Ep 53: What Are Schools Doing About Transgenderism?

If you're a parent looking for sound, solid advice on how to raise your child in an ever-increasing dangerous world, then this podcast is for you. So here's your host, Richard Ramos.

Hello everybody, and welcome back to. Welcome to the Parent Whisperer Podcast. I'm Richard Ramos. Today we're going to pick up our discussion on the subject of gender dysphoria or transgenderism and what is happening in schools or in the schools here in California. Because obviously I can't cover every school in the country, you know, every school district Makes up their own policies and things like that. So as a parent, you have an obligation and responsibility to be involved in the education of your child, not just because of this issue, but just because. That's just good parenting. We should know what is going on in the classroom. And that was one of the good outcomes 2 good outcomes with COVID I think. One was that some parents who had not been able to spend time with their kids the way they'd like to because work, travel schedules, and you're busy, busy, busy here and there all the time, not home as much as they wanted to be, they were forced to be home. And for some families, that worked out very well. They were able to spend some quality time together, and that was a good thing. The second good thing that came out of that is that a lot of parents all of a sudden became aware of what was being taught in the classroom because kids were online and they could hear, and a lot of parents were not real happy with some of the things that were being taught. And so that turned into a big controversy, which I'm not going to get into all that aspect of it. I'm talking about this particular topic of gender dysphoria and trans genderism. Now let me be clear, I'm not shaming anybody, I'm not blaming anybody, and I certainly do not want to cause you as parents to have more stress or worry than you may already have. As I said, you may be fine with all of this, and that's your call. But if your kids are really experiencing the distress that comes with gender dysphoria, And you are also upset about it or sad about it. I don't want to put any more pressure on you that you already experience. My purpose is simply to raise awareness, provide guidance, and encouragement to parents dealing with this exploding topic. I gave you some numbers in the last episode about how. Tavistock— I forget the full name of it— Institute over there in London, how they had gone from just seeing several kids, you know, when they started, and I think it was in 2008, and it just has skyrocketed to thousands of kids, 3,000, 4,000, 5,000 of kids now that they're dealing with. And I talked about why that's happening. So whether I agree or not personally, I mean, I can express You know, my opinion. I don't like seeing what I see going on in the schools, and that's why I'm going to talk about it. I can't speak for every principal, every teacher. I'm not talking about every principal and every teacher, every school, every school district. I'm not talking about that. But in general, I do believe there is an agenda for this that— and I don't agree with it. I don't like it. But, you know, that's me and my personal feelings about it. Really is not the issue, really. And even for you as a mom and dad, you whether you like it or not, what I'm trying to impress on you—it's happening. It's happening. And if it's happening with you and your child, that's what I'm trying to encourage. What are you going to do? What are you going to say? What's the best way to go about it? And I'm not. Pretending like I have all the answers. I mean, there's some people that come down hard on this. I've been sharing with you the book by Dr. Miriam Grossman, Lost in Translation: A Child Psychiatrist's Guide Out of the Madness. I encourage you to read it for yourself. There's some stories in there that are very sad, very tragic. People that made decisions early on, and now they regret it. Parents listening to their doctors and pediatricians and schools and counselors that were encouraging them to. Take on the pronouns and allow their kids to kind of take the lead in what they wanted to do with their transgender transgenderism or gender identity, and she tells a lot of stories in there that are very sad. Is that true for everybody? No, it's not. It's not, and I acknowledge that. So that's where I'm coming from. In the first episode, I talked about raising children in a gender. Identity Confused World. I believe that was episode 50. Let me check here. Yeah, I believe that was in episode 50. In episode 51, I talked about why kids are questioning their identity today. And in the last episode, which would be episode 52— this way you can find it on the podcast— I talked about what do I say? My kids are confused about their identity. What should I say or not say? What should I do or not do? So I talked about Those things, and today I'm talking about the schools and how they're handling the issue. Now I imagine a lot of you out there parents, you're aware of that already, but if you're not, you should be. And again, agree or disagree, it's happening, and you should have a say. There's nothing wrong with that. And a lot of schools and school districts and school boards are trying to. Silence you and push you out and not give you a say in the education of your children. And that's why a lot of parents are pulling their kids out of public schools and they're opting for homeschooling and things like that. And then they're coming under attack for that. So again, those are all political different issues, but it's what's happening. So let me start by just— again, I'm just going to be dealing with the public schools here in