# Jersey idiots attack trans teacher
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [March 22, 2006, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370 "2006-03-22T00:00:27Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370/21 "2006-03-22T10:39:47Z")
Frankly, if I was nearly 70 years old and still working as a teacher to a pack of elementary kids, I’d _really enjoy_ having a teaching assistant at all times.
And if the nutso parents objections get me out of bathroom-helper duties (for either or all genders), I’d call that a good thing, too.
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### Author:  [@mailman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mailman)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370/22 "2006-03-22T10:51:47Z")
It’s the classic “WHAT ABOUT the CHILDREN!?!!?” attack strategy.
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### Author:  [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370/23 "2006-03-22T13:09:21Z")
> [@Hal Briston](#):
>
> Well, while I agree 100% that this teacher has every right to keep her job and that these parents are being buffoons, let’s not pretend that kids are dense either. No change was made to her voice, and she still has very masculine features. Simply put, anyone who thinks her presence wouldn’t be a distraction to schoolchildren is kidding themselves. However, it’d be a temporary issue. Kids are adaptable, and this would not be a long-term issue.
Is there a picture of this teacher somewhere? Not all MTFs have masculine features. Also, many transgendered folks go through vocal training to feminize their voice, if necessary.
Though I agree that the kids aren’t stupid. They’ve no doubt overheard their parents discussing the issue. The whole thing is stupid. I agree that the problem appears to be rooted in religion, though it wouldn’t surprise me if they were just hiding behind religion to mask the fact that they’re uninformed dolts. They probably figured they’d get more people in their corner if they thumped their bibles loud enough.
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### Author:  [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370/24 "2006-03-22T13:12:50Z")
> [@Otto](#):
>
> While the board did absolutely the right thing in voting almost unanimously to reinstate Ms McBeth (and to the one who voted against her, fuck off and rot)
Nothing in the article you linked to states or implies that the vote was on the question of whether to allow a transsexual to teach, and furthermore the reasons for the one dissenting vote is not given. For all we know it’s standard practice to conduct a vote when someone on a leave of absence petitions to return to work, and perhaps the member who voted nay did so for reasons entirely unrelated to the teacher’s transsexuality. (Maybe he or she doesn’t have faith in the teacher’s teaching ability, or maybe he or she thinks there are enough substitute teachers on the payroll already.)
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### Author:  [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370/25 "2006-03-22T13:21:08Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#):
>
> Is there a picture of this teacher somewhere? Not all MTFs have masculine features. Also, many transgendered folks go through vocal training to feminize their voice, if necessary.
The OP’s second link has a photo.
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### Author:  [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370/26 "2006-03-22T13:29:13Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#):
>
> Is there a picture of this teacher somewhere? Not all MTFs have masculine features. Also, many transgendered folks go through vocal training to feminize their voice, if necessary.
Sorry…this is taking place not too far from where I live, so her pic has been all over the place. Here, [have a video](http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1682922&page=1).
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### Author:  [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370/27 "2006-03-22T13:48:01Z")
Thanks for the link. She really doesn’t look any more masculine than most elderly women (my grandmother, for instance). But that’s neither here nor there.
The one quote from that article made me giggle: “I will not allow you to put my kids in a petri dish and hope it all comes out fine,” said parent Mark Schneep, who had taken out an ad in a local newspaper urging parents to attend the meeting."
Good gawd…I hope none of the other parents had their children via in vitro!!!
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### Author:  [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370/28 "2006-03-22T13:56:11Z")
Wait a minute- how old are these kids? My 4 year old daughter goes to the bathroom by herself every day, and she’s not yet in elementary school. I can see if an adult is needed to make sure the student actually goes into the bathroom and not out to the jungle gym, but are teachers really accompanying children into the room and helping them on the toilet? Furthermore, do you really think a child that young will notice or care what’s up with their teacher’s sexuality?
I suspect that by the time the kids are old enough to notice the transgendered-ness of a person, they will have outgrown Ms. McBeth’s class.
