Not talking anymore: Teacher stays silent about gender row after she scolded a Year 8 pupil for questioning their classmate’s claim ‘she’s a cat’
- Senior staff member sped off from their home in East Sussex when questioned
A teacher who berated a pupil over a classmate who ‘identified as a cat’ refused to comment yesterday when confronted by the Mail.
The senior staff member sped off from their home in East Sussex when questioned by our reporter.
The teacher, who The Mail is not naming, sparked outrage after a secret recording emerged where they are heard angrily calling a pupil’s view that gender is binary ‘really despicable’ and ‘very sad’.
The video, filmed by a pupil at Rye College, includes a heated exchange in which the disgruntled teacher says the youngster needed a ‘proper educational conversation about equality, diversity and inclusion’.
It begins with the teacher asking the pupil: ‘How dare you? You just really upset someone, saying things like [you] should be in an asylum.’
The girl responds: ‘I didn’t say that, I just said if they want to identify as a cow or something, then they are genuinely unwell, and they’re crazy.’
‘You were questioning their identity,’ the teacher replies. ‘Where did you get this idea from that there are only two genders?’
‘I just said my opinion,’ the pupil replies. ‘If I can respect their opinion, can’t they respect mine?’ The teacher goes on to assert there are ‘lots of genders’ including ‘transgender’ and ‘agender’.
The teacher then links the girl’s gender-critical attitude with ‘homophobia’, adding: ‘It is not an opinion… if you don’t like it, you need to go to a different school’.
The girl defends herself by saying she was respectful, but admits she felt compelled to ask her classmate ‘how can you identify as a cat, when you are girl?’
The teacher does not refer to anyone identifying as a cat in the remarks on the recording.
The secondary school is graded as good by Ofsted, and in its previous incarnation as Thomas Peacocke Community College, boasts Stella McCartney as an alumnus.
A teacher who berated a pupil over a classmate who ‘identified as a cat’ refused to comment yesterday when confronted by the Mail (File image)
It is a member of the Aquinas Trust, which boasts that one of its key values is ‘promoting equality, celebrating diversity, and addressing disadvantage’
In February, the trust was criticised over plans to ‘re-educate’ children who make non-PC comments in the playground.
A school spokesman said the teacher should have acted differently, by ‘ensuring that pupils’ views are listened to’ and ‘encouraging them to ask questions and engage in discussion’ – instead of angrily shutting down debate on a controversial issue.
They said: ‘We are committed to offering our pupils an inclusive education. Teachers endeavour to ensure that pupils’ views are listened to, and encourage them to ask questions and engage in discussion. Teachers also aim to answer questions sensitively and honestly.
‘We strive to uphold the highest standards across the school. We will be reviewing our processes and working with the relevant individuals to ensure such events do not take place in the future.’
Source: Read Full Article