Heads should stop teachers allowing children to identify as cats, says No 10

[IwantToRetire]

The spokesman said that teachers should not teach “contested opinions as facts” and called for headteachers to intervene in extreme cases.

“It would not be right to comment on the actions of a specific individual or a specific school without knowing the full details, but we understand why these reports will be concerning for parents,” the spokesman said.

“In broad terms, teachers have a responsibility to encourage their students to engage respectfully with those they disagree with.

“They should also not be teaching contested opinions as fact, shutting down valid discussions and debates.

“It’s important parents and carers are reassured that children aren’t being influenced by personal views of those teaching them. Any example that strays from this would be wrong and we would expect headteachers to act.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/06/20/rye-college-children-neo-pronouns-cats-moons-rishi-sunak/

Unlike the headline the article makes it clear that a "spokesman" (how old fashioned and sexist shouldn't that be spokesperson?!) has said this so Sunak may or may not have a public opinion about this ...

But the Telegraph seems to be keen to keep the issue of self identifying on their front pages.

When I first heard about children doing this I thought (hoped) that it was younger children making fun of the trans generation, but seems not.

NB article is behind a paywall but can be read at https://archive.ph by entering the Telegraph URL above into the box.

(The cat in picture below looks very cross. Probably feels the same way GC women feel - outraged at the notion that some young human could in any way know or speak with experience based knowledge about being a cat!)

It was clear for the issues posters discussed on
here - on first threads

The cat part barely came up. It’s still a bad reaction without the cat part

Bad reaction from the teacher..

I genuinely think that the next big scandal will be the mental interference in these children, maybe even more so than the physical one.

Removing the development of the brain is truly nightmarish. Deleting their ability to experience normal feelings and emotions.

Preventing children from appreciating beauty and music, along with denial of intimate relationships and parenthood? I can't find strong enough words to describe how horrific this is.

The hypothalamus is this almond-sized structure in your brain, it’s one of the most primal structures we have, and it controls all the other hormonal structures in your body—your sexual development, your emotions, your fight-or-flight response, everything. But it shouldn’t be described in such cold physiological terms because your hypothalamus is not just a hormone factory. It’s this system that allows you to stand in awe of the beauty of a sunset, or to hear the sounds of orchestral music and to stop whatever you’re doing and want to listen.

It's unsurprising that transactivists are up in arms about these 'cat girls'. If they are the pivot for toppling the whole fucking edifice, they are right to be scared of them.

A girl identifying as a cat and people finding it absurd, is not going to immediately lift the lid on the horrifying mutilation of children's brains and bodies.

But what it does do, and is doing, is give significant legitimacy to questioning all the ideology.

People are absolutely going to ask why girls can identify as not having a sex or being the opposite sex, but can't identify as a different species. Seriously, Miss, why not?

Children in school start will asking it. People in EDI meetings will. Workshop participants.

Newspapers.

And then you'll get TRAs trying to tell them.

And we all know what that does.

I meant it wasn't clear as evidence a student was sincerely "identifying as a cat".

Looks like it was taken out of context and blown up by the tabloids to artificially create a scandal, which seems to have worked.

Just keep in mind no kid is actually being sincere when they echo the daily mail and say there sincerely are identifying as a cat/moon/hologram etc. They're taking the piss.

Sooo close...

I got in an argument with someone once who appeared to take genuine offence that I didn't think "furries" actually were the animal they identified as. In what metaphysical sense I don't know. They weren't joking. Don't underestimate what odd beliefs some people can hold, particularly if they're spending a lot of time in online communities dedicated to a particular idea.

Hopefully Kemi Badenoch's letter will set your mind at rest.

