Roderic O’G: Transgender issues added to primary curriculum

I'm not sure why you think conflating transgenderism and homosexuality makes sense.

In one situation you have someone that is sexually attracted to the same sex, which people are far more accepting of now.

Transgenderism is something quite different entirely, it is someone who believes (at that particular time at least) that they are one gender inhabiting the body of another gender. Completely separate to their sexual preferences and in its most extreme manifestation requires extreme and none reversible surgery.

They accept that about homosexuality now, but they certainly didn't in the past. The idea that people are born gay, or know that they are gay from a very young age, was not at all well accepted in the 70s and 80s. The erroneous argument that children and teens couldn't actually be gay because they hadn't matured yet was also very common. Gayness was wrongly thought of as a choice, a decision or maybe something that "happened" to people because of damaging life experience or influence - we see the exact same attitudes to trans identity today.

Plenty of transgender people say that they knew they were transgender from a very young age - even of they didn't have the word for it at the time or fully understand the feeling. We should listen to them.

Ah, so facts are pedantic, good of you to clarify where you are coming from.

Also its a good idea for you not not to hold a survey, you wouldn't want to get blindsided by reality.

The reality is that a tiny percentage of people dont like the scientific definitions and that these definitions impact an even tinier percentage of people.

'A tiny percentage' don't like the scientific definition?

Could I get your definition of "a tiny persentage' please?

Rhetorical question - you never intedned to make a point, so leaving you here too.

It’s already taught in SOME schools in Ireland, depending upon the ethos of the school, whether it’s an ET school or a religious ethos school -

https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/education/exploring-gender-identity-in-primary-schools-37429108.html

It’ll differ in the way it’s taught, if it’s taught at all, because each and every school is obligated to have a Relationships and Sex Education policy, which is set by the school itself in accordance with the ethos of the Patron of the school.

That’s why all the getting worked up over nothing is a bit silly. Roderic doesn’t have any responsibility for the curriculum in Irish schools. That’s Norma Foley’s responsibility as the current Minister for Education.

Either way, I don't think it has anything to do with the broader discussion at hand.

Feel free to start a thread about it rather than derailing this one.

It’s not quiet the same I would say. There is a lot of confusion around transgenderism, including inability to provide simple definitions. I think if the language and definitions were clarified then a lot of the issues would evaporate and then teachers would actually have a solid basis to work with.

very glib statement , each has to be looked separately, and shock horror, parents etc want to protect kid's interests. Remember with the gay issue, it was leave us alone man, we just want to live our lives without the gov interfering, the trans lobby want the government interfering, providing sketchy and often irreversible "medical" treatments

What I can't get a clear answer on is how this benefits kids.

They get sex eduction close to puberty for very a good reason, to help understand what they are going through and to educate safe sex.

How is learning about transgender people helping them with education.

If the parents want to discuss it with them fair enough but school teachers should not be doing it.

Do you know what the term "young adult" means? They're adults aged 18-25. Do you really want to police what books 18-25 can read?

I really hope you got permission from all the parents and the principal of the school.

These are not part of the primary school curriculum and you spent 3 weeks doing it and the kids missed out on 3 weeks of what you are supposed to teach.

I would say the parents of any Muslim kids were delighted you were telling them about same sex marriage.

How did the parents love the approach exactly I assume they weren't in the class.

Why would any parent love kids coming home after school asking questions about something a teacher should not be telling them about.

Assuming any of this is true which I have my doubts.