School challenge: Transgender student is age 9

Philadelphia Inquirer ^ | May 3, 2008 | Joelle Farrell and John Sullivan

[End Times Sentinel]

For school officials in Haverford Township, the challenge was daunting: What do you do when a 9-year-old student, with the full support of his parents, decides that he is no longer a boy and instead is a girl?

Parents of a third-grade student at Chatham Park Elementary School approached the administration on April 16 to ask for help in making a "social transition" for their child.

(Excerpt) Full story: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/chester/20080503_School_challenge__Transgender_student_is_age_9.html The Haverford School District consulted experts on transgender children, then sent letters to parents advising them that the guidance counselor would meet with the school's 100 third-grade students to explain why their classmate would now wear girls' clothes and be called by a girl's name.

Some parents objected. Eight called the principal to ask that their child not attend the session, and some posted angry messages on the Haverford Township blog.

"Why is the school introducing this subject to 8- and 9-year-olds?" wrote the parent who started the blog thread, which had been viewed more than 3,000 times as of yesterday. "Why were we not notified sooner. We received the letter today, the discussion at school is tomorrow."

[sportutegrl]

There is no evidence that the transition ultimately helps the person, he added. McHugh said he reached his conclusions after studying the issue for 30 years, especially in the 1970s, when Hopkins was pioneering sexual-reassignment surgery. "People came to us saying that if we changed them, we'd solve all their problems," he said. "So we changed them, and their problems remained."

Has a study ever been done on the long term effects of sex change surgery?

[beaversmom]

They should have let you paint yourself green and rip up your clothes.

[svcw]

Ok, boys and girls do know they are boys or girls at nine, sorry I was trying to make it simple.
These parents are (in my opinion) living some liberal dream “oh look how open minded we are, we except this boy/girl” “look at us look at us”.
Its the same as when a homosexual will tell you they knew at five they were homosexual - it is not possible.

[Renderofveils]

Paul McHugh, a psychiatrist and professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who studied sexual reassignment surgery in the 1970s, said a school's decision to support a student's transition could have long-term psychological consequences.

"They do not have a right to stop the child, but it's different when they gather everyone around and say, 'Johnnie is Jeanie,' " he said. Society, he added, should not support the decision of an immature person.

There is no evidence that the transition ultimately helps the person, he added.

McHugh said he reached his conclusions after studying the issue for 30 years, especially in the 1970s, when Hopkins was pioneering sexual-reassignment surgery.

"People came to us saying that if we changed them, we'd solve all their problems," he said. "So we changed them, and their problems remained."

The loudest voice of reason in the whole piece, and probably the most knowledgeable of the entire group. Let's ignore him!

[beaversmom]

I’d say speak to his parents, but they are probably lefties so it would be like speaking to a 9 year old.

[ArrogantBustard]

These parents are (in my opinion) living some liberal dream “oh look how open minded we are, we except this boy/girl”

Good point.

[Blood of Tyrants]

When I was 9 the proper behavior was to laugh and ridicule and to punch him when the teacher wasn’t watching.

[Dixie Yooper]

Declare himshe as an Emo Kid with no sex affiliation and let time work out what himshe wants to be.

[Tribune7]

bump

[Tired of Taxes]

Prepare for a long thread with lots of comments. ;-) I heard this story on 1210 talk radio, but I switched it off before the calls started.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Kids figure out their identity LONG before age 9.

[ArrogantBustard]

they are probably lefties so it would be like speaking to a 9 year old.

With apologies to nine-year-olds.

[Slapshot68]

“When I was 9 the proper behavior was to laugh and ridicule and to punch him when the teacher wasn’t watching.”

Actually, I was referring to the parents. ;)

[massgopguy]

My name is SleepandEat and I have Ethnic Identity Disorder Syndrome. I come to work in Blackface and demand to use the “Colored Only” rest room. I’m sure the African-Americans I work with will accept me as one of them........or they are worse than Hitler.

[svcw]

True enough.
My 4 year old granddaughter thinks she is Snow White and my 3 year old grandson thinks he is Bat Man.
I wonder if preschool will let them transchange at school?

[Tired of Taxes]

Here we go again...

[Veeram]

Years ago in the real world, this kid would be in counseling to help him with his problem.

Now, they just hand him a dress and tell him “you’re perfectly normal !!!

It’s just plain nuts that all the other normal kids have to deal with this crap.

[KarlInOhio]

“I’ve decided I’m a goldfish”.

You'll change your mind once I shove your head into a fish bowl. :-)

[twigs]

But they try to come to terms with it. I used to watch the kids in my daughter’s middle school class and they did all kinds of things to try out identities. I felt somewhat uncomfortable with it, but these kids turned out ok. Just learning who they were.

[Burkean]

The child could be intersexed, have some chromosomal problem. My uncle had klinefelter syndrome—he was XXY, meaning he had an extra X chromosome. I’ve read about people who are mosaics—a blending of two embryos into one person. It goes un-noticed if the two embryos are of the same gender, but when they are opposite gender it creates obvious issues.