How To Teach Your Children

There are some educators who are doing the right thing.

HS principals group: Transgender students are not 'those' kids. They're 'our' kids
FoxNews
By Michael Allison
Published May 18, 2016

The Obama administration’s recent guidance on the treatment of transgender students ignited a firestorm of response, tapping deep visceral feelings on both sides of the issue.

But enter the school building, and you see there are no “sides.” Just kids.

The public debate about whether to uphold the rights of transgender students rings hollow to school leaders, who commit to seeing each unique child and creating the school conditions in which each child can succeed. That commitment is not limited just to students who look or behave in ways our culture labels normal. It’s for all kids.

We can’t ignore the research that reveals transgender students are more likely to feel unsafe and be victimized in school. And fear for their safety causes one in three of these students to miss at least one day of school each month. The research links a 90 percent school attendance rate closely to academic success, so more absences means less learning, lower grades, and a smaller chance of success after high school. In short, kids who live in fear don’t learn very well.

In light of these details, the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NAASP) adopted a position in support of the rights of transgender students and requesting the federal government to clarify the law.

There are school systems that are doing the right thing. There are people who realize that we are not a threat and that the conservatives are using this as a wedge issue to divide the country and to distract voters from the real problems.

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This afternoon I am up in Vermont with my cousins and brother and their spouses. We have been getting together regularly, as we are getting older you never know when this will be the last time that we can get together.