School Bells – Current affairs – Grade 8 – week 4
Goodness, this is week four already for the weekly current affairs class for the 8th grade class. This week the assignment was to come prepared to discuss Tom’s question about why some people are so uncomfortable with those who are transgendered. This is a very personal issue for Tom but he is also concerned about the larger issue of why so many of us seem to get frightened of or are angry at people who are different.
Me: Good morning class. How is everyone?
Class: Good morning Mr. Jim.
Me: I had suggested that this week we talk about Tom’s question about why some people are so uncomfortable with those who are transgendered. I hope that everyone was able to talk to their families about this. Who wants to share their conversations with family members?
Amy: My dad said that he would be very uncomfortable having a girl who was a boy in the bathroom. My mother then asked why he would care because the person would probably be using a stall and not a urinal. Then I asked how he would know if the boy had been a girl and he said everyone would know. My mother wanted to know why he would be so uncomfortable. He was not able to answer her.
Me: Why do you think he was so uncomfortable?
Amy: He thought about it and said that he did not know why he is so uncomfortable. He said that growing up he cannot recall ever knowing anyone who was transgendered.
Me: What does the class think? Was there no transgendered people when your parents were growing up?
Tom: There were transgendered people but most people did not talk about family members who were transgendered. Even most transgendered people did not feel safe talking about their concerns. There were some famous people such as Christine Jorgensen, Chaz Bono and some others but it was not something which many people talked or accepted. Also there were not many doctors working with pre-surgery issues. Even now the cost can be well over $100,000.00. Sometimes insurance will cover but often that is not the case and even then the policy can cost a lot. There are some questions about whether this is a pre-existing condition which insurers have to cover. Still, the cost of the policy and the deductible amount can be a lot.
Me: Wow, Tom you have already researched a lot. I am impressed.
Tom: My parents say it is easier to find out information than it used to be.
Me: Let’s get back to question of why many people are so uncomfortable with even talking about the issues faced by transgendered people. Has this been true for all cultures?
Abdul: In our culture in Egypt we do not allow homosexual behavior or transgender behavior. My understanding is that people in this country used to go to prison for such behavior.
Me: Yes, I think it is easy to forget that the more accepting attitudes among many in this country is new.
Amy: I read that many Native American tribes honored what is now being called Two-spirited people and talked about four groups of people – masculine males, feminine males, masculine females and feminine females. There was no sense of judgement about which group one was.
Me: That is true.
Amena: How did people decide that being transgendered, gay, bisexual, lesbian was wrong?
Paul: Uncle Jim, you tell Sam and me all the time that little children are very accepting until they are told something is wrong.
Me: That is true. What are some of the reasons that people decided that it was a choice to be transgendered, gay, lesbian and transsexual?
John: God told them.
Me: Well it is certainly true that many religions teach that God has said that it is wrong.
Susie: Mr. Jim Do you think that sometimes we want something to be true hard enough and decide that God said it?
Me: Hard enough is great way of saying that. It is true that some people think they can hear God saying something. Other people think that we need for other people to believe something and if we blame it on God people are more likely to behave that way.
Amy: What does that have to do with homosexual behavior or transgendered behavior Mr. Jim?
Me: Let’s think about homosexual behavior. It used to be that many children and women died in childbirth. The tribes needed a lot of people to work on the farm to do work such as farming, gathering wood, building homes and lots of other things. The belief was that there was a limited amount of sperm and so they decided it was wrong to waste it by having sex with another male or to masturbate.
Tom: That does not explain the fear of transgendered people Uncle Jim.
Me: No it doesn’t does it?
Susie: My mom says that it is easier if we know what to expect. If a man acts like a man or a woman acts like a woman then everyone knows how to treat them and what to expect.
Abdul: We really like living in the United States but sometimes it is very confusing because you never know what to expect or how to treat another person. In Egypt in public you knew how to treat men and women and which one they were. In private sometimes there were lots of arguments because we did not wear our public behavior.
