To the Editor:
Not long ago, if an adult showed explicit sexual material to a child who was adolescent or younger, that person would have been branded a pervert. Today, parents and others who object to teachers showing such material to young students are branded by certain so-called “progressive” elements as bigots.

And then there is the issue of teachers offering support to “transsexual” students and keeping that fact from the child’s parents. [“You are seen. You are supported. You are wanted.” Altamont Enterprise editorial, June 29, 2023].

I taught high school and middle school for over 30 years. In that time, I encountered a number of students with serious psychological issues; I will state without any reservations that the assertion that schools have a right to withhold from parents the fact their students are experiencing such issues and that an individual teacher’s judgment takes precedence over that of the student’s parent is beyond outrageous. It is criminal.

Apparently the overlords of the National Education Association and New York State United Teachers need to be reminded of the fact that is we, the taxpayers who finance the public schools in this country and that the teachers and staff in these schools are our employees.

Simply put: They work for us and are in no way in the world entitled to tell us what we may and may not know about our children’s education.

The current belief that underage students are somehow entitled along with their teachers to — as it were — “march to a different drummer” is toxic and represents a level of governmental interference in citizens’ lives that has no place in a democracy but is characteristic of fascist regimes.

In closing, the words of the old protest song “The Times They Are A-Changin’” might be summoned:  “Mothers and fathers across the land/Don’t criticize what you can’t understand/Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command.” It is worth noting that, if those words were translated into German, they could easily have served as the marching song of the Hitler Youth.

Michael Nardacci

Albany
 

Editor’s note: The New York State Education Department states in a best-practices document regarding student gender identity and sexuality, “When [transgender and gender expansive] students disclose their gender identity to school personnel, it is because they feel safe. However, as students may not have disclosed their gender identity to parents/guardians, friends, or even other school staff, it is important that school personnel receiving this information keep it confidential, unless the student explicitly states otherwise.”

It goes on to say, “Students are not required to obtain parental/guardian consent or a court-ordered name and/or gender change before being addressed by their affirmed name and pronouns. All school staff members, including Bilingual Education and World Language instructors and students should refer to students by their affirmed names and pronouns. Schools will want to normalize practices that foster opportunities to affirm students’ and staff’s gender identity, giving students opportunity to share their affirmed pronouns. School staff are responsible for ensuring students are referred to correctly. Intentionally referring to a student, verbally or in writing, by a pronoun inconsistent with the student’s gender identity or by a name other than the student’s affirmed name is a NYS Human Rights Law violation and is unacceptable.”