Roderic O’G: Transgender issues added to primary curriculum

Just to be clear: he's advocating making primarcy shcool children AWARE of what transgender means: he's NOT endorsing giving endochrine supports (or any other form of medication pr treatment) with primary school kids!

Jeez, could they just leave kids be kids? Secondary school would be enough for them to learn about those issues?

It's already taught to my child in 2nd class, I've no issue with it. He knows what all of the LGBT+ things mean, at a fairly rudimentary level. He's in a mixed gender class, in an Educate Together school.

I think people who want to cause a "scene" about this are misguided at best.

let parents teach their kids about transgenderism if they wish but i don't see why it needs to be part of the school curriculum, are we to educate children on every tiny minority they may or may not come across?

Transgender issues appear to have an outsized voice and media coverage in comparison to the number of people who identify as transgender.

yeah, they are taught about loads of different religions too, taught about them, not instructed in them. They learn about refugees from different parts of the world, different cultures are celebrated at the appropriate time of the year (including St Patrick's day, shock horror right?)

And, as it happens, yeah myself and my wife have spoken to him about such things as gay rights, pride, transgender people, nonbinary etc - we haven't really spoken about sexuality yet, he's probably still a bit young for that - he knows the basics about reproduction.

I think I was in sixth class when we had someone explain the birds and the bees to us. We knew a lot of it already. I'd say today's kids with internet access know more than their parents.

So do you wait until there’s a kid with 2 daddies or a kid with 2 mummies before you mention homosexuality? And how does that work?

and if your kid goes on a play date to a house with 2 daddies, one of whom used to be mummy, do you go along and interrogate them in advance or raise it at school?

where will you make a scene?

nah, the easy way to explain to a child about hetero v homosexuality is

some men/women "want to marry" men, some men/women "want to marry" women, or "want a girlfriend" - there's no need to bring the sexual act into it really, not until a later time.

The way to explain transgenderism is really easy too, some people who, when they are born, look like boys might have a girls brain and want to dress or do the things girls do, or live as if they were a girl, and that's ok.

from there you can get into intricacies as they get older.

The real lesson at that age is one of acceptance, not necessarily a full understanding.

depending on the age of the kid they probably won't notice, if they are old enough to notice you can explain it to them. Why would anyone need to make a scene?

at least one person on this thread as said they will be making a scene, so that question is probably best directed at them

It all depends on how it's addressed in the classroom.

Just as there's nothing wrong with highlighting that different religions exist as long as pressing any particular religion on the kids is avoided, I think there's nothing wrong with just highlighting that different sexual preferences and identities exist.

what, specific, harm?

exactly what happens in my child's class at the moment, and at home too.

Parents are the primary educators of their children. As such, if parents believe that their children should be educated about these things then it is up to them to do it. The State has no role here.

presumably this goes for religion too? what about Maths? Languages? Science?

or is it just specifically transgender issues? What about other things like sexual orientation?

What is your line?

Whataboutery.

The State has no role in teaching on this issue. Go open another thread if you want to have a general debate on homeschooling, and the role of the State in education.

you brought it up, but you are now refusing to engage in good faith. Standard tactic.

Explain why the state should not be teaching about this issue.

He’s the Minister for Children, course he’s gonna have an opinion on educating children about what it means to be transgender and diversity and all the rest of it.

It doesn’t mean that it’s ever actually going to be on the curriculum, it just means that in Roderic’s opinion it should be. That’s very different from trying to have children taught about it in 90% of schools in Ireland.

I wouldn’t be the least bit concerned tbh, Roderic says a lot 😂

sure, teach them about in school, but not in any great detail (as you recommend yourself) and send them home to look it up online....

It is for parents to decide when their children are mature enough to learn about these things.

The real question is why should the State start interfering in this area of parental competence. It is proposing the change so it needs to justify it.

Thats fine and well however, I don't really see the need to even explain that to them.

This thing about "acceptance" is pure nonsense. Kids aren't taught NOT to accept homosexuals, indeed kids that young (2nd classis fairly young I'd argue) tend not to even notice those things or make a big deal of them, in the same way that they don't notice colour or ethnic background.

I don't know how "highlighting" the differences in people (from the perceived "Norm") actually helps kids to accept anything.

Indeed kids are the most accepting by default and to a fault at points.

As for the transgenderism explaination - I think you leave yourself open to a hell of a lot of questions if thats how you explain it to a 2nd class kid.

I've no doubt kids nowadays are more clued in on these things however I don't particularily want a spotlight put on these things from a young age when there is absolutely no need for it.

Right so you've never actually researched it and you don't know what's happening, so you've simply assume it exists and that 11-12 year old kid are going on the dark web to find out more about suicides in order to find out how to fo do it ad so we shouldn't teach traqnsgender in schools.

Blantant scaremonering, hyperexaggeration and ignorance proven, leaving you here. Good day.

The whole of society is set up to "accept" heterosexuality and cisgender identity. Those things are seen as "normal" by default, so they don't even have to be discussed, because they're are exemplified everywhere. You're talking about not wanting a spotlight to be shone on one area of gender identity, when the entirety of daylight is constantly shone on another part of it - so much so that you don't even realise it.

This idea that we're somehow protecting children from gender identity by not talking about it is absurd. We're already constantly exposing children to gender identity, and have been since time immemorial.