Me: That is a good point. Sometimes we are more comfortable if we know what to expect and how to behave even if we are not really like that in private.
Tom: I think we also worry about what others will think or if someone will make fun of us.
Me: Say more about that Tom.
Tom: As long as I dressed and tried to act like a Tom most boys did not make fun of me. When I started wearing different clothes I wanted to do that, but, at the same time, I did not want anyone to make fun of me. Even some of my friends were nice to me in private but would joke and make fun of me in public because they were afraid that if they defended me others would question who they were.
Me: How did that make you feel Tom?
Tom: I was hurt, confused and afraid Mr. Jim.
Me: I am really sorry about. Did anyone stand up for you?
Tom: Paul always did and he did not care if people thought he was my friend. That felt really good.
Me: Good for Paul. How is this year for you?
Tom: Everyone in this class treats me well, but some other kids, mostly boys, still make fun of me.
Me: I am really sorry about that. So sometimes we treat someone badly because we are afraid if we stand up for them that people will make fun of us or bully us. Paul, how come you stood up for Tom?
Paul: Uncle Jim, if you or my parents ever heard that I made fun of someone you would have been very upset with me. Sam and I always knew it was wrong to make fun of someone else. We always met a lot of different people at home or at hour house.
Me: That is true. We worked very hard to help each other have the courage to treat everyone with respect.
Paul: We also learned that there are no male or female behaviors except boys cannot have babies! I am glad of that!
Me: Dear me. It seems as if we just got started on this conversation and now the time is up. I am really proud of all of you. I hope that you thought we did well in starting to talk about this subject Tom.
Tom: Thanks, Mr. Jim.
Me: Next week we will talk about Amena’s concerns about the refugees. Please talk to each other and do some research about the refugee issue and what we should do to do to help them. Is there a way to stop the wars and other conditions which create refugees? What should we do when there are millions of people who need homes, food, clothing, jobs and education? What are we willing to share?
Ring, ring, ring
Me: Class over. Have a wonderful week.
Written August 29, 2016
Goodness, this is week four already for the weekly current affairs class for the 8th grade class. This week the assignment was to come prepared to discuss Tom’s question about why some people are so uncomfortable with those who are transgendered. This is a very personal issue for Tom but he is also concerned about the larger issue of why so many of us seem to get frightened of or are angry at people who are different.
Me: Good morning class. How is everyone?
Class: Good morning Mr. Jim.
Me: I had suggested that this week we talk about Tom’s question about why some people are so uncomfortable with those who are transgendered. I hope that everyone was able to talk to their families about this. Who wants to share their conversations with family members?
Amy: My dad said that he would be very uncomfortable having a girl who was a boy in the bathroom. My mother then asked why he would care because the person would probably be using a stall and not a urinal. Then I asked how he would know if the boy had been a girl and he said everyone would know. My mother wanted to know why he would be so uncomfortable. He was not able to answer her.
Me: Why do you think he was so uncomfortable?
Amy: He thought about it and said that he did not know why he is so uncomfortable. He said that growing up he cannot recall ever knowing anyone who was transgendered.
Me: What does the class think? Was there no transgendered people when your parents were growing up?
Tom: There were transgendered people but most people did not talk about family members who were transgendered. Even most transgendered people did not feel safe talking about their concerns. There were some famous people such as Christine Jorgensen, Chaz Bono and some others but it was not something which many people talked or accepted. Also there were not many doctors working with pre-surgery issues. Even now the cost can be well over $100,000.00. Sometimes insurance will cover but often that is not the case and even then the policy can cost a lot. There are some questions about whether this is a pre-existing condition which insurers have to cover. Still, the cost of the policy and the deductible amount can be a lot.
Me: Wow, Tom you have already researched a lot. I am impressed.
Tom: My parents say it is easier to find out information than it used to be.
Me: Let’s get back to question of why many people are so uncomfortable with even talking about the issues faced by transgendered people. Has this been true for all cultures?
