Parents pissed that their kids have a transgender teacher

[ccharles000]

http://www.feministing.com/archives/011632.html

A teacher's gender reassignment surgery has caught the attention of some parents who want to know why the school district didn't notify them ahead of time about the change.
A music teacher at Foxboro Elementary School, who was formerly a woman, returned to school as a man at the beginning of the school year.

Some parents told Travis Unified School District that they feel like their rights to know were violated.

<...> Parent Angela Weinzinger, who has three children at the school, said she has since transferred her children out of the class.

"I wasn't given the opportunity to make a choice on what I wanted to do with the situation," Weinzinger said.So far, 23 students from 15 different families have transferred their children out of the music class and into a physical education class.

[amdezurik]

1. ah gotta love bigots

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

[deadmessengers]

2. 2 comments

There simply has to be some middle ground between the teacher's dignity and career and the parents' desire to be able to explain to their kids what's going on - having someone who previously was outwardly female who now presents as outwardly male would be confusing for a child, but there are ways to deal with that. A simple note containing a few helpful guidelines on how to talk to their kids about transgender people might have helped avoid this situation. Instead, they got an escalation into the media.

On the other hand, the parents who transferred their kids out of this teacher's class rather than dealing responsibly with this situation are cowards.

[pitohui]

12. do you really think the person looked or dressed female pre-op? that would be odd

in the cases i know the person was required to dress as the desired sex for two years min. before getting the surgery

i don't believe the person was likely to have been a woman in appearance and then returned as a man after only 1 summer, it don't work that way!

he probably already dressed and presented as a man, even before the surgery

to me this is a tempest in a teapot

[Donnachaidh]

3. some parents are so ignorant it's shameful

Just WTF has this teacher's personal life got to do with his ability to TEACH music?

[Ashy Larry]

4. It probably would have been good for the teacher to let the parents know

before the surgery just so they could explain it to their kids and not be shocked by it. That said, most of the complainers probably are just ignorant.

[FreeState]

7. Not shocked by it? Its not like she became a he over night

It was over the summer and more than likely he was masculine before he transitioned. You have to dress as the opposite sex for a while before you can have the surgery by the way - as in usually a year.

[pitohui]

11. yeah sometimes two years

if the parents would just act like adults then why the kids even care except maybe to giggle as kids would do about any teacher anyway

[YOY]

5. He can teach music to my kid anyday.

Screw those bigots.

[LeftyMom]

6. teachers really aren't accountable to parents for their private lives.

Otherwise they'd have to write home prior to getting married (so parents could explain the name change) before having a baby, dying their hair, etc.

Parents have an obligation to prepare their children for a diverse society and the issues it presents BEFORE those issues arise. It's not like this is the first time the parents realized that some people are transgendered, and unless they are complete idiots they should have realized that in some point in their lives their children will encounter people who don't neatly conform to their gender binaries, and that they should prepare them for that.

[wvbygod]

8. Perhaps the parents need educated

Not everyone is as enlightened and 100% sure about their gender choice as those that decide to change their gender. Bigots today, gone tomorrow.

[KamaAina]

9. I didn't know Mr. Garrison taught music

does Principal Victoria know about this?

[noamnety]

10. I'm intrigued by their "right to know"

I wonder if my students' parents feel like they have a "right" to know the current status of my genitals at all times.