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### Author:  [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370/29 "2006-03-22T14:04:13Z")
I saw this story on the local news, and I think the general reaction has been very positive. Yes, some of the parents have been bigotted morons. But, the news portrayed McBeth as a decent human being, and a good teacher. I consider this marvellous progress.
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### Author:  [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370/30 "2006-03-22T14:20:24Z")
> [@DocCathode](#):
>
> I saw this story on the local news, and I think the general reaction has been very positive. Yes, some of the parents have been bigotted morons. But, the news portrayed McBeth as a decent human being, and a good teacher. I consider this marvellous progress.
Agreed. There will always be insufferable morons, but we can be happy that the school board didn’t cave in to them. That’s a rare thing.
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### Author:  [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370/31 "2006-03-22T15:08:03Z")
Anybody else thinking of **Kaitlyn**? At least this time it’s true.
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### Author:  [@Martiju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martiju)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370/32 "2006-03-22T15:08:40Z")
Just had to comment on the juxtaposition of these two posts…
> [@Snooooopy](#):
>
> I will NOT have a teacher shedding her exoskeleton in front of MY children!!!
> [@Guinastasia](#):
>
> It’s kind of sad though that she had to wait until she was 69 to finally be comfortable in her own skin and come out.
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### Author:  [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370/33 "2006-03-22T15:17:59Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#):
>
> Anybody else thinking of **Kaitlyn**? At least this time it’s true.
Based on the picture in the OP, I was thikning more along the lines of John Goodman. Otto’s link couldn’t find a less flattering picture?
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### Author:  [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370/34 "2006-03-22T15:50:29Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#):
>
> TThe one quote from that article made me giggle: “I will not allow you to put my kids in a petri dish and hope it all comes out fine,” said parent Mark Schneep, who had taken out an ad in a local newspaper urging parents to attend the meeting."
Whoah man, is this guy gonna be disappointed when he realizes the entire universe is one big toss up.
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### Author:  [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370/35 "2006-03-22T16:09:12Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#):
>
> Anybody else thinking of **Kaitlyn**? At least this time it’s true.
You’re not the only one. I wasn’t sure it was real until I read the links.
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### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370/36 "2006-03-22T17:52:18Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#):
>
> The one quote from that article made me giggle: “I will not allow you to put my kids in a petri dish and hope it all comes out fine,” said parent Mark Schneep, who had taken out an ad in a local newspaper urging parents to attend the meeting."
“Schneep”?
Really? Schneep?
Schneep.
Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep Schneep.
Schneep.
Heh.
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### Author:  [@DoperChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoperChic)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370/37 "2006-03-22T18:00:28Z")
Here’s a site with a better [pic](http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Cronache/2006/02_Febbraio/28/maestra.shtml) . It’s in Spanish, so I have no clue what it says, but it’s one of the few pics I found of Lily and the only that has a full view of her face.
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### Author:  [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370/38 "2006-03-22T18:03:38Z")
Man, she is a beauty and a picture of femininity next to several of my teachers who were as far as I know natal women.
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370/39 "2006-03-22T18:06:55Z")
> [@McNew](#):
>
> Wait a minute- how old are these kids? My 4 year old daughter goes to the bathroom by herself every day, and she’s not yet in elementary school. I can see if an adult is needed to make sure the student actually goes into the bathroom and not out to the jungle gym, but are teachers really accompanying children into the room and helping them on the toilet? Furthermore, do you really think a child that young will notice or care what’s up with their teacher’s sexuality?
>
> I suspect that by the time the kids are old enough to notice the transgendered-ness of a person, they will have outgrown Ms. McBeth’s class.
I’m thinking it might be during bathroom breaks, when the teacher stands right outside the bathrooms to make sure the kids aren’t in there goofing off, perhaps?
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### Author:  [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jersey-idiots-attack-trans-teacher/349370/40 "2006-03-22T18:10:14Z")
> [@DoperChic](#):
>
> Here’s a site with a better [pic](http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Cronache/2006/02_Febbraio/28/maestra.shtml) . It’s in Spanish, so I have no clue what it says…
[nitpick]
That’s Italian, not Spanish. 🙂
[/nitpick]
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