Pride week in elementary school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are uncomfortable with your children knowing about trans people, that’s your problem and your insecurity. You don’t decide what is good for all. Trans people exist. End of story. I would love to see proof that exposing children to the concept of trans actually makes th become trans. Because oh guess what it doesn’t happen.

There are religions that consider these behaviors sinful. These parents have a right to protect their young children’s innocence as long as possible, i.e. elementary school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Demanding that 5yo kids "celebrate the bravery of the Trans Community" is insane.

Who is demanding that? Kids certainly don't have to participate in spirit week.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:But there are trans kids in elementary school. Think what it could mean to them to be celebrated instead of vilified.

+1

The kids will know that Bayard Rustin was gay and that he supported the LGBTQ+ community. This week seems very appropriate for elementary school and especially for one named after a gay activist.

Not appropriate for elementary school.

Not trying to be snarky but genuinely curious why you think elementary school is too young to learn about LGBTQ+ community? I would think it would help them to understand it’s good to be accepting of all people.

The message of acceptance can be given without discussing sexuality, which is what Pride is about ultimately. It’s not appropriate for young kids. An elementary school can celebrate love and school pride in a spirit week without bringing gay and trans issues into it.

+100

There is no mention of sexuality or issues. In fact if a kid asked what Trans is it could answered simply and then everyone would move on. And why would a school, a place of learning and acceptance avoid Pride month.

I would think each class would have to start with a definition of what trans is. If you skip that part, it is like celebrating MLK day and failing to mention who he was. There is no meaning/learning at all. As a K parent I would be interested to know how a K teacher would cover this topic.

If I were a K teacher, I would probably say that most people feel like their insides and their outsides match. They look like a girl and they feel like a girl, or they look like a boy and they feel like a boy. For some people that's not true, and that's why it's important to listen to people when they tell us who they are.

Then I would probably read Born Ready with them and move on with my day.

Thank you. That is helpful.

And you as the teacher feel equipt to talk to my kindergartener about switching genders? I hope not! If you made that message, many kindergarteners would think that boys who like pink and princesses should become girls and girls who like rough and tumble and short hair should become boys. That is a no! Girls can like whatever they like and boys can like whatever they like, but I don't want my child's kindergarten teacher saying that it's okay to just switch genders. That's overstepping.

You have a really active imagination, pp. I mean, do you literally sit around all day dreaming up phantom menaces to clutch your pearls over? Good Lord, there are enough real problems in the world to focus on. Why go inventing more like this?

A pp on this thread literally said they would read the book “Born Ready” to their kindergarten class. That is a book about a girl who believes they are really a boy. Many parents would object to introducing the idea that girls or boys can somehow “really be” the opposite sex.

But why? Reading books that feature trans kids (as opposed to pretending they don't exist) can have a big positive impact on helping trans kids feel seen and understood, has a mild positive impact on cis kids learning to be more inclusive of differences rather than making fun of them, and doesn't have a negative impact on anybody.

Unless this is about some wacky parents who think kids can catch being trans from a book? In which case, is accommodating those misinformed people really the way you think a school system should operate?

Public schools should stick to teaching inclusion and acceptance that is based in material reality. For example, it is perfectly fine and good for boys to wear pink and play with dolls and for girls to wrestle and have short hair.

+1

I love the themes, but why can’t there be one day for pride and accepting everyone? This is trying too hard w/ a social agenda.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:But there are trans kids in elementary school. Think what it could mean to them to be celebrated instead of vilified.

+1

The kids will know that Bayard Rustin was gay and that he supported the LGBTQ+ community. This week seems very appropriate for elementary school and especially for one named after a gay activist.

Not appropriate for elementary school.

Not trying to be snarky but genuinely curious why you think elementary school is too young to learn about LGBTQ+ community? I would think it would help them to understand it’s good to be accepting of all people.

The message of acceptance can be given without discussing sexuality, which is what Pride is about ultimately. It’s not appropriate for young kids. An elementary school can celebrate love and school pride in a spirit week without bringing gay and trans issues into it.

+100

There is no mention of sexuality or issues. In fact if a kid asked what Trans is it could answered simply and then everyone would move on. And why would a school, a place of learning and acceptance avoid Pride month.

I would think each class would have to start with a definition of what trans is. If you skip that part, it is like celebrating MLK day and failing to mention who he was. There is no meaning/learning at all. As a K parent I would be interested to know how a K teacher would cover this topic.

If I were a K teacher, I would probably say that most people feel like their insides and their outsides match. They look like a girl and they feel like a girl, or they look like a boy and they feel like a boy. For some people that's not true, and that's why it's important to listen to people when they tell us who they are.

Then I would probably read Born Ready with them and move on with my day.

Thank you. That is helpful.

And you as the teacher feel equipt to talk to my kindergartener about switching genders? I hope not! If you made that message, many kindergarteners would think that boys who like pink and princesses should become girls and girls who like rough and tumble and short hair should become boys. That is a no! Girls can like whatever they like and boys can like whatever they like, but I don't want my child's kindergarten teacher saying that it's okay to just switch genders. That's overstepping.

You have a really active imagination, pp. I mean, do you literally sit around all day dreaming up phantom menaces to clutch your pearls over? Good Lord, there are enough real problems in the world to focus on. Why go inventing more like this?

A pp on this thread literally said they would read the book “Born Ready” to their kindergarten class. That is a book about a girl who believes they are really a boy. Many parents would object to introducing the idea that girls or boys can somehow “really be” the opposite sex.

