MrFantsyPants: Sorry to disappoint, but I didn’t have anything clever prepared (dang it), so all I did was tell him his student was right.
On to the teacher’s meeting (It would normally be my bedtime, but tomorrow has another two hour delay. Sigh.)
We go into the conference room, with all of the other teachers and staff looking checking me out while trying to be seen checking me out. I made sure to brush my loose strands of hair back behind my ear, subconsciously, of course.
Mr P. starts out by telling everyone that he was aware that there were some rumors going around, and he wanted to get things cleared up before they got out of hand.
He introduces me, and I stand up. Everyone is so quiet and attentive you could hear a pin drop.
Miss K: First, let me say how glad I am to be here, and I’m happy to clear up any misconceptions there might be about me. My name is Kaitlyn -------. That’s K A I T L Y N. It’s pronounced /KATE-lin/. Not Kate, not Katie–only my brother gets to call me Katie–, not Lynn, and not Kat–Kaitlyn. I know it seems like a small thing, but we go out of our way to make sure we get our student’s names right, so I think it’s only respectful to do the same with our colleagues.
I sit back down. There’s a buzz of confusion at the tables.
Mr. P: Kaitlyn, while I’m sure we can all agree that it’s important to respect what name other people want to use, wasn’t there something else you wanted to share.
Miss K: Oh, yeah, sorry. [I stand up again]. I’ve seen the students looking and whispering all day, and I know some of you have been looking at me and trying to figure it out. Is she? Isn’t she? And I know how hard it can be to figure something like this out on your own. It really is difficult to tell if you don’t know exactly what to look for. I also understand that it’s a difficult thing to just walk up and ask someone. You want to know, but you don’t know how to ask without giving offense. [I could have gone on for another full minute, but Mr. P gave me a “get to the point” gesture]. So, just so that there’s no confusion, I want everyone to know for sure. I’m Korean. Not Chinese, not . . .
Mr. P: Kaitlyn. Not that. The other thing.
Miss K: What other . . . oh yeah. I’m a transsexual. Up until last year I taught at AnySchool as Mr. Keith. I’ve been undergoing treatment for a disorder called gender dysphoria, in which a person has the brain of one sex but the body of the other. The treatments are designed to change my body to match my brain. I am a woman.
There was an extensive Q and A, but nobody asked me whether it was better to be a boy or a girl, and none of the adults managed to phrase the “why” question as well as student D, and I used a lot more words to explain it without improving on what I told my students.
After the Q and A, Mr. P stands up to talk to the teachers. He tells them he or the VP or counselor will be by tomorrow to talk to the classes, and goes over what to say to the students if they get curious, and that they can refer students to Mr. C if they have questions that the teacher doesn’t know how to answer.
Then he goes over the rules for dealing with parents and the media:
Mr. P: There’s one rule and one rule only. Send them to me. If you’re approached by someone in the media, you say, “You’ll have to talk to Mr. P about that.” If you’re approached by a parent about Miss K, you send them to me. I don’t care what it’s about, you send them to me. If a parent comes to you and asks you if you think Kaitlyn is a pretty name, you send them to me and I’ll tell them.
Now let’s all say it together: “You’ll have to talk to Mr. P about that.”
There was a lot more stuff, so I’ll just highlight my two favorite parts.
On what happens if people protest: Now, so that there’s no misunderstanding, listen carefully. Miss Kaitlyn isn’t going anywhere. Parents can remove their kids, but Miss Kaitlyn isn’t going anywhere. If every parent but one removes their child, Miss Kaitlyn will still be here, teaching a class of one student. If we have to import students from other countries so that she has someone to teach, Miss Kaitlyn will still be here.
On the use of pronouns: The proper pronouns to be used to refer to Miss Kaitlyn are “she” and “her”. If you hear a student referring to Miss Kaitlyn as “he” or “him”, you are to correct them immediately. If a student refers to Miss Kaitlyn as “it” you are to send them to me or Mr. VP immediately. [Mr VP: It will be a most unpleasant experience].
The meeting with the parents is scheduled for tomorrow night.
After the teacher’s meeting, Mr. P tells me, “Do not do that tomorrow night.”
I give him my best innocent little girl look, “Why, suh, ah’m not entirely sure ah know what you mean.”
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“Immensely.”
“You realize tomorrow night might not be as . . . pleasant as this afternoon.”
“Yes.”
“Ok. You want me to walk you to the parking lot?”
“Nah, that’s ok, I’ve got a gun in my purse.”
“Well, see you tomorrow then.”
Time for my beauty sleep. I’ll try to get to some of the specific questions tomorrow.