Abdul: In our culture in Egypt we do not allow homosexual behavior or transgender behavior. My understanding is that people in this country used to go to prison for such behavior.
Me: Yes, I think it is easy to forget that the more accepting attitudes among many in this country is new.
Amy: I read that many Native American tribes honored what is now being called Two-spirited people and talked about four groups of people – masculine males, feminine males, masculine females and feminine females. There was no sense of judgement about which group one was.
Me: That is true.
Amena: How did people decide that being transgendered, gay, bisexual, lesbian was wrong?
Paul: Uncle Jim, you tell Sam and me all the time that little children are very accepting until they are told something is wrong.
Me: That is true. What are some of the reasons that people decided that it was a choice to be transgendered, gay, lesbian and transsexual?
John: God told them.
Me: Well it is certainly true that many religions teach that God has said that it is wrong.
Susie: Mr. Jim Do you think that sometimes we want something to be true hard enough and decide that God said it?
Me: Hard enough is great way of saying that. It is true that some people think they can hear God saying something. Other people think that we need for other people to believe something and if we blame it on God people are more likely to behave that way.
Amy: What does that have to do with homosexual behavior or transgendered behavior Mr. Jim?
Me: Let’s think about homosexual behavior. It used to be that many children and women died in childbirth. The tribes needed a lot of people to work on the farm to do work such as farming, gathering wood, building homes and lots of other things. The belief was that there was a limited amount of sperm and so they decided it was wrong to waste it by having sex with another male or to masturbate.
Tom: That does not explain the fear of transgendered people Uncle Jim.
Me: No it doesn’t does it?
Susie: My mom says that it is easier if we know what to expect. If a man acts like a man or a woman acts like a woman then everyone knows how to treat them and what to expect.
Abdul: We really like living in the United States but sometimes it is very confusing because you never know what to expect or how to treat another person. In Egypt in public you knew how to treat men and women and which one they were. In private sometimes there were lots of arguments because we did not wear our public behavior.
Me: That is a good point. Sometimes we are more comfortable if we know what to expect and how to behave even if we are not really like that in private.
Tom: I think we also worry about what others will think or if someone will make fun of us.
Me: Say more about that Tom.
Tom: As long as I dressed and tried to act like a Tom most boys did not make fun of me. When I started wearing different clothes I wanted to do that, but, at the same time, I did not want anyone to make fun of me. Even some of my friends were nice to me in private but would joke and make fun of me in public because they were afraid that if they defended me others would question who they were.
Me: How did that make you feel Tom?
Tom: I was hurt, confused and afraid Mr. Jim.
Me: I am really sorry about. Did anyone stand up for you?
Tom: Paul always did and he did not care if people thought he was my friend. That felt really good.
Me: Good for Paul. How is this year for you?
Tom: Everyone in this class treats me well, but some other kids, mostly boys, still make fun of me.
Me: I am really sorry about that. So sometimes we treat someone badly because we are afraid if we stand up for them that people will make fun of us or bully us. Paul, how come you stood up for Tom?
Paul: Uncle Jim, if you or my parents ever heard that I made fun of someone you would have been very upset with me. Sam and I always knew it was wrong to make fun of someone else. We always met a lot of different people at home or at hour house.
Me: That is true. We worked very hard to help each other have the courage to treat everyone with respect.
Paul: We also learned that there are no male or female behaviors except boys cannot have babies! I am glad of that!
Me: Dear me. It seems as if we just got started on this conversation and now the time is up. I am really proud of all of you. I hope that you thought we did well in starting to talk about this subject Tom.
Tom: Thanks, Mr. Jim.
Me: Next week we will talk about Amena’s concerns about the refugees. Please talk to each other and do some research about the refugee issue and what we should do to do to help them. Is there a way to stop the wars and other conditions which create refugees? What should we do when there are millions of people who need homes, food, clothing, jobs and education? What are we willing to share?
Ring, ring, ring
Me: Class over. Have a wonderful week.
Written August 29, 2016
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