

What was the point of the quiz and what were you hoping to achieve by adding those questions to the quiz?

I think the outcome was entirely predictable, especially if you then launched into lecturing/ teaching about why you have a problem with self ID/ rapes.

What lesson was this and what were the desired outcomes? Especially if it's a maths or geography class.

Shame on SLT for not encouraging some critical thinking. Well done

You aren't a member of the Free Speech Union too by any chance?

They've helped lots of people at work with this.

is there anything in this thread that can help you?
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4507097-What-is-the-DfE-guidance-on-gender-identity-etc-these-days

And thank you for raising it with your class. It only takes one seed to flourish

Was this during a form time discussion? Was it an otherwise "fun" news quiz with this one question included alongside various other topical questions?

It was in form time with 6th form.
I didn't write the quiz, it gets sent out.
I nearly skipped it, then decided to see what they made of it.
I didn't 'lecture' them. I went over to a small group and explained why I think self id is dangerous for women. With facts.

Well done. It’s brave people like you who will help the tide to turn. It’s the only way we can stop the madness.

Young people deserve to be given the tools to be able to cope well with reality.

Yeah...not surprised you got in trouble for this.

Quotes from gov page on impartiality in the classroom that show why:

"The law states that teachers must not promote partisan political views and should offer a balanced overview of opposing views when political issues are taught."

"What they shouldn’t do, though, is present their own, or anyone else’s, political views as fact."

"As a general principle, they should avoid expressing their own personal political views to pupils unless they are confident this will not amount to promoting that view to pupils."

If it was in a quiz sent out by SLT for use in form time, then I can't see the issue with a resulting discussion, assuming what you were talking about was age appropriate - not sure about whether the rape in prison part would be.

@anadulthumanfemale

Yeah...not surprised you got in trouble for this.

Quotes from gov page on impartiality in the classroom that show why:

"The law states that teachers must not promote partisan political views and should offer a balanced overview of opposing views when political issues are taught."

"What they shouldn’t do, though, is present their own, or anyone else’s, political views as fact."

"As a general principle, they should avoid expressing their own personal political views to pupils unless they are confident this will not amount to promoting that view to pupils."

Exactly this. You should not have got on your personal soap box in class and in front of any students.

As a teacher your job is to be impartial, you did not do this.

Except the complaint from the students was that what she said was "transphobic" not that it was pushing one political view point over another. None of us know what exactly what was said, apart from the OP, so how you can confidently assert that she went beyond what she should have done is a mystery.

As a teacher your job is to be impartial, you did not do this.

Preaching TWAW certainly isn't "impartial" and most in academia are forced into this position.

Being a voice of reason in the current climate is commendable.

I am quite enjoying that those lining up to remind you of the duty of impartiality would be the ones arguing that it's excellent for Stonewall et al to be in schools.

I am all for impartiality and politics staying out of school. But currently they are not, are they? Which means if women play the game and stick to the rules they're being really rather stupid and doormats to others who won't follow the rules unless absolutely forced to.

Either everyone does the impartiality thing or no one does. No more double standards.

Is that the way you responded to all the questions? Or on the others did you let the students express their views, perhaps throwing in some ideas or probe questions to explore areas they hadn't thought of?

I think it was brave of you but I think perhaps you were so nervous that you jumped off the 10 metre board when you could have stepped into the pool.

I’m totally ‘gender critical’ and a teacher. I’m afraid you didn’t do this in the right way. You could have got them thinking by asking questions / posing scenarios. You must realise that we aren’t meant to share our politics with pupils? Also lecturing doesn’t work! You want to get them thinking!

@RoseslnTheHospital

Except the complaint from the students was that what she said was "transphobic" not that it was pushing one political view point over another. None of us know what exactly what was said, apart from the OP, so how you can confidently assert that she went beyond what she should have done is a mystery.

It’s clear from the OP that only one view on the subject was expressed “with facts”. It doesn’t matter that I agree with her view at all. That’s not what the problem is.

If she had mentioned opposing views as in the purported benefits of self id and framed the discussion as a classic conflict of rights situation and how it’s a societal dilemma that we are struggling with, then she would have mentioned in her OP how she was upholding her duty to impartial and presented all the different sides.

The whole incident will be gone through with a fine tooth comb. Yes OP is protected and can have any view she wants on the subject, but she cannot present only her view to students as if it were fact. The fact the students have called her transphobic doesn’t mean their complaint will be dismissed for being mistaken as what to term lack of impartiality nor does it mean OP won’t be disciplined.

@RoseslnTheHospital

Except the complaint from the students was that what she said was "transphobic" not that it was pushing one political view point over another. None of us know what exactly what was said, apart from the OP, so how you can confidently assert that she went beyond what she should have done is a mystery.

It doesn't matter what the specific complaint originally was, once the school looked into it they would see the impartiality breach and bring that up.

Also we DO know OP went beyond what they should do in the classroom as they themselves have stated here, "I went over to a small group and explained why I think self id is dangerous for women. With facts."

OP admitted they presented their own personal opinion of a political matter. This breaches the government guidelines I have shown you. OP would have been ok to bring up Self-Id and say that there are people opposing it and why. But only if they also presented the opposing arguments too. And never as personal opinion.

Don't forget that your beliefs are protected in law, OP. You might want to remind them of the judgement in the Forstater EAT.

@Linguini

As a teacher your job is to be impartial, you did not do this.

Preaching TWAW certainly isn't "impartial" and most in academia are forced into this position.

Being a voice of reason in the current climate is commendable.

Preaching only TWAW would also not be impartial. How hard is it to understand what impartiality means?