In a Church of England school in the United Kingdom (UK) on Friday, a teacher called a 13-year-old student “despicable” because she asked one of her classmates how it is possible to identify as a cat.
At the end of their eighth-grade “life education” class at Rye College in East Sussex, the student and her friend were reprimanded by their teacher — who claimed during the class that they can “be who you want to be and how you identify is up to you,” according to The Telegraph.
One student stated that they identify as a cat, to which the classmate was asked: “How can you identify as a cat when you’re a girl?”
In response to the innocent question, the teacher informed the students that she was reporting them to school administrators — and told them that, if they keep stating the fact that only boys and girls exist, they would no longer be welcome at the school.
The exchange was recorded by one of the students, and the teacher can be heard at the start of the clip saying: “How dare you, you’ve just really upset someone” by “questioning their identity.”
“If they want to identify as a cat or something then they are genuinely unwell – crazy,” the student responded.
The teacher went on to question the girls as to where they got the idea that there are only two genders — while claiming that “gender is not linked to the parts that you were born with, gender is how you identify, which is what I said right from the very beginning of the lesson.”
The teacher then claimed that “there are lots of genders – there is transgender, there is a gender who are people who don’t believe that they have a gender at all.”
The students disagreed with their teacher’s claims, pointing out that your gender correlates with the body parts you are born with.
In response, the teacher raised her voice and scolded the students, claiming that while they consider being “cisgender” — a made-up term that the left uses for normal, non-transgender people — to be the “norm,” it is not the law.
“You are talking about the fact that cisgender is the norm, that you identify with the… organ you were born with. That’s basically what you’re saying, which is really despicable,” the teacher shouted.
The teacher then accused the young girls of being homophobic — which they denied.
“If you don’t like it you need to go to a different school,” the teacher added, noting that she was going to report the students.
“You need to have a proper educational conversation about equality, diversity, and inclusion because I’m not having that expressed in my lesson,” the teacher continued.
Teacher @ryecollegeuk Has Meltdown At Year 9 Student Who Questions Why Another Student Is Identifying As A Cat.
Disgraceful. pic.twitter.com/k1vbpVdBLB
— Turning Point UK 🇬🇧 (@TPointUK) June 17, 2023
A parent of another student who takes that teacher’s class told The Telegraph that they understood the point the teacher was trying to make — but condemned them for “shutting down debate” with threats.
“I understand the point the teacher was attempting to make, what bothers me is the shutting down of debate in such a threatening and aggressive manner, which I don’t believe is appropriate in an educational setting,” the parent told the outlet.
“Regardless of the subject, education should serve to build awareness of differing points of view to widen the understanding of a subject. It shouldn’t be a case of indoctrination,” the parent added.
Earlier this year, teachers at the Church of England were allegedly instructed to “re-educate” any students caught using supposedly “negative language” such as “that is mental” or “stop acting like a girl.”
A spokesman for Rye College issued a statement in response to the incident, which read: “We are committed to offering our pupils an inclusive education. Teachers endeavor to ensure that pupils’ views are listened to and encourage them to ask questions and engage in discussion. Teachers also aim to answer questions sensitively and honestly.”
“We strive to uphold the highest standards across the school,” the statement continued. “We will be reviewing our processes and working with the relevant individuals to ensure such events do not take place in the future.”
Conservatives on social media blasted the woke teacher and the school, including Dr. Jordan Peterson, who tweeted: “Simple normality has now become an offense punishable by the woke mob of narcissists and psychopaths.”
Simple normality has now become an offense punishable by the woke mob of narcissists and psychopaths: https://t.co/rIBIp5k9bt
— Dr Jordan B Peterson (@jordanbpeterson) June 19, 2023
