EDU - 330 Controversial Topic Summary Rough Draft PDF

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Topic 2 Controversial Topic Summary Rough Draft Assignment...

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Tristen Taylor EDU – 330 Professor May 3, 2020 Controversial Topic Summary Cultural Identifiers One of the main cultural identifiers is gender. Gender, according to dictionary.com, is “either of the two sexes (male and female), especially when considered with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones.” Whether or not someone considered their self “transgender”, a person cannot biologically change what they are, no matter how many procedures they undergo or what kind of medicine they take. Historical Background California passed the first law permitting unisex and transgender bathrooms in 1987. Throughout the years, over twenty states have passed laws similar to California’s (owhfiefin). Transgender identifiers have been around for many decades, but it hasn’t been until recent years that it has been more openly accepted due to society’s views. More people feel more comfortable coming out as transgender and are able to receive the same rights as everyone else. Identifier Arguments for Transgender Bathrooms President Michael Allison stated, “Schools leaders must create the conditions in which each student feels comfortable so each can learn at high levels. Given the high rates of harassment of transgender youth, we have to make a particular effort to safeguard them so nothing gets in the way of their learning.” (Allison, 2016). Allison states that if a student doesn’t feel accepted or feels as though they are treated in a different manner, they will not receive the

same education as all of the other students. When a student feels unsafe or treated unfairly, their grades tend to slip as they are always in a worried state of mind about “fitting in” or being accepted. Identifier Arguments Against Transgender Bathrooms One big argument that is against transgender bathrooms is predators (Journell, 2017). By allowing transgender bathrooms in a public place, in this case, a K-12 schooling system, could allow for a higher chance of predators using the bathrooms. What exactly does this mean? A transgender bathroom means that someone can go into the bathroom in which a they identify their gender. If a male, let’s say for instance, goes into a transgender, woman bathroom, what if he isn’t really transgender? He just wants to snoop around into the girls who are in the bathroom. There is no proof that he is doing this because he says he identifies as a female. It’s hard to know truly whether or not he is portraying as a predator or not. This is just one of the big arguments against the transgender bathrooms. How People in the Schooling System are Affected by Transgender Bathrooms According to Gender Spectrum, 63.4% of transgender students report avoiding using the bathroom. Schools, on average, last seven hours, five days a week. Holding in your bladder could cause lots of problems, including urinary tract infections (UTI’s) (Palve, 2018). This doesn’t only affect their mental health, but it also effects their physical health because of the problems that occur from not using the bathroom (Baum, 2019). Unless teachers identify as transgender, then the only other way they could be affected by this is by their teaching to these students. When students feel unsafe in the classroom, or their grades start to fall because of their differences or bullying, then the teacher could feel as though they aren’t doing their job because

they aren’t able to teach the student the material, and they aren’t making the student feeling as though they are in a safe environment. Solutions Within school buildings, a good solution to transgenders needing to use the restroom is the one-stalled family bathrooms that are placed within malls and other areas. Even though these are only one stalled bathroom, if a few were placed in different areas of the school, it would ensure that everyone would have the opportunity to use the bathroom when needed (Phillips, 2017). This would prevent any potential predators entering the bathrooms while preventing people from feeling as though they can’t use the bathroom because they are getting judged. By placing these bathrooms in the school, everyone has the same opportunity and is not being treated differently against because of the gender that they decide to choose.

Resources Allison, Michael. (2016). NASSP Stats Support for Rights of Transgender Students. National Association of Secondary School Principals. [Website]. Retrieved from: https://www.nassp.org/2016/05/10/nassp-states-support-for-rights-of-transgenderstudents/ Baum, John. (2019). Transgender Students and School Bathrooms. Gender Spectrum: Professional Development and Family Services. [Website]. Retrieved from: https://www.genderspectrum.org/articles/bathroom-faq Journell, W. (2017). Framing Controversial Identity Issues in Schools: The Case of HB2, Bathroom Equity, and Transgender Students. Equity & Excellence in Education, 50(4), 339–354. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/10665684.2017.1393640 Palve, S. B., Seetharaman, N., Lochan, T., Patil, R., & Lokeshmaran, A. (2018). Health Issues among transgenders in urban Pondicherry. Indian Journal of Community Health, 30(4), 323–333. Philips, R. R. (2017). The Battle Over Bathrooms: Schools, Courts, and Transgender Rights. Theory in Action, 10(4), 100–117. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.3798/tia.19370237.1729...