Is GDS too woke?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it’s wrong to ask kids to explore their gender identity, isn’t it also wrong to just assume they are cisgender and heterosexual? You can’t have it both ways.

I’m not sure why it is so threatening to parents to ask a child to examine a part of their own identity. Clearly you are afraid of that exploration because you want a cisgedered heterosexual child.

Maybe the school needs to cover anatomy and mental health disorders first.

Yes. The school covers anatomy and mental health, of course.... I can say as a current lower school and middle school parent that GDS is a gem. We feel very lucky to be a part of the community of bright, hard working, open minded, optimistic, fun and supportive students and teachers.

Too bad they teach Jazz Jennings years before anatomy or any science.

Too bad for who?

[Anonymous]

The confused kids age 6-9 who don’t know what “on the inside” is different from “on the outside” and think a boy can merely will himself to be able to make a baby by changing his gender (because his mind told him to). No biology no anatomy yet are told you can be different on the inside from the outside. They take it literally can come home all confused about everything and furthermore are told to be confused about themselves and explore it.

Label label label. Twist the labels all up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it’s wrong to ask kids to explore their gender identity, isn’t it also wrong to just assume they are cisgender and heterosexual? You can’t have it both ways.

I’m not sure why it is so threatening to parents to ask a child to examine a part of their own identity. Clearly you are afraid of that exploration because you want a cisgedered heterosexual child.

Maybe the school needs to cover anatomy and mental health disorders first.

Yes. The school covers anatomy and mental health, of course.... I can say as a current lower school and middle school parent that GDS is a gem. We feel very lucky to be a part of the community of bright, hard working, open minded, optimistic, fun and supportive students and teachers.

Too bad they teach Jazz Jennings years before anatomy or any science.

Too bad for who?

Too bad for the parent who said they teach both just in the wrong out of context order and years apart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This message thread reeks of white supremacy and it is unfortunate that the term "woke" is being weaponized by people who are scared about non-white voices and non-hetero experiences sharing center stage at a place like GDS. The fact of the matter is that trans people exist, they are murdered at alarmingly high rates, they are discriminated against relentlessly, and learning about trans people early on -- yes, in childhood -- helps to combat these awful prejudices. I have taught my preschooler about trans and non-binary people. Not to encourage him to become trans or non-binary, but to open his eyes to a world that exists beyond the binary set I grew up under, which was exclusionary to trans people. He was not the least bit confused. If scrolling through GDS social media feed makes you worried that it is too woke -- could that be because of all of the non-white faces and stories? Would you feel differently if you replaced 80% of those posts with posts about white people? Not enough self-examination is going on in this thread about why people are having such an adverse reaction to a school's focus on historically marginalized voices. I for one think about the harnessing of all of the human potential from historically marginalized communities whose stories are being told -- this adds to the rich cultural experience. It isn't erasing the white experience. It's adding to the HUMAN experience.
Rather than get on an anonymous message board and bash a school that doesn't feel right for your family, move on and get a freaking life.

Funnily enough, when you look at the actual stats, they are murdered at about half the rate of cisgendered people.

[Anonymous]

IMO, yes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IMO, yes

But it wasn’t always like that. Once upon a time I remember GDS as probably being the best school for a well rounded child. Balancing academics and creativity. Now it is such a specific culture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If it’s wrong to ask kids to explore their gender identity, isn’t it also wrong to just assume they are cisgender and heterosexual? You can’t have it both ways.

I’m not sure why it is so threatening to parents to ask a child to examine a part of their own identity. Clearly you are afraid of that exploration because you want a cisgedered heterosexual child.

It actually is very damaging to push a child to question their identity when they are very young. During this time planting doubt when a child needs clarity, structure and ear definitions to increase healthy emotional regulation is toxic and very confusing.

[Anonymous]

*clear definitions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it’s wrong to ask kids to explore their gender identity, isn’t it also wrong to just assume they are cisgender and heterosexual? You can’t have it both ways.

I’m not sure why it is so threatening to parents to ask a child to examine a part of their own identity. Clearly you are afraid of that exploration because you want a cisgedered heterosexual child.

It actually is very damaging to push a child to question their identity when they are very young. During this time planting doubt when a child needs clarity, structure and ear definitions to increase healthy emotional regulation is toxic and very confusing.

At what age is this happening?

[Anonymous]

Wow, just googled “gds gender education” and the blog posts and articles on the gds website recapping gender studies and education is intense! One article citing a second grade classes work on reflecting on gender identity and being transgender. I mean that is a lot.