She's not concentrating on what sort of gender identity is in question (cat or trans), rather that other pupil's right to ignore it, question it, or disagree with it, is protected by law and teachers have to accept that.
As you will be aware, the UK courts have ruled that gender critical beliefs – the belief that sex is biological and immutable, that people cannot change their sex and that sex is distinct from gender-identity – are classed as a philosophical belief worthy of respect in a democratic society and are therefore a protected characteristic under section 10 of the Equality Act 2010. Through her behaviour, including her assertion that the pupils’ beliefs were ‘despicable’, my view is that the teacher was not acting in a way consistent with the Equality Act’s requirements upon schools, nor in accordance with Ofsted’s Education Inspection Framework’s requirements to promote respect for the different protected characteristics as defined in law. In addition, by apparently teaching contested political beliefs as fact – including that there are ‘lots of genders’ or that ‘gender is not linked to the parts that you were born with’ – beliefs which are both politically controversial and have no scientific basis – it appears to me that the teacher was in breach of the political impartiality requirements set out in Articles 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996.OFSTED won't be motivated by 'scandal', they will be motivated by the law and ensuring schools don't breach it.

😂😂

But if someone tells you who they are you have to accept that unquestioningly, don't you? Or have the rules changed now?

It's almost as if Kemi Badenoch realises that she cannot trust Gillian Keegan to do her job properly. All power to her and others such as Miriam Cates.

The whole situation in schools is ridiculous as the original protected characteristic of 'gender reassignment' never applied to children anyway as you cannot get the certificate until 18.
Schools alongside other institutions have been exposed to Stonewall's incorrect interpretation of existing law as part of the whole EDI bandwagon and haven't had the courage to question the obvious inconsistences and dangers. Massive safeguarding fail.
When will Keir Starmer or anyone in Labour mention child safeguarding? Until they do, I will suspect they are on board with lowering consent for everything.

MerlinsLostMarbles · Today 12:43
No kid is genuinely believing they are a cat or an animal or the Moon. They are aware of the "gender critical" discussion which is in the news every single day and are just taking the piss.

Would this also be true?:
No kid is genuinely believing they are the opposite gender type from the sex they were born, a cat or an animal or the Moon. They are aware of the "gender critical" discussion which is in the news every single day and are just taking the piss or being influenced by it.

It's been acknowledged. Are you going to acknowledge that the teacher was bullying the kids over their legally protected and scientifically based views?

I cant be bothered to find the link but in one of the many newspaper stories the mother of one of the girl involved explains exactly how it went from was a child claiming to be a cat into the 2 girls talking about gender identity and the teacher's response. Just saying that as usual a thread has been hijacked by someone selectively using links and ignoring others. Suggest not responding as the best approach.

However some new information (to this thread I think).

The school in question is going to ask parents what they think!

About time. Hadn't realised it is a CofE school.

On Thursday the school, part of the Aquinas Church of England Education Trust, broke its silence on the row by writing a letter to parents, which has been shared in full with The Telegraph.

The school now says that no children at Rye College identify as a cat or any other animal. However, the girls and their parents claimed it was their understanding that one did.

Dominic Downes, the head teacher, wrote: “I would first like to reassure you that we have taken this matter very seriously. We have now met with the Department for Education (DfE) to share an update of the events that took place before, during and after the recording.

“The meeting was a positive step and we will continue working closely with them to ensure any appropriate action is taken.”

He added that “we will be seeking our parents’ views on this and other matters in the coming weeks, to ensure that the approach we take in school is tailored to the community and children we serve”.

He also said the school wants to “ensure equitable debate across all our classrooms”.

https://uk.style.yahoo.com/school-engulfed-cat-gender-row-192313505.html

Of course transactivists are desperate to deny and deflect this. Schools have always been bound by the rules about political impartiality. Yet they've given space to organisations devoted to removing the rights of women and girls to privacy from males when undressed, determined to wedge mediocre male sportsmen into women's sport, undermine safeguarding by insisting that certain children are exempt from safeguarding and worst of all, transitioning children in secret despite the clear legal position that only the courts can remove parental rights.

