Students Not Excused From Transsexual's Class

[The Straight Story]

Students Not Excused From Transsexual's Class

POSTED: 12:02 pm EDT September 7, 2006

BATAVIA, N.Y. -- Five parents who asked to transfer their children out of Batavia High School classes with a transsexual teacher have been denied, according to city schools Superintendent Richard Stutzman.

The written requests did not meet the guidelines set out by the district, Stutzman said Tuesday without providing specifics.

"That's all between the school, the teacher, the parents," he said.

Other students were allowed to adjust their schedules because their requests were based on changes in their academic programs, Stutzman said.

Fall classes began Wednesday in Batavia, 31 miles southwest of Rochester.

Diagnosed with a transsexual disorder, the teacher is still going through a medical transition but returned to school dressed as a woman -- and addressed as a female.

http://www.local6.com/education/9803581/detail.html

[displacedtexan]

1. Get over it kids, or move to a damned cave.

The world doesn't revolve around your narrow-minded little life.

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. And I bet those five parents are all loving, Christian, decent moral folk

who just love everybody so much and just want the love of Jesus to just penetrate into everyone's heart like theirs because God is so loving and good and just loves everybody and we're good family values Christian people who just are filled with the love of the Lord...

[KurtNYC]

4. one is identified here

“It’s wrong,” Amber Robinson, the mother of a 14-year-old boy who is in one of the teacher’s classes, said after the meeting. “If you’ve got a problem, go away. My son is academically challenged and immature — he’s not prepared to handle this. The district is encouraging my son to fail.”

not fundie based on the comments

The NY Times covered this story also:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/07/nyregion/07journal.html?ref=nyregion

[nickinSTL]

12. not fundy, but ignorant

this parent's son needs to learn what reality is...and it isn't all happiness and Barney and the Wiggles. There are complexities in reality that he's better off learning about, rather than growing up to be narrow-minded and homophobic/transphobic, etc.

[Bluebear]

26. 'If you’ve got a problem, go away.'

:eyes:

[Warpy]

11. And medically ignorant

That's what happens when you rely on some buffoon of a pompadoured preacher for your education about the world, you stay blinkered, pig ignorant about all sorts of things. They're ingnrnt n proud uvvit.

I don't presume to understand what transgendered people have gone through. I just know it's a medical condition and not a moral failing, with a drastic and painful treatment that never fully corrects the problem, although it does improve it.

Somebody needs to use the appropriate word about and to these people: unchristian.

[htuttle]

3. Hey he's just a sweet transvestite from, Transexual, Batavia

Damn it, Janet!

[mike_c]

5. hmm-- what is a "transexual disorder...?

:shrug:

[readmoreoften]

6. Probably referring to Gender Identity Disorder as a psychological

diagnosis.

[mike_c]

9. thanks-- that makes sense from an ADA type perspective....

eom

[readmoreoften]

7. Good for the school system for not buckling under pressure.

The kids are alright. They'll be fine.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

8. It's an interesting one.

Without knowing more details, I'm reluctant to commit myself.

If the school would allow the pupils to transfer simply because they didn't like the teacher as an individual, then I think they should probably let them do so; if not - as I would imagine is the case - then they shouldn't.

[readmoreoften]

10. By the way, at the beginning of diagnosis, in many states...

a person with G.I.D. who wishes to undergo a sex change must "live as the opposite sex" for one year before the surgery. This would require dressing as a woman (if Male-to-Female) and being called she.

[Solo_in_MD]

13. I have mixed feelings on this...its going to be disruptive.

and is made worse since she is teaching entry level science. While accommodation is the right thing, moving her to senior level electives would have been a better. Changing schools would have been better still, but IIRC that is the only HS in the district.

Stuff I saw on this last night indicated that if people slipped after two weeks and referred to her as masculine it would be considered harassment. That is clearly not appropriate for a slip of the tongue, and is quite questionable in general until she is declared legally female.

Everyone will be watching her intensely. Any issue at all will get magnified and in the end she will most likely end up leaving the school and the area. Most TGs end up doing that to restart their professional lives.

Edit: Spelling

[KurtNYC]

14. I grew up near there

and people are generally live and let live types. There is a state school for the blind there and special ed students are mainstreamed in the public schools so I think everyone is already atuned to the fact that everyone is different and some have unusual burdens to bear in this life (all of us actually but some burdens are more obvious than others).

The Times article said that other than 5 parents, the issue is over with.

[Solo_in_MD]

18. I hope you are correct

But IME, TGs rarely get a fair shake. I'll stand by my prediction that before it is all over she will move to another district and start over.

[msmcghee]

20. Many transsexuals who keep a job through . .

. . transition will suffer the pain of having some co-workers continue to use masculine pronouns as a form of sick punishment. This can be especially hurtful when it is done in front of customers or the public when it's that type of job.

People who work for the state or government, like teachers, are pretty much at the mercy of their employer as to transfers and such. Quitting usually means giving up vested retirement benefits, etc.

It's really not any problem using female pronouns to address people who dress, look and act like women - we all do it every day. I guarantee it's no accident.

[readmoreoften]

22. Exactly!

:) thanks for the thoughtful post!

[Solo_in_MD]

28. Its really a matter of intent

My point about misused referant was that the school district was over the top with its threats if the action was indeed innocent. Intent should be pretty clear cut. When a member of our extended family went M2F, 10 years later she was occasionally reffered to as Steve without malicous intent. She also had to change jobs and move to a different city to get on with her life, since staying at her prior job and location was untennable after transition, which is quite common.