But why? Reading books that feature trans kids (as opposed to pretending they don't exist) can have a big positive impact on helping trans kids feel seen and understood, has a mild positive impact on cis kids learning to be more inclusive of differences rather than making fun of them, and doesn't have a negative impact on anybody.

Unless this is about some wacky parents who think kids can catch being trans from a book? In which case, is accommodating those misinformed people really the way you think a school system should operate?

Public schools should stick to teaching inclusion and acceptance that is based in material reality. For example, it is perfectly fine and good for boys to wear pink and play with dolls and for girls to wrestle and have short hair.

Who is disputing this? When you go to the Pride parade in DC this weekend, you will see plenty of boys who are wearing pink and girls who have short hair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are uncomfortable with your children knowing about trans people, that’s your problem and your insecurity. You don’t decide what is good for all. Trans people exist. End of story. I would love to see proof that exposing children to the concept of trans actually makes th become trans. Because oh guess what it doesn’t happen.

There are religions that consider these behaviors sinful. These parents have a right to protect their young children’s innocence as long as possible, i.e. elementary school.

Sure. They also have the right to choose private school or homeschooling if they don't like what's going on in public. Our ES has a rainbow club that functions like an alliance and is open to all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lgbtqb folks get the carpet rolled out for them. This is insane.

How about a week celebrating folks with disabilities? We do nothing to celebrate them.

I think it's a great idea to have a spirit week supporting people with disabilities. I also support having a spirit week supporting the LGBTQ+ community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a preschooler and I would not be happy if this was her school next year (it’s not). The themes of acceptance and everyone is important is great, but this is taking it too far.

"Themes of acceptance and that everyone is important don't apply to the LGTBQ+ community."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are uncomfortable with your children knowing about trans people, that’s your problem and your insecurity. You don’t decide what is good for all. Trans people exist. End of story. I would love to see proof that exposing children to the concept of trans actually makes th become trans. Because oh guess what it doesn’t happen.

There are religions that consider these behaviors sinful. These parents have a right to protect their young children’s innocence as long as possible, i.e. elementary school.

You don't mean innocence, you mean ignorance. They're very similar words, so it's easy to get them confused, but they have very different meanings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But there are trans kids in elementary school. Think what it could mean to them to be celebrated instead of vilified.

+1

The kids will know that Bayard Rustin was gay and that he supported the LGBTQ+ community. This week seems very appropriate for elementary school and especially for one named after a gay activist.

Not appropriate for elementary school.

Not trying to be snarky but genuinely curious why you think elementary school is too young to learn about LGBTQ+ community? I would think it would help them to understand it’s good to be accepting of all people.

The message of acceptance can be given without discussing sexuality, which is what Pride is about ultimately. It’s not appropriate for young kids. An elementary school can celebrate love and school pride in a spirit week without bringing gay and trans issues into it.

+100

There is no mention of sexuality or issues. In fact if a kid asked what Trans is it could answered simply and then everyone would move on. And why would a school, a place of learning and acceptance avoid Pride month.

I would think each class would have to start with a definition of what trans is. If you skip that part, it is like celebrating MLK day and failing to mention who he was. There is no meaning/learning at all. As a K parent I would be interested to know how a K teacher would cover this topic.

If I were a K teacher, I would probably say that most people feel like their insides and their outsides match. They look like a girl and they feel like a girl, or they look like a boy and they feel like a boy. For some people that's not true, and that's why it's important to listen to people when they tell us who they are.

Then I would probably read Born Ready with them and move on with my day.

Thank you. That is helpful.

And you as the teacher feel equipt to talk to my kindergartener about switching genders? I hope not! If you made that message, many kindergarteners would think that boys who like pink and princesses should become girls and girls who like rough and tumble and short hair should become boys. That is a no! Girls can like whatever they like and boys can like whatever they like, but I don't want my child's kindergarten teacher saying that it's okay to just switch genders. That's overstepping.

You have a really active imagination, pp. I mean, do you literally sit around all day dreaming up phantom menaces to clutch your pearls over? Good Lord, there are enough real problems in the world to focus on. Why go inventing more like this?

A pp on this thread literally said they would read the book “Born Ready” to their kindergarten class. That is a book about a girl who believes they are really a boy. Many parents would object to introducing the idea that girls or boys can somehow “really be” the opposite sex.

But why? Reading books that feature trans kids (as opposed to pretending they don't exist) can have a big positive impact on helping trans kids feel seen and understood, has a mild positive impact on cis kids learning to be more inclusive of differences rather than making fun of them, and doesn't have a negative impact on anybody.

Unless this is about some wacky parents who think kids can catch being trans from a book? In which case, is accommodating those misinformed people really the way you think a school system should operate?

Public schools should stick to teaching inclusion and acceptance that is based in material reality. For example, it is perfectly fine and good for boys to wear pink and play with dolls and for girls to wrestle and have short hair.

+1

I love the themes, but why can’t there be one day for pride and accepting everyone? This is trying too hard w/ a social agenda.

So you're ok with a Pride day, but you're not ok with a Pride week?

[Anonymous]

To the posters who support this spirit week, why don’t all 136 elementary schools in MCPS celebrate Pride?

[jsteele]

The original poster simply wanted to know whether other schools are having similar celebrations. We don't really need another thread arguing about view regarding LGBTQ folks.