Watch - they'll be all over this board this weekend, sneering, smearing and derailing. Anything to hide the fact that schools have abandoned their legal and ethical child centred focus and have pandered to an unethical political lobby

Watch - they'll be all over this board this weekend, sneering, smearing and derailing.

Hopefully there are enough posters on mn who disagree with transactivists to hold the fort as it were.
This is one of the few places that they haven’t been able to bully posters into submission.

It makes me laugh that while they're on here getting off on bullying women, twitter, instagram & below the line on countless media is alight with outraged adults finally waking up to what's being inflicted on children and the rest of us.

It's veritable tsunami 😂

IwantToRetire · Today 17:39
I cant be bothered to find the link but in one of the many newspaper stories the mother of one of the girl involved explains exactly how it went from was a child claiming to be a cat into the 2 girls talking about gender identity and the teacher's response. Just saying that as usual a thread has been hijacked by someone selectively using links and ignoring others. Suggest not responding as the best approach.
Here is an article including what a mother of one of the girls said:
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/teacher-despicable-student-classmate-cat-mum-hit-back/

I'm always happy to help.

My kids are at an aquinus trust secondary.
The new head is absolutely obsessed with EDI. It's all about EDI but when questioned has no idea who provides the materials, what exactly is being taught, what binders are, that their LBTQ club is not considered safe by LGB children because it's all about the TQ.
Absolutely clueless.
I've been fobbed off so many times when asking for details of lesson plans and materials.

Thanks ScrollingLeaves

I think it is good because it shows how even the mother to begin with thinks the girls are making this up.

But also clears up how it started with a cat but then moved onto self identifying and the reality of sex.

And I suspect that the girls had got fed up with this lack of fact based teaching and so may well have talked about recording a / the teacher because, even as the mum proved, nobody would believe them.

Good on them for blowing the whistle.

It's sad how often we are told things don't happen...until there are recordings to prove they did. It's the same way other marginalised groups are treated. People who support gender ideology have a lot tonanswer for.

I haven’t seen mention of religion, another protected trait. I can’t imagine how it feels to be a fundamentalist Muslim or Christian for example in that teacher’s lessons knowing she thinks yours and your parents and religions views and teachings are despicable and having to sit in silence not allowed to express your beliefs or views for fear of being called names or threatened.

It is the antithesis of inclusion and goes against all of the ethics of the classroom and state education. I teach a sensitive subject that requires a lot of experience and skill in handling opposing beliefs and clashes between protected traits to create a safe and respectful classroom. I’ve also designed and delivered staff training for dealing with controversial conversations in the classroom - to lecturers humble enough to admit they didn’t feel equipped and that they lacked the knowledge and skills needed and were resorting to shutting students down instead.

This lady absolutely lacked the knowledge and skills needed and the humility to acknowledge that. She is head of rshe so not just some random which makes it even more disturbing imo.

There are ways of approaching these subjects safely and effectively. The rshe curriculum and its staffing plan at that school needs to go in the bin imo and some decent ethical training sessions need running that acknowledge the rights of all students and our ethical duties as teachers.

I would take out a grievance and risk being fired rather than deliver a lesson and approach like that.

Can you not withdraw your child from these lessons in England?

I haven’t seen mention of religion, another protected trait. I can’t imagine how it feels to be a fundamentalist Muslim or Christian for example in that teacher’s lessons knowing she thinks yours and your parents and religions views and teachings are despicable and having to sit in silence not allowed to express your beliefs or views for fear of being called names or threatened.

You just need to believe in God the creator and not to tell lies, to reject Gender identity, you don't need to be super religious. There needs to be tolerance that a family with gender critical world views won't join your religion also.

Preventing children from appreciating beauty and music, along with denial of intimate relationships and parenthood? I can't find strong enough words to describe how horrific this is.

What a cruel experiment, join this new religion if you like it or not, change the body via surgery, hormones and ability to enjoy "all the things". Why is the NHS funding religious circumcision and FGM?