and occurs in the womb through hormonal changes which then affect the hypothalamus of the brain.
...is current thinking (at around week 7 as it happens) but the genetic thing is a bit left field.
Having said that, there is no generally accepted cause Indeed, many people will rebel quite strongly with the idea of a few cells causing it.
Still, its probably good to make it clearly "medical" as people find that somehow easier to rationalise.
Rachel
Good on the school and good on the teacher. The only way people will accept this more and more is if kids are shown that it's ok if somebody's "different". Some of the adults are beyond rescue I assume.
Sometimes, you come across a pistachio that's hard to open, and you struggle with it, eventually cracking the shell and eating it. And you realise that it wasn't worth the effort anyway as it doesn't taste as nice as the ones that were open and exposed to all the lovely salt.
People are like pistachios.
More of a Brazil man myself.
More of a Brazil man myself.
Had you down as a peanut myself. 😀
(There's another week of random stops by Brizzle Bizzies again I suppose)
Fair play, its his choice. But returning to the same secondary school? I can't believe he's going to get an easy ride.
This happened at my old school about 25 years ago - it didn't seem to affect any of the students then or, from anything I know, in later life.
Still, its probably good to make it clearly "medical" as people find that somehow easier to rationalise.
Be careful with the term "medical", some people might rationalise that as suggesting that it is an illness which can be cured. The term genetic sounds more definitive to me.
They're going about it the right way be being open.
Done in secret, moving schools, the truth -will- out eventually and the kids will be like a dog with a bone.
Up front, hey, this is what it is, goes a long way towards negating the target. Doing it this way, they're presenting being TG as being no different to being, I don't know, French.
The kids will still have some fun with it, of course; but it'll be a lot gentler than if it were all mixed up in playground gossip and scandal.
Bit harsh of the school to be playing the 'discrimination' card though. Kids generally aren't discriminatory, they take the piss out of everybody.
Jeremy Vine would be a bit highbrow and tedious, no?
Highbrow? On Radio 2?
Jeremy Kyle, shirley? Jeremy Vine would be a bit highbrow and tedious, no?
Nah, the vine show represents all that is wrong with the concerned curtain twitchers of middle England. Kyle represents everything that is wrong with a diet of cider and turkey twizzlers and smoking heavily through pregnancy 🙂
To the OP write the letter . In my school 27 years ago we were deprived of an excellent teacher being promoted because the school were concerned the parents would not accept his being gay . My friends very opinionated working-class miner's wife mother expressed it as a " xxxxxxxx disgrace who cares who he sleeps with in his own time as long as my kids get a decent education" .
The PE teacher at my all boys school used to shower with us all after games lessons, which would have been particularly difficult had he ever changed gender. Maybe the school would have needed to build her an adjacent shower block. I wonder.
[i]The PE teacher at my all boys school used to shower with us all after games lessons[/i]
Have you spoken to the police about his behaviour? Can't imagine any circumstance in which a teacher showering with children is 'right'...
His name was Mr Wood. I shit you not. 🙂
40mpg - did they say in the letter that it's genetic? Seems strange thing to say, there's no evidence for that.
Rachel
A similar but probably medically unrelated story (I think):
I used to know a girl who had a sister who obviously had some medical issues but was otherwise bright and intelligent.
She told me that at birth her parents had to make a decision as to what sex their new baby would grow
up to be (As a result the father left and was never seen again) due, I believe, to some physical or medical problem/issue. I don't know the details
That would certainly be genetic though.....
Just saying. 🙂
nTo the OP write the letter . In my school 27 years ago we were deprived of an excellent teacher being promoted because the school were concerned the parents would not accept his being gay . My friends very opinionated working-class miner's wife mother expressed it as a " xxxxxxxx disgrace who cares who he sleeps with in his own time as long as my kids get a decent education" .
not much has changed, just most of the miners have lost their jobs and pits.
I've not told many people this but, I used to be a male trapped in a female's body.
Thankfully it was all resolved once I was born.
It's only as big an issue as you make it...why should the teacher in question go through all the emotional upheaval of a gender reassignment AND have to settle in to a new job too? After all, the teacher's friends and relatives have to get used to the new arrangement too.
A colleague of mine did this recently and the attitude in the office was surprising. Everyone was very worried about making a massive arse of themselves, but in the end it all went smoothly.
And if I can give my sense of humour free reign for a minute, I hope they choose a better name than my colleague did.
... which was?
And if I can give my sense of humour free reign for a minute, I hope they choose a better name than my colleague did.
Miss Cougar,
It was big news when I was at school that we briefly had a black pupil.
The world has changed hugely and I very much doubt the kids will even notice. Its probably the parents prejudice that will be a problem.
I would have thought the school might have put out some info to parents too in advance of this announcement
I particularly agree with this.
[i]the school might have put out some info to parents too in advance of this announcement[/i]
but then that would have been the announcement?
genetic mutations are what it's all about
I'm not sure telling the kids "your teacher's a mutant" would be very helpful. 🙂
I'm no biologist, but I don't believe gender reassignment (or whatever the correct wording is) involves physically mutating from one thing into another
'Fair play and all but had this happened in my old school then the poor woman would have been crucified by the kids'
Without casting aspersions on your age 😉 the key words here are 'old school'. I teach in a school where several students are openly gay and of the 7 or so gay members of staff (to my knowledge) only one is so far on the closet she probabaly puts Narnia as her country of birth. Times have, thankfully, moved on and people - even da yoof - are much more tolerant
For the pedants - 'on' should read 'in' the closet. I thank you.
had this happened in my old school then the poor woman would have been crucified by the kids.
Clearly, your generation didn't get soundly thrashed NEARLY enough.
Miss Cougar,
Swine. (-:
My friends very opinionated working-class miner's wife mother
Thus neatly illustrating that good teaching has nothing to do with gender or sexual orientation. 😉