I don’t understand - at GDS is gender studies a priority academic focus like English, Math, Gender Studies, Language etc...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMO, yes

But it wasn’t always like that. Once upon a time I remember GDS as probably being the best school for a well rounded child. Balancing academics and creativity. Now it is such a specific culture.

We went for the "academics" and the convenient location, but left because of the biased ideology overload. Never bothered applying the younger two kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This message thread reeks of white supremacy and it is unfortunate that the term "woke" is being weaponized by people who are scared about non-white voices and non-hetero experiences sharing center stage at a place like GDS. The fact of the matter is that trans people exist, they are murdered at alarmingly high rates, they are discriminated against relentlessly, and learning about trans people early on -- yes, in childhood -- helps to combat these awful prejudices. I have taught my preschooler about trans and non-binary people. Not to encourage him to become trans or non-binary, but to open his eyes to a world that exists beyond the binary set I grew up under, which was exclusionary to trans people. He was not the least bit confused. If scrolling through GDS social media feed makes you worried that it is too woke -- could that be because of all of the non-white faces and stories? Would you feel differently if you replaced 80% of those posts with posts about white people? Not enough self-examination is going on in this thread about why people are having such an adverse reaction to a school's focus on historically marginalized voices. I for one think about the harnessing of all of the human potential from historically marginalized communities whose stories are being told -- this adds to the rich cultural experience. It isn't erasing the white experience. It's adding to the HUMAN experience.
Rather than get on an anonymous message board and bash a school that doesn't feel right for your family, move on and get a freaking life.

I think this characterization of people asking these questions is not accurate, nor is the description of what they are weighing in making educational decisions. I know plenty of parents, us included, who are actively, openly, passionately committed to BLM, transgender rights, stop asian hate, etc. In fact, for our family, those causes are personal. We have different views than you do, though, about WHEN or HOW it is appropriate to introduce our children to these issues and the horrific acts that catalyze these movements. We're not the only ones, and no, we're not white and neither are the families I'm thinking of, so you might consider whether it's correct to assume that everyone who happens to disagree with you as "non-marginalized." Far from it here. Far from it.

Just because someone disagrees about the when and the how doesn't mean they are weaponizing "woke." In fact, it is this very sort of attitude you set forth--the "if you don't agree with me then you must hate marginalized groups/you must be full of white privilege"--that adds to the reasons some families are wary of a woke education. Including mine.

+1 Exactly

[Anonymous]

What’s the “new” GDS? What’s taken its place?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, just googled “gds gender education” and the blog posts and articles on the gds website recapping gender studies and education is intense! One article citing a second grade classes work on reflecting on gender identity and being transgender. I mean that is a lot.

I don’t understand - at GDS is gender studies a priority academic focus like English, Math, Gender Studies, Language etc...

even better - because it's a progressive political school and progressive pedagogy school it can tie its home-cooked k-5 social studies units (Gender Studies / Identity labels / Race studies) into reading class, library class, history and major projects. So it's daily 1-2 class periods, even during the slashed half days they had going for 2/3s the school year. Oh, and then the assemblies, guest speakers, national day of XYZ, and books read to the class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This message thread reeks of white supremacy and it is unfortunate that the term "woke" is being weaponized by people who are scared about non-white voices and non-hetero experiences sharing center stage at a place like GDS. The fact of the matter is that trans people exist, they are murdered at alarmingly high rates, they are discriminated against relentlessly, and learning about trans people early on -- yes, in childhood -- helps to combat these awful prejudices. I have taught my preschooler about trans and non-binary people. Not to encourage him to become trans or non-binary, but to open his eyes to a world that exists beyond the binary set I grew up under, which was exclusionary to trans people. He was not the least bit confused. If scrolling through GDS social media feed makes you worried that it is too woke -- could that be because of all of the non-white faces and stories? Would you feel differently if you replaced 80% of those posts with posts about white people? Not enough self-examination is going on in this thread about why people are having such an adverse reaction to a school's focus on historically marginalized voices. I for one think about the harnessing of all of the human potential from historically marginalized communities whose stories are being told -- this adds to the rich cultural experience. It isn't erasing the white experience. It's adding to the HUMAN experience.
Rather than get on an anonymous message board and bash a school that doesn't feel right for your family, move on and get a freaking life.

Funnily enough, when you look at the actual stats, they are murdered at about half the rate of cisgendered people.

Also sad how their suicide rates remain ultra high years before and years after transitioning. Maybe simple affirmation therapy (instantly agree with whatever the child says or feels) from a self-diagnosing adolescent is malpractice.