California. Because in my opinion, in my view, they have been taken over or they've given themselves over to the priority of the LGBTQ+ agenda. And the major topic right now has to do with transgenderism. And I just want to, you know, if you haven't read the law, I'm not going to read the whole thing, but I'm going to read some of it because this is what's being mandated. So this is AB, Assembly Bill 1955, 1955, and here's what it says. New California law prevents schools from requiring staff to notify parents. I mean, that right there just bothers me, okay? I do not agree with that, especially, you know, in Parents on a Mission, what I teach. Mom and Dad, you are the final authority in the life of your children, not the principal, not the counselor, not the doctor, not the school, not the policeman, None of those people are the final authority unless, of course, your kid gets in trouble, then you're going to have to deal with the law. But other than that, you are the final authority. You have that responsibility, not them. So right from the beginning, new California law prevents schools from requiring staff to notify parents if a student identifies as LGBTQ. It's in response to some districts requiring staff to notify parents when students identify as a gender other than what's in their official file. So in other words, very simple: teachers do not have to notify parents. That is now the law, and if they do, they're breaking the law. This bill would prohibit school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and the state special schools, and a member of the governing board. or body of those educational entities from enacting or enforcing any policy, rule, or administrative regulation that requires an employee or a contractor to disclose any information related to a pupil's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to any other person— that's you, mom and dad— to any other person without the pupil's consent unless otherwise required by law as provided. So it goes on, but you get the picture. I mean, this is what's happening. I was reading another article on this. Gay pride videos shown in a Glendale 3rd grade classroom have added an intense local chapter to a national debate over how and when lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation should be broached in public schools. Yeah, why shouldn't we talk about that as parents? Of course. The episode unfolded with the disclosure that a teacher at Jefferson Elementary had shown her students gay pride videos and had asked for the district's help in assessing which of 4 specific videos would be appropriate for classroom use. The teacher's lessons and her inquiry happened nearly a year ago, but they surfaced last month with the online posting of an email exchange between the teacher, this woman, the teacher, I don't need to name her, and a district curriculum advisor. So the thing is, it's a 3rd grade class, and she's wanting guidance which of these gay pride videos should I show to my 3rd graders? I mean, I don't know how you feel about that. Maybe you're okay with it. I'm not, and a lot of other parents aren't. My point is you should be aware whether or not that's happening in your child's school. Then it goes on to say, how early are California students supposed to learn about issues related to gender expression and identity? Well, shouldn't that be a topic for parents? Shouldn't the school call a parent meeting and discuss that topic or have small group meetings or focus groups and talk with parents about this question? It goes on, this article, much of this is left to local discretion. In other words, they're leaving it up to the school district or the school. But state guidelines note that 2nd graders By studying the stories of a diverse collection of families, including those with lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender parents, and their children can both locate themselves and their own families in history and learn about the lives and historical struggles of their peers. So, you know, we could go in a lot of directions here, but the question is, is that what you want your kids learning in school? And I don't have to tell you that the great— the scores of our children in math, reading, and science and engineering and these kinds of things are terrible. I think we all know that. I think we all know that in America, the public schools have failed our children as far as their education and the kinds of topics. You know, what did they used to say? The math, reading, and arithmetic. being proficient and excellent in those topics. That's not happening. And maybe you could have an argument. You say, hey, our kids are at the top in those things, and we're going to put this sex education, this LGBTQ stuff, gay pride stuff, we're going to add that. Well, that to me also would come down to people's moral values, and we could have a debate about that. But to me, this isn't even debatable. Because of the horrendous scores on these tests of our schools of how well they're doing. You could look it up for yourself. I don't need to get into that. I think we all know that our public schools are failing, but these are the things they're pushing. Now, there's certain books that have been written, and some of them are, you know, being advocated to be used by teachers in the classroom, or they're in the school library. One of them that I have here is— it's called the LGBTQ History Coloring Book. Now, this is a coloring book for little kids, obviously, that color. And on every page, it features some person, an individual, whether they're Hispanic or Black or Asian or white, but they are either gay or they are lesbian or they are transgender. And they're celebrating their individuality