School calls transgender book "inappropriate" & offers counseling to kids who heard it

[DonViejo]

Some parents are calling for the teacher to be fired, while others are worried about how the controversy will make trans kids feel.

By Alex Bollinger Monday, March 15, 2021

A school in Texas called a transgender book “inappropriate” when a teacher read it to her class and even offered counseling to students who were in the class as some parents are calling for the teacher to be fired.

A fourth-grade teacher at Forest Trail Elementary in Austin read Call Me Max by Kyle Lukoff, a book about a transgender boy going to school and making friends. The book’s description says that it’s an “age-appropriate introduction to what it means to be transgender.”

The book appeared on a list of books that promoted diversity, and a teacher at the school read it to her class. That’s when some parents wrote letters to the school, demanding the teacher be fired. And the district agreed that the book was inappropriate because it discussed a transgender character.

Eanes Independent School District’s chief learning officer Susan Fambrough sent an email to parents that called the book “not appropriate to be read aloud to an entire elementary-age class.”

more
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2021/03/school-calls-transgender-book-inappropriate-offers-counseling-kids-heard/

[Claire Oh Nette]

1. Books have no gender

THe book isn't transgender.

Inanimate objects have no gender. Not potatoes, not paperbacks, not hard covers, not even teletubbies.

I had a transgender student five years ago. Absolutely beautiful child. When Wyatt told us female teachers we looked good, or that a certain outfit worked, we took it as high praise. Smart kid. Funny. I remember when he wore a dress to school, as a senior. "Honey," I said, "you rock that dress. But if you're going to wear it, you gotta learn to sit like a lady, too." I taught him about crossing at the ankles, and not showing off the boxers like he could in man-mode. He was learning, and he appreciated the tips.

The kids didn't have a problem with Wy at all. Not at all. Parents? Yes. Some of the new teachers? Yes. His peers, though, who grew up with him didn't seem to care. IIRC, Wy used the ladies room.

Max, Chris, Pat...anyone else remember Pat from SNL--the mysteriously androgynous character with the androgynous name? It's like that. Learning that Chris or Kelly or Morgan or Madison can be a boy's name and a girl's name.

These parents seem to think if we ignore it, it will go away, if my child never learns about it, it won't happen. Guess what, bigoted parents? Whether your child hears about it or not, the gay ones are still gay. The women trapped in men's bodies are still trapped. The boys trapped in women's bodies are, too. They work to hide the existence of Black, Latino, homosexual, Jewish, atheist, WIccan, non Straight, white, christian from their children, but their children live in the same world where all kinds of people exist.

As an aside: Banned books are far more appealing: The most subversive thing kids can do is read banned books.

If these people weren't so insecure about themselves, they wouldn't be so afraid of non-conformity.