The parent meeting. It was pretty dull, actually. Keep in mind that I’m paraphrasing as best I can remember the longer passages.
I wore a conservative business-type suit–medium gray flat front skirt, black hose, black pumps with a 2-inch heel (brought them with me to school and changed out of my flats just before the meeting–I love how I look in heels, but they are a bit impractical for teaching primary grades or for that matter anything that requires you to be on your feet for six hours), , sleeveless black silk pullover bouse, jacket to match my skirt. I had my hair pulled back into a flat gather at the base of the neck, and a couple of pieces of accent jewelry–gold chain, matching bracelet and watch, pearl earrings. My make up was more mature than yesterday.
I looked about 10 years older than I did yesterday.
I introduced myself, briefly went over my credentials, and explained my condition briefly and directly, pretty much the way I did with the teachers, but in a bit more detail and without the shaggy dog story.
Then it was Mr. P’s turn. He went over the same stuff as with the teachers yesterday, but this time without channeling Robert Deniro as he did it (you need to picture Deniro as Al Capone in The Untouchables delivering the speeches from the teachers’ meeting to get the full effect.
The gist of the message was that I would be treated the same as any other teacher in accordance with district policy. If, for any reason, parents want to move their children, that would be accommodated, just as it would be with any of the other teachers–tell us you want your child moved into or out of a particular classroom, and if that can reasonably be done, it will be.
If parents had a protest to lodge with the school over something I did, it would be treated in exactly the same manner as any other protest; contact the principal and we would have a meeting with a senior staff member, the teacher, and the parent.
He went on like this–going over each of the basic procedures for dealing with a teacher who for some reason was seen as a problem, and how the procedures for dealing with such problems would still be handled in exactly the same manner.
In short, he spent 30 minutes going every possible objection that parents might use as an excuse to object to my being there, and systematically picking them apart.
He went over the rules:
Mr. P: Don’t ask any question you wouldn’t be prepared to answer about yourself under the same circumstances. Don’t ask any questions regarding the specifics of her medical treatment–that’s off limits. I will answer all questions regarding school policy. If she objects to any question whatsoever for any reason, she isn’t going to answer. If I object to any question for any reason, she isn’t going to answer. The answers to your questions regarding school policy will be the same for Miss Kaitlyn as they would be for any other female teacher.
More than half of the questions directed to me were answered by Mr. P saying, "I’ll answer that, that’s a school policy question, " with an occasional, “She’s not answering that.”
For example, a section of the questioning went something like this:
Parent A: Which bathroom do you use?
Me: I use the women’s bathroom.
Parent A: Do you go into the student bathrooms?
Mr. P: That’s a school policty question. Teachers of both sexes are allowed to enter either boys’ or girls’ restrooms if to protect a student of if they suspect that some illegal or dangerous activity is going on.
Parent A: That didn’t really answer my question.
Mr. P: Yes it did. That’s the district policy and it applies to her the same as any other teacher.
Another section:
Parent B: How long have you been a transsexual.
Me: Since I first understood the difference between boys and girls, probably about the age of 3 or 4.
Parent B: That’s not what I mean. How long have you felt like a woman in a man’s body?
Me: Since I was about 3 or 4.
Parent B: You’re not listening. What I . . .
Mr. P: She answered your question twice. Rephrasing it won’t change the answer. Next question.
Another One:
Parent C: Are you married?
Me: Yes.
Parent C: To a man or a woman?
Me: A woman.
Parent C: So you’re gay?
Me: Yes.
Parent C: How do I know you’re not going to be pushing some homosexual agenda in your classroom?
Mr. P: That’s a school policy question. Teachers teach a curriculum approved by the state and local boards of education in accordance with district policy. They submit quarterly and weekly lesson plans to me so that I can review their methods of implementing the curriculum. If there is some objectionable content in a teacher’s lessons, I speak to the teacher ahead of time to determine if there is an alternate method for achiving the same objective. Parents are allowed to come in and observe teachers in their classroom at any time so long as they check in at the office and get a pass before going the teacher’s class.
Most of the questions were polite, if a bit naive, and whenever someone got rude or too personal, Mr. P shut them down firmly but politely, usually with one of those long, boring reiterations of school policy. The q and a’s were mostly the kind of things you see in the two threads here–without the information on sexually related matters.
And you would be amazed at what constitutes a “School Policty” question:
Parent D: I don’t want some freak teaching in my school!
Mr P: That’s a school policy question, I’ll answer it. First, this isn’t your school. It is the property of the state and of the school district, run in accordance to state law and district policy. Neither state law nor district policy include being a freak as a disqalifying factor for obtaining a teaching liscense in this state. As a point of fact, most freaks are protected by workplace non-discrimination policies, If we do at some time in the future decide to hire some freaks they will be provided appropriate accmmodations as are needed for their conditions. [Turning to Mr. VP]: Do we have any freaks scheduled for interviews?
Mr. VP: I’ll have to check my calendar, and get back to you on that tomorrow.
He managed to treat every insult, not that there were many, as if it were a school policy issue, and deflect the question into a general discussion of school policy without mentioning me individually. The message was consistently the same–I am no different from any other teacher in the school and will behave and be treated the same as they are.
Apparently, being a transsexual makes me an expert on all things related to all aspects of transsexuality, homosexuality, and sexuality in
Another exchange:
Parent D: How many people are there like you?
Me: There are about 140 million (at this point I had to stop and clear my throat for a second) women in the United States.
Parent D: Uh, no, I mean, uh, like you.
Mr. P: I think Parent D wants to know how many transsexuals there are.
Me: Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t understand the question. I don’t know.
That was pretty much it. Mr. P answering questions by quoting policy, and me giving the same answers you’ve read earlier in this thread.
Several parents shook my hand on the way out and welcomed me to the school, which was very nice.
