A teacher in the UK has told of feeling “humiliated” after being made to apologize to a class of 11-year-old girls, for calling them “girls.”
The teacher claims she was forced to apologize to her class at a £20,000-a-year girls’ school after students complained that she had said “good afternoon, girls” at the beginning of a class, reports the Daily Mail.
The students allegedly informed their teacher that “not everyone here identifies as female,” and the following day, the teacher arrived in her classroom to find that the girls had written their names and pronouns on the board, including one student who used they/them pronouns.
The students also staged a lunchtime protest when their teacher refused to give in to their demands.
The school is part of the independent Girls’ Day School Trust. The philosophy and religious education teacher believes she was “managed out” by senior school staff, but only after being made to deliver the humiliating apology.
According to the Daily Mail, the teacher told her story while giving evidence to the ongoing Cass Review, which is the independent review of England’s youth gender services currently being conducted by former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Dr. Hilary Cass.
The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous to protect the privacy of her former students, explained that the issue began in May 2021 when some Grade 7 students complained about her greeting the class by saying “good morning, girls.”
She says she was informed that not everyone in the class identified as female, and that one student stood up and asked that she “acknowledge” her pronouns.
The teacher replied that if the student's pronouns differed from her biological sex, she would need to involve the parents.
The students then staged a lunchtime protest, complete with placards saying “trans lives matter.”
“Before the end of the week I was in some sort of disciplinary process and the head of the year was telling me I had to apologise to the girls,” she told the Cass Review.
She says the head of year addressed her students, while she stood to one side.
“I am sorry you’re upset and we didn’t mean to offend. I am sorry you felt bad,” the year head told the class of 11-year-old girls.
“She spoke to the children on my behalf saying no one here would want to hurt you and you’re all really loved by us,” explained the teacher, who describes the experience as being humiliating and embarrassing.
According to the teacher, the issues started less than one week after Grade 12 and 13 prefects delivered a “diversity and inclusion” assembly on gender and pronouns.
During this assembly, the 17- and 18-year-olds showed a video that said sex is assigned at birth which included a discussion about gender identities.
The teacher believes that her refusal to bow down to the demands of her students resulted in her one-term contract not being renewed.
The Girls’ Day School Trust is a group of 25 schools and academies. In 2022, it updated its gender identity policy banning applications from male students who identify as transgender. The trust defended its decision saying that the decision was necessary in order to protect the singe-sex status of its schools.
The Post Millennial contacted the trust for comment.
