MicroWaveGeorgia school board fires teacher for reading a book to students about gender identity
Potatos_are_not_friendsI’m trying to wrap my head the intent.
Is this a case where she was fired because the book didn’t have anything to do with the class she’s teaching? Or because a bunch of parents went Karen and it made the school district look bad?
If a history class references passages from the bible, I think that is inappropriate in general but it depends on context. But if it’s using the bible to explain say the history of the Holy War, makes sense.
If she was teaching Sex Ed and talking about gender fluidity, in that context it makes sense to me.
Flying SquidThe ‘insubordination’ part is especially confounding. She’s insubordinate by reading a children’s book to children? What?
harmoneaShe’s insubordinate by reading a children’s book to children? What?
If it's "insubordination' then it's safe to assume either (a) she was explicitly told not to do this by a superior, or (b) there must be a rule or regulation against it in the school district.
Or (c) they’re making up bullshit reasons to fire her.
The thing is: You need the kids to have this information before puberty really starts to take off so they know what's going on with them when they start to feel things that are related to gender fluidity/homosexuality/whatever, so they grow up without the self-doubts and such but with the feeling that what they are is just another human being.
Things related to sexual attraction (e.g. homosexuality) might start around puberty, but gender dysphoria can start even earlier than that. This source claims that about 3/4 of folks with gender dysphoria first experience it by age 7.
Most Gender Dysphoria Established by Age 7 | Cedars-Sinai
Gender dysphoria manifests early in childhood and can persist for years before patients undergo counseling and treatment, a Cedars-Sinai study has found. The findings also reveal that untreated gender dysphoria can result in poor quality of life for transgender people, beginning in childhood and lasting throughout adolescence and adulthood.Gende...
Applying logic to bigotry is a waste of time. It’s just ingroup loyalty. The rest is mouth noises. They won’t be clever noises, and they won’t be consistent noises.
DessertStormsThe intent is transphobia, anything else is an excuse.
I mean they have a very logical point, it’s probably unlikely but for example you would have to admit if it was a maths class and there was an important standardized exam coming up, such unrelated material would be a highly unusual waste of time and in contempt of the time sensitive curriculum. We can’t just politicize every headline and grab our pitchforks before we get the full picture - details and nuance are important for categorizing things like this. Perhaps it is though, the article sounds bad with no further context.
Everyone says this but I remember my teachers wasting our time pretty often. I can still tell you about my 7th grade English teacher’s time he met his future daughter-in-law but not the difference between an adverb and a verb.
The thing I remember the most from 5th grade was the day we learned the names of all the NBA teams
It isn't a logical point it's whataboutism and an army of strawmen.
And by playing devils advocate with these empty fallacies, you are actively contributing to the problem.
And by playing devils advocate with these empty fallacies, you are actively contributing to the problem.
what details? the article is short and vague. it mentions not being in support of learning. it’s a clickbait headline with no substance provided.
there is a nuanced difference between transphobia and not wanting to discuss topics that cause arguments in a school
It’s still transphobia, the only reason it’s viewed as a political topic is because of transphobia. It’s pretty cowardly to say we should avoid talking about gender/trans issues just because it makes people uncomfortable, and might cause arguments. Trans people exist, but you’re arguement kinda says to me “They aren’t worth the trouble, id rather sideline them to avoid disagreements.”.
Abortion is a rough comparison, it’s a heavy topic and I think it would probably be inappropriate for more reasons than just being a “Political” topic.
The only reason it’s viewed as a political topic is because of transphobia.
I agree with you on this, and I won’t disagree on your point about it being cowardly. But, we should also agree on the technicality that cowardice is not the same as transphobia. Not wanting to discuss things in a setting that would lead to a state that is contrary to the goals of that setting, isn’t the same as hating or fearing that thing. Instead of abortion we can say, cell phones are banned in most schools because they cause a distraction. It’s nothing against phones particularly, but this is pretty obviously going to go against an environment for learning in most cases.
Before you get upset, I agree gender identity should be something that should be discussed in a school that has the overall goal of creating informed, productive, mentally well citizens. As the article is so vague, it’s unclear if this is a situation where it could be discussed and promote healthy dialogue, or even one where it was done in protest of the laws specifically where other curriculum was on the schedule. I hope someone with some sense can investigate and some type of justice is insured to have occurred.
Gender identity is more than just being trans you know.
Transphobes don’t know that.
I did some digging to see if she was teaching a particular subject or anything. She was a teacher in the schools gifted program and per her Wikipedia page “According to the Cobb County School Board, Rinderle read the book during a time block that was supposed to be dedicated to mathematics instruction and enrichment, but Rinderle denies this allegation.”.
I’m going to keep looking but it seems like their schooling is structured differently than I have any experience in. When I was in 5th grade we had 3 teachers that we rotated between for different subjects. It seems like she was responsible for several subjects or the entire curriculum for her students.
agent_flounderThanks for looking into this.
Reading an off topic book during a particular time block isn’t an offense deserving of termination to any same person, either.