{"id":1439596,"date":"2022-04-15T07:45:58","date_gmt":"2022-04-15T11:45:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1439596"},"modified":"2022-04-15T07:46:09","modified_gmt":"2022-04-15T11:46:09","slug":"kids-struggling-with-gender-identity-need-their-parents-more-not-less","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kids-struggling-with-gender-identity-need-their-parents-more-not-less\/","title":{"rendered":"Kids Struggling With Gender Identity Need Their Parents More, Not Less"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fkids-struggling-with-gender-identity-need-their-parents-more-not-less%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1439596&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/1280px-Doctor_consults_with_family_2.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Florida\u2019s new law, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flsenate.gov\/Session\/Bill\/2022\/1557\/BillText\/e1\/PDF\">Parental Rights in Education act<\/a>, prohibits sex education in the early grades and requires teachers to inform parents about students\u2019 mental health. All the debate and fanfare over its passage still seems to end with both sides mostly talking past one another.<\/p>\n<p>Opponents dubbed it the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/nbc-out\/out-politics-and-policy\/floridas-dont-say-gay-bill-actually-says-rcna19929\">Don\u2019t Say Gay<\/a>\u201d law, arguing it prevents LGBT students and teachers from being their true selves and thereby harming them. As such, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2022\/04\/why-disneys-culture-war-campaign-will-fail\/\">Disney<\/a>, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pinknews.co.uk\/2022\/03\/28\/jessica-chastain-oscars-speech\/\">host of celebrities<\/a>, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and his partner <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/03\/31\/dont-let-gay-chasten-buttigieg-near-your-children-says-nonexistent-desantis-law\/\">Chasten<\/a> have loudly denounced the bill.<\/p>\n<p>Supporters dubbed it the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/restoring-america\/community-family\/heres-why-floridas-anti-grooming-bill-is-necessary\">Anti-Grooming<\/a>\u201d bill, arguing that it prevents students from being sexualized, alienated from their families, and made vulnerable to sexual predators. It does so by empowering parents and giving them more influence over what their children learn in the classroom.<\/p>\n<p>Although I fully support the bill (along with the <a href=\"https:\/\/townhall.com\/tipsheet\/madelineleesman\/2022\/03\/15\/the-majority-of-americans-support-floridas-bill-banning-gender-identity-curr-n2604544\">majority of Americans<\/a>), both sides\u2019 framing tends to obscure the main question at hand: what is best for the students?<\/p>\n<p>Even though it seems unfathomable that any individual or organization would oppose a bill that prevents grooming, many oppose this bill because they believe it hurts students. They believe it\u2019s best for kids of all ages to feel completely comfortable and safe in expressing their gender and sexuality. This may mean keeping it a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/leaked-documents-show-how-teachers-recruit-students-form-gay-and-transgender-clubs-in-schools\">secret<\/a> from the student\u2019s parents, and cultivating an environment that actively affirms these identities.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve seen this firsthand as a high school English teacher. On occasion, a student would come out as gay or transgender and request that counselors and teachers keep this a secret from his or her parents. At school, we\u2019d then use these students\u2019 preferred pronouns and requested names.<\/p>\n<p>That doesn\u2019t seem like a huge deal, perhaps, but that wasn\u2019t all. These students frequently had other struggles, either emotional, academic, or interpersonal. <\/p>\n<p>The majority of the time, these struggles were either the cause or effect of their newfound identities and lifestyles that everyone kept secret. Thus, a parent might have a daughter struggling with severe depression and sexual assault, and fighting with her friends, all of which happened around the time she identified as a boy, but the parent never heard anything about it.<\/p>\n<p>The push for teaching sexual education and gender ideology as early as possible is part of this idea of \u201chelping\u201d LGBT students. I have heard other teachers and education gurus argue that if we don\u2019t do this, we are unconsciously stigmatizing LGBT students. Tolerating students\u2019 sexual identities and keeping their secrets simply isn\u2019t enough; if must be celebrated and directly taught so these students can feel happy with themselves and their peers can better support them.<\/p>\n<p>Even though I can respect the intentions, the logic of this argument always bothered me. I believe it fails in three critical ways.<\/p>\n<p>First, it assumes parents can\u2019t be trusted. In nearly all cases, the truth is completely the opposite. Parents love their children\u2014after all, that\u2019s why they have them, take care of them, and send them to school\u2014and they are essential partners in their children\u2019s education.<\/p>\n<p>Teachers and counselors wouldn\u2019t keep a child\u2019s phone addiction or aggressive behavior a secret from parents. Similarly, they shouldn\u2019t keep a child\u2019s transgenderism a secret from her parents. Parents need to know so they can better understand and help their child, and their child can better feel loved and understood.<\/p>\n<p>Second, it assumes that children of all ages, even those only a few years out of diapers and sippy cups, are mentally equipped to handle concepts like sex, sexual orientation, and gender fluidity. This is not the case at all.<\/p>\n<p>Rather, kids exposed to these ideas suffer enormous confusion and encounter serious social difficulties. There\u2019s a reason there\u2019s a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.apa.org\/monitor\/2022\/01\/special-childrens-mental-health\">mental health crisis<\/a> among today\u2019s kids, and robbing them of their innocence by introducing adult concepts well before they\u2019re adults is a big part of it.<\/p>\n<p>Third, it is incredibly divisive and disruptive. By its very nature, a policy of affirmation and advocacy immediately casts those who dissent in any way as villainous bigots.<\/p>\n<p>What existed before was a neutral policy that basically of avoiding these topics, sticking with academic content, and building up a common identity through school spirit and high standards. One could be Bible-thumping Christians or Marxist pansexuals, and still members of the same school community. Now, even family and friends are vilified if they express any doubts about certain labels and lifestyles.<\/p>\n<p>People are right to be concerned about today\u2019s students\u2019 welfare, especially after what students were put through for the past two years. As teachers would attest, students desperately need community and guidance.<\/p>\n<p>But this doesn\u2019t happen through superficial inclusivity and taking a side in the new culture war. It happens when children are allowed to be children; when they can learn about themselves and others in a safe environment with an adult who wants to help them become better people.<\/p>\n<p>Despite what critics say, Florida\u2019s new law and others like it will help with this. In the end, it\u2019s key to remember that the welfare of children is what everyone should prioritize and be able to agree upon.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">\n  Auguste Meyrat is an English teacher in the Dallas area. He holds an MA in humanities and an MEd in educational leadership. He is the senior editor of The Everyman and has written essays for The Federalist, The American Conservative, and The Imaginative Conservative, as well as the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture. Follow him on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MeyratAuguste\">Twitter<\/a>.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Florida\u2019s new law, the Parental Rights in Education act, prohibits sex education in the early grades and requires teachers to inform parents about students\u2019 mental health. All the debate and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":551,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1439596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1439596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/551"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1439596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1439596\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1439596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1439596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1439596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}