A Church of England school instructor informed a student she was “despicable” after she contradicted that her schoolmate determines as a cat.
The 13-year-old woman and her friend were reprimanded by their instructor at Rye College, in East Sussex, on Friday at the end of a Year 8 class on “life education” in which they were informed they can “be who you want to be and how you identify is up to you”.
The row, which has actually irritated moms and dads, was presumably triggered by among them asking a fellow student: “How can you identify as a cat when you’re a girl?”
Their instructor informed them they were being reported to a senior leader and were no longer invite at the school, part of the Aquinas Trust, a Church of England network of 11 schools, if they continued to express the view that just kids and women exist.
‘They are genuinely unwell – crazy’
The Telegraph has actually heard a recording of the heated exchange taken by among the students, in which the instructor begins by stating “how dare you – you’ve just really upset someone” by “questioning their identity”.
The student reacted: “If they want to identify as a cat or something then they are genuinely unwell – crazy.”
The instructor then asks the women “where did you get this idea from that there are only two genders”, including: “It is not an opinion.”
The instructor said that “gender is not linked to the parts that you were born with, gender is about how you identify, which is what I said right from the very beginning of the lesson.”
She included that “there is actually three biological sexes because you can be born with male and female body parts or hormones” and “there are lots of genders – there is transgender, there is agender who are people who don’t believe that they have a gender at all”.
The women said they “don’t agree with that” which you “can’t have” agender due to the fact that “if you have a vagina you’re a girl and if you have a penis you’re a boy – that’s it”.
The instructor inserted in a raised voice: “What do you mean you can’t have it? It’s not a law … Cisgender is not necessarily the way to be – you are talking about the fact that cisgender is the norm, that you identify with the sexual organ you were born with, that’s basically what you’re saying, which is really despicable.”
The instructor recommended they were homophobic and baffled, which the women rejected. When the students said their moms would be on their side, the instructor reacted: “Well that’s very sad as well then.”
The instructor said that “if you don’t like it you need to go to a different school”, including: “I’m reporting you to [senior staff]you need to have a proper educational conversation about equality, diversity and inclusion because I’m not having that expressed in my lesson.”
‘The shutting down of debate’
The Telegraph has actually called the school and the trust for remark.
The parent of the student who took the recording revealed fury online and thanked “those who have been kind and supportive” to her child.
A parent of another Year 8 student at the school who has actually received the very same lesson informed The Telegraph: “I understand the point the teacher was attempting to make, what bothers me is the shutting down of debate in such a threatening and aggressive manner, which I don’t believe is appropriate in an educational setting.
“Regardless of the subject, education should serve to build awareness of differing points of view to widen the understanding of a subject. It shouldn’t be a case of indoctrination.”
The Church of England trust that handles the school in addition to others in East Sussex, Kent and south-east London supposedly informed its instructors previously this year to “re-educate” those utilizing “negative language” such as “that is mental” and “stop acting like a girl”.
A representative for Rye College said: “We are committed to offering our pupils an inclusive education. Teachers endeavour to ensure that pupils’ views are listened to, and encourage them to ask questions and engage in discussion. Teachers also aim to answer questions sensitively and honestly.
“We strive to uphold the highest standards across the school. We will be reviewing our processes and working with the relevant individuals to ensure such events do not take place in the future.”