As for an xfer or job change, not sure how the NY state runs its teacher retirement/seniority programs. She should be able to change schools within the district easily and with science teachers always in demand, her long term career prospects should not be imacted.

[Xithras]

15. Odd.

In my kids school district, parents can always get transfers for their kids without even telling the school why. We just transferred my own daughter from her music class to another elective simply because she didn't like the guy. Even when I was in school, we could request class transfers as long as they were put in during the first week of school. I always assumed that all school districts worked that way.

Personally, I disagree with the district on this one. I have nothing against people with GID, but if it is a genuine distraction for the student, the student shouldn't be forced to sit in the classroom. Why not? Because as a teacher, I understand full well that a distracted student is a student who won't be learning anything. The well being of the student must ALWAYS take precedence over the well being of the teacher. If the school feels like it needs to teach the kids tolerance, there are better ways to achieve it than by disrupting normal classwork. They should let the intolerant kids go to another classroom, and replace those students with others who are more accepting. This is better for both the students (who can concentrate on learning the core subjects they're in the room for), and for the teacher (who will not have to deal with potentially disruptive narrowminded students all semester).

[dsc]

16. With all due respect

You have taught your daughter a horrible lesson. She is going to have to work under people she doesn't like from time to time. Letting her cut and run for that reason alone is a terrible message to send. What if this happens with a calculus teacher or some other academic subject that there is only one teacher for?

[Xithras]

17. I have taught my children self-examination.

Every request is followed by a "Why?" and a "Why is that?" People should be able to examine their own motivations to determine why they make the decisions they do, and I have pressed that concept onto my children. When my daughter asked to change classrooms, I asked "Why?" She replied that she didn't like him. I asked "Why is that?" Turned out that the teacher was an old school conservative and was mildly sexist (girls couldn't play the drums). I determined that it was better to permit her transfer into another class with a more agreeable teacher, than to permit her to waste a semester being distracted by her dislike for the teacher.

And if she ever found herself working for a disagreeable boss, I'd hope that she'd follow my example and QUIT. Life is too short to waste time on people who only want to make you miserable. I am 32 years old and have never worked more than a day for someone I didn't like.

[renate]

19. sounds like your reasons were totally valid

I sometimes wonder whether my kid's attitude towards school would have been different all these years later if he'd had a first-grade teacher who didn't shriek at everybody all the time. He cried every morning and begged not to go to school because he was scared of her. I volunteered for a couple of hours a week in her classroom and he was not exaggerating when he complained that she yelled and was mean... I honestly don't think she was a bad person at heart but she just should not have been put in charge of 22 kids--I would be mean, too, in that situation. (Good teachers are demigods to me... what amazing people.)

I don't think it's always the case that helping a kid bail out of a difficult situation is teaching them to cut and run. Sometimes situations are best handled by getting out of them.

Telling your daughter that girls couldn't play the drums-- :grr: What a crummy teacher. Blech.

[readmoreoften]

21. You took your daughter out of the class for a very valid reason. But...

But you should also report his inappropriate behavior to the schoolboard. In fact, I think it's HIGHLY SEXIST. It is not appropriate for a teacher to say that females can't do the work he assigns the same as a male. He should be "warned" at a minimum.

But the trans issue is entirely different. In the late 70s I had an African-American woman for a 2nd grade teacher. Most of the us had never interacted with African-Americans before (being poor, white trash) and some of the children were afraid of her. Although they were uncomfortable, they were all-- thankfully--forced to stay in the class. As long as she's a good teacher who is caring, concerned, and conscientious, there is no reason to pull a child from the class. Considering that only 5 parents are complaining, I think that says alot.

[dsc]

24. You are quite lucky indeed

Most of my bosses have been decent but from time to time an assistant principal was worthless. One can't quit a teaching job mid year but has to make it work so to speak. I am glad you found out why she didn't like him before you let her transfer. I think a better way to handle it would have been to go to school and ask the teacher why girls can't play the drums but that is just me.

[madmusic]

23. No offense,

But I think it should be up to the parents.

[LWolf]

25. It's all about balance.

A balance of classroom numbers, a balance of power, a balance of kids in the classroom.

Parents should always be able to request a transfer. Every request should not be honored, but when there is a valid reason, the school should make every effort to accomodate that request.

Balancing classroom numbers is an instructional issue, and it's a contractual issue. There has to be equity. In some schools, teachers get together at the end of the year and help to put together rosters for the following year. For example, first grade teachers team up to create next year's second grade rosters. This is pretty difficult in middle school and beyond, but in elementary school it helps separate personality conflicts, and kids with issues and needs that demand more than average attention and energy, and can place kids to address their social needs, as well. When schools have been attentive enough to pay attention to the balance of students in a room, parents should support that.

Then there is the balance of power. Those scales shouldn't tip either way. Ideally, schools and parents are partners seeking the best situation for an individual, and balancing that against the needs of the whole. An administration that doesn't listen and work with parents is not ok. It would also be a nightmare for every request to be honored. Then you get popularity contests which don't benefit staff relations, and all semblance of balance flies out the window.

Here is one thing I can verify: when a principal gets numerous complaints about a teacher, and requests for transfers, he or she pays attention. That teacher will be monitored more closely, whether or not the parents realize it. If needed, that principal will meet frequently with the teacher and implement changes, or will begin the process of "exiting" a teacher who is not a good fit for the school. While the individual request may or may not be honored, that parent's voice will be acted on in the big picture.

[RB TexLa]

27. If they don't like the rules the public schools have: simple answer

cough up the money to send their children to a private or parochial school.

[slackmaster]

29. That was my reaction too

:shrug: