Alberta Schools; pick your own gender and bathroom

[Jarnhamar]

I'm not too sure WTF is going on out in Alberta.

Today I'm a girl, lets hit the showers ladies.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-education-gender-lgbtq-gsa-guidelines-1.3402300

Alberta students to define their own gender: 5 big changes in new school guidelines

1. Pick your own pronoun

The guidelines advise teachers to address each student by whatever name — and pronoun — that particular student chooses, based on how the student self-identifies.

"All individuals have the right to be addressed by their chosen name and to choose pronouns that align with their gender identity and/or gender expression," the document states.

It goes on to say: "Some individuals may not feel included in the use of the pronouns 'he' or 'she' and may prefer alternate pronouns, such as 'ze,' 'zir,' 'hir,' 'they' or 'them,' or might wish to express themselves or self-identify in other ways (e.g., Mx. instead or Mr., Mrs., Ms., or Miss, or no prefix at all)."

Legal names are still to be used by default for a school's local student information system and on official transcripts, credentials and provincial assessments.

School staff are encouraged to use students' preferred names on a day-to-day basis, however, including on written report cards, and to refrain from attaching "male" or "female" to students' names in school records.

"When creating student/staff lists, school staff ensure gender designations are not included either beside individual names or as a composite number for the group," the document states.

2. Play for the boys or girls team

As much as possible, the guidelines call for the elimination of separate activities for students based on gender.

"For example, they avoid structuring courses or activities based on gender-specific roles such as 'boys' versus 'girls' in academic, athletic or talent competitions," the document states.

When it comes to sports teams, in particular, the guidelines say students should be "given the opportunity to participate on the team that reflects their gender identity and expression."

Students who do not feel comfortable in a group setting should also be given the option for "independent study to earn physical education credits," the document advises.

3. Use male or female washrooms, or neither

It should be up to each individual whether they use a washroom designated for males or females, according to the guidelines.

Specifically, the document states that students should be "able to access washrooms that are congruent with their gender identity."

In addition, schools are advised to provide at least one "non-gendered, single-stall washroom for use by any student who desires increased privacy, regardless of the reason."

This type of washroom should be also be "easily accessible" and, ideally, schools should provide several such washrooms for all students, staff and visitors to use.

4. Pick the change room you prefer

When it comes to change rooms, all students are to have access to "facilities that meet their individual needs and privacy concerns."

This could include a private area with a common change room or a separate area, such as a nearby washroom, for students to use if they don't want to change with the group.

This also applies to any student "who objects to sharing a washroom or change-room with a student who is trans or gender-diverse," or in the event that a parent or caregiver objects on behalf of a child.

In such cases, the student with an objection would be offered an alternative location to change in.

School staff should take a "whole-school approach" to ensuring all students have safe changing spaces, the guidelines advise, including "communicating clear behaviour expectations to all students, increasing adult presence and supervision, and monitoring key areas of the building and grounds."

5. Establish gay-straight alliances

Now that gay-straight alliances (GSAs) have been made mandatory at any school where students want one, school staff are advised to support the establishment of the support groups whenever students express an interest in creating one.

It's also to be made clear to students that they have this right.

People in positions of authority over school staff members, themselves, are also advised to "anticipate, support and value staff diversity, including diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions."

Staff should also be supported to serve as a liaison for student-organized support groups such as GSAs, according to the guidelines.

 

[cavalryman]

Confuse future voters early enough and you can count on them to vote for left-wing insanity for life when they grow up.  :facepalm:

 

[McG]

This is how we will arrive at the Starship Troopers showers.  Gender has just become unaffordable in washroom design.  Everything will become either communal or individual rooms.

 

[Flavus101]

Is this a The Onion report or is this the real deal?... 

 

[Colin Parkinson]

It's real, if I am in a bathroom and young girl walks in, I am walking out in a hurry, because the risks to me is to high, even a unfounded accusation can ruin you.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

I'm not too sure WTF is going on out in Alberta.

Whoa Cowboy!!  [sorry, just had to]
It's worse in Ontario my friend,.......make sure next time you get arrested to declare yourself female and get to spend a few nights in the women's jail.  Whatever you verbally self-identify as, is where you will go.......

 

[Strike]

And then there's this:

Students who do not feel comfortable in a group setting should also be given the option for "independent study to earn physical education credits," the document advises.

So, let's also encourage kids to be lazy.  :

 

[runormal]

I honestly cannot believe where this world is going. I really do not want to have kids if this is how they will grow up.

Everyone isn`t a winner.
Everyone doesn`t like you.
Everyone can`t be what ever they want
You will have to work with people you don`t like.


I really don`t understand how this can go on forever. At what point do we go, we have made a huge mistake? If and when I have kids I`ll smash my kids partcipation medals, you don`t win... Too bad better luck next time and try harder.

Like we have buble wrapped kids so much once they hit the real world they are going to have a rude awakening and will not be able to cope with it.

 

[ModlrMike]

Like we have bubble wrapped kids so much once they hit the real world they are going to have a rude awakening and will not be able to cope with it.

We're already there. I see these kids every day at work. You wouldn't believe the numbers of young adults being treated for anxiety.

A product of their finally interacting with the real world where people don't change the standard, don't give them as many tries as it takes, and folks have no problem telling them no.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

SERENITY NOW!!!!!

 

[Bzzliteyr]

Stand by, when I get on my laptop, I will post a great rebuttal to this from one of LGBTQ friends as this hits hard with them.

It's fear mongering and ignorance by many people.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Whoa Cowboy!!  [sorry, just had to]
It's worse in Ontario my friend,.......make sure next time you get arrested to declare yourself female and get to spend a few nights in the women's jail.  Whatever you verbally self-identify as, is where you will go.......

I can't tell, are you being 100% serious?

 

[Bzzliteyr]

So the post I have is in response to the Facebook post that is going around by Ezra Levant but it touches on the subjects that I am seeing on posts here.

"For my friends who continue to share the save our girls campaign. I want you to take a moment to actually read the legislation. More importantly I want you to remember that LGBTQQA* are real people. In fact I fit into that category. I get that change is scary but please stop being offensive. You are indirectly speaking about many people who are in your lives. If you read this entire post and still disagree with me please do us both a favor and remove me from your friends list.

This source is absolutely horrible. Ignoring the fact that the terminology used by this fellow is horrendous and the Caitlin Jenner comment is completely unnecessary, this fellow also seems to lack of knowledge about basic human rights. I will spare you the lesson on terminology.

1) The terms Mother and Father have been avoided by schools for more than 5 years now and it has nothing to do with transgender or LGBTQQA movements. Using only the terms mother and father or even the words parents is presumptuous. Not all students live with both of their parents, or even one parent for that matter. Terms like "family of" or "Caregiver" are far more universal. What if that student lives with their grandparents or a foster family or even a relative or step parent? This includes everyone. If a line on an emergency contact form reads Mother or Father it assumes that the mother or father and only the mother or father of that child is the emergency contact. Is it not far more appropriate to say Caregiver or simply just emergency contact?

2) Please take a moment to actually read this entire document for yourself. Ezra speaks about it from a very skewed specific standpoint that is not in the least bit objective. What exactly is it that we are protecting our children from? There is nothing in this document that says that anyone is forced to be in an unsafe environment. Gender Identity does not mean that randomly out of nowhere one day a boy or girl can decide that they are the other gender and then switch back the following. Someone who uses this policy to claim to be the opposite gender as a means of breaking the law has some more serious problems that need to be addressed. Public washrooms are by no means guarded, anyone can enter and leave them at any time, criminals are not going look at the sign and not enter because they are not the specified gender they are going to disregard it and do what they please. Nowhere in this document does it say that boys may use the girl’s washroom. Nowhere does it say that girls can use the boys bathroom. It says that people can use whichever washroom coincides with the gender of which they identify. It does not allow girls to use the boy’s washroom and boys to use the girl’s washroom. If someone is saying that they identify with one gender over the other they are not the opposite gender. Throughout this whole video he refers to “boys in the girl’s washroom” this is not accurate. These people do not identify as boys. It also does not say that boy or girls can sleep in each other’s rooms on field trips. In fact it says, "School staff should make every reasonable effort to provide solutions that are inclusive, respectful and acceptable to the student and that do not impose any additional expense or burden for the student." The key point here is that it does not impose any additional cost for that student. A solution here could be their own hotel room as paid for by the trip with no additional cost to that student in question.

3) There is a point about not being able to tell the parents about a student’s gender identity. THIS IS A BASIC RIGHT. School officials, teachers and especially councillors are bound by law to maintain student confidentiality on personal matters. If a student seeks council with an adult that they trust such as a teacher that teacher cannot share that information with anyone else. The only time they are allowed to disclose information to parents is if they are harming themselves or someone else or if they pose a threat or danger to themselves or someone else. If they are breaking rules and or are in trouble only then is that information that is disclosed. That being said a teacher or school official cannot "out" that student as gay or trans*. They can inform the parents or the violation and where it happened however sexual orientation and gender identity are separate of that event. This has partly to do with student confidentiality, partly to do with trust and personal privacy and partly to do with respect. Let me provide you with an example, as a parent would you rather your child tell you that they are LGBTQQA* or hear about it impersonally from someone with an opinion about it. Maybe you already know, do you need the school to tell you? Another example, I am gay, If someone had told my parents in a serious manner before I was ready for them to know I would have felt betrayed, disrespected and more likely to rebel or act out. In fact there is a good chance that I would not be alive. If that person is already struggling with their identity they do not need other people’s opinions and expectations of what is wrong and right. It can actually be detrimental to their mental health and development. There are very serious links between "outing" and suicide.

4) Do we assume that these people have no friends, no support system and that no one wants them around? Reasonable accommodation can be putting them in a room with their friends whom they hang out with and have sleepovers with already. Do we perhaps assume that these people are in fact not people at all? Really think about what you are supporting.

5) Comparing sex offenders to the LGBTQQA* community is absolutely ridiculous. These cases are few and far in between. I can find you far more cases from straight, cisgender mainstream society than I can in the LGBTQQA* community. This is exactly the same as saying people are going to use gay marriage for tax evasion and citizenship claims. Again these cases are few and far between and the perpetrators are mainstream people who do not identify as LGBTQQA*. These are highly publicized cases based on how they happened and in most cases they shouldn’t happen at all given the context that they happen in, but isn’t that most criminal cases?

6) Why are you blaming the NDP? They are not the first government to put this into practice, hence why it is entitled “best practices”. There were a number of petitions and rally’s during the time that the conservatives were in office the NDP just happen to be the government in power who actually passed it."

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

I can't tell, are you being 100% serious?

Yup.....

 

[Bzzliteyr]

And then there's this:

So, let's also encourage kids to be lazy.  :

Or perhaps they mean credits for being a part of a junior roller derby team (or other sport team) and doing more physical activity in a week than you'd ever see in a school?

 

[Bzzliteyr]

http://www.metronews.ca/news/calgary/2016/01/19/gender-issue-criticism-out-of-hand-says-teachers-assn.html

 

[Strike]

Or perhaps they mean credits for being a part of a junior roller derby team (or other sport team) and doing more physical activity in a week than you'd ever see in a school?

Reread the statement:

Students who do not feel comfortable in a group setting should also be given the option for "independent study to earn physical education credits," the document advises.

It doesn't say option for physical activity in another setting.  It says "study," as in sedentary activity.

I see where you're going with your point but that's not what was said in the article.

As for the rest, I currently don't have a dog in the fight so I don't really have a say either way.  But I am glad that this is coming about in a public setting so that transitions like this on the CAF side might be a bit easier since the newer recruits would have grown up with it.

 

[Bzzliteyr]

Understood, but the term "study" can be fairly broad. I'd rather a student be allowed time to study in a comfortable environment that be forced to participate in an environment that they are bullied or don't feel safe in.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Interesting post Bzzliteyr.

I picked out a few points below. (Realize you're cutting and pasting the comment, I never read the article this is responding to)

If you read this entire post and still disagree with me please do us both a favor and remove me from your friends list.

Someone can't stay on their friends list for the sin of disagreeing? I'd tell them to piss off and happily remove them.

1) The terms Mother and Father have been avoided by schools for more than 5 years now and it has nothing to do with transgender or LGBTQQA movements.
//
Is it not far more appropriate to say Caregiver or simply just emergency contact?

I agree with the latter it does make sense. I've never heard anyone accuse the LGBTQQA  community for being the catalyst behind that.

Gender Identity does not mean that randomly out of nowhere one day a boy or girl can decide that they are the other gender and then switch back the following.

Sure it does. That's the whole premise behind picking an identity. I feel like I'm a girl, who the hell are YOU to tell me I don't feel that way? If a girl decides tomorrow she self-identifies as a boy for a week then decides to change back is someone going to say no way, you wanted to be a boy now you're stuck being a boy? Not a chance.

Nowhere in this document does it say that boys may use the girl’s washroom. Nowhere does it say that girls can use the boys bathroom. It says that people can use whichever washroom coincides with the gender of which they identify.

That's just semantics.  The context is someone who is medically a male, not what someone thinks they are or wants to be.

These people do not identify as boys.

And this is guaranteed to comfort women?  A 6'3 250lb physically male student identifies as a woman so women, who both identify as women and are physically women should just deal with it? Or get special bathrooms of their own?  I don't know where an appropriate balance would be but that doesn't sound like it.  Maybe schools should have 3 different washrooms. Or 8.

A solution here could be their own hotel room as paid for by the trip with no additional cost to that student in question.

This won't get abused.

3) There is a point about not being able to tell the parents about a student’s gender identity. THIS IS A BASIC RIGHT.

Does this fall under the charter of rights and freedoms?  Everyone likes to talk about their rights but is it an actual right in the legal sense?

5) Comparing sex offenders to the LGBTQQA* community is absolutely ridiculous. These cases are few and far in between. I can find you far more cases from straight, cisgender mainstream society than I can in the LGBTQQA* community. This is exactly the same as saying people are going to use gay marriage for tax evasion and citizenship claims. Again these cases are few and far between and the perpetrators are mainstream people who do not identify as LGBTQQA*. These are highly publicized cases based on how they happened and in most cases they shouldn’t happen at all given the context that they happen in, but isn’t that most criminal cases?

I'm not sure the comments this is responding too but I can imagine. No disagreement here.

 

[Bzzliteyr]

Jarnhamar, I understand all your replies.

The thing that gets me and I saw a post about on Facebook is a tweet that sums it up (and I have to paraphrase because I can't find it)

"You've been sharing bathrooms with gays, transgendered people your whole life, you just didn't know it, this isn't a new thing"