and maybe some achievement that they received. Okay, no problem with that. I mean, as an individual, whether they're gay or straight or whatever they are, if they've achieved some kind of award for their talent, you know, good on them. That's not the issue. My question is, is this what we want our kids being indoctrinated with? Those are subjects that can be talked about at home with parents, not at school where you send your kids to schools or public libraries and you have drag queens reading stories to them. Now, again, if you don't have a problem with that, that's your call. But let's not pretend like there's not an agenda and some kind of normalizing that is being put forth in the eyes of little children to normalize men that are dressed up as women. Well, how else do you say it? Now, I'm not into bashing, you know, again, that's an adult topic, and if that's what certain people want to do, okay. But why do you think we have the movie association Of America putting labels on movies. I mean, do we just allow our kids to go watch anything online, on the internet, on TV, or in a movie? We don't care if— what did they rate it? Oh, it doesn't matter. It's X-rated, it's R-rated, it's PG-13. It doesn't matter. My 5-year-old, it doesn't— he can go see that. Why do you think they do that? They do that because it's age-appropriate. To expose children to certain language, certain scenes, certain sexual things. And so again, you know, what's happening at these drag queen story hours? A children's literacy program where drag performers read age-appropriate books in schools, libraries, and bookstores. And you know, what's the point? Well, they say the point is that they want to normalize or they want to expose the children to all these different lifestyles. I mean, where does that begin and where does that end, that kind of discussion? I mean, we could talk about a lot of things that— I mean, I don't even want to mention the ugliness of where that could go. But again, the point is age-appropriate. That's the key. And some of these other books, you know, I've read this book, one's called Flamer and the other one's called Gender Queer. And then I shared with you the coloring book. I mean, I read these books and I understand why these young people wrote these books. It's their story of their challenge and their being bullied and made fun of and ostracized because they realize they're gay and trying to come out. You know, I get it. But is that the kind of book that we want our 3rd, 4th, 5th graders really reading when we know that they should be reading Other things and learning other things and leave these kind of things to the parents and/or age-appropriate time, not for 2nd and 3rd graders. That is what I'm trying to get at here. So again, let me end by saying the— regardless of how we feel about this, it's real. And my goal has been to help you deal with it in the most healthy and loving way Possible. It's not about liking it, agreeing with it, or disagreeing with it. Really, it's about the agenda that schools have, and are you aware of what is going on here in California? It is the law for them to be taught this subject. So my response to that is, let's not panic. Let's not jump to conclusions. Let's not make quick life-changing decisions. But what we can do, mom and dad, is to model healthy relationships. That we're parenting through this identity time, and it's a confusion, but it's a marathon. It's not going to be solved in one moment. And the goal isn't to win an argument. I mean, you know, we could debate. Those of you listening, you may disagree with me. That's fine. Write me an email, you know. Put a review on the podcast, that's fine. But you hear what I'm saying. It's not about winning an argument. It's about the kids and showing them slow and steady leadership, making that deep connection, giving them guidance, being tender about it, and providing them a safe place as a mom and as a dad. And I want to remind you, mom and dad, that you Are the most important voice in the life of your child. I want to encourage you with that as I end this episode. Your voice matters. Your presence matters. Your leadership matters. And again, kids do not need perfect parents. They need connected parents, honest parents, emotionally steady parents. They need moms and dads. Who won't run from these hard topics or react out of fear? Because in this world full of all this noise about all these issues, you and I are in the best position to whisper wisdom. You're better at this than you think you might be. Don't be discouraged. Don't stress out. And you just showing up, you just listening, is going to go a long way to bear the fruit in the life of your child so they can reach their full potential of who they really are. So I want to conclude by saying stay steady, stay hopeful, stay connected, and keep leading with Your love and your truth. I'm Richard Ramos. You've been listening to the Parent Whisperer podcast. Please leave me a review, subscribe, share these episodes with other parents you may know that are dealing with this, and always remember, mom and dad, what I leave you with, and I say it and say it and will continue to say it again. Parents on a Mission is not for bad parents. It is for good parents who want to get better. See you next time.

So that's it for today's episode of the Parent Whisperer podcast. Head on over to Spotify, Apple, wherever you listen and subscribe to the show. One lucky listener every single week that posts a review on Apple Podcasts Will win a chance in the grand prize drawing to win a $10,000 private VIP day with Richard himself. Be sure to head on over to parentwhispererpodcast.com and pick up a free copy of Richard's gift and join us on the next episode.