School recommended reading - I am so cross

[Wishiwasaway]

I thought my son’s school was one of the sensible ones, that had managed to avoid the trans indoctrination but no…

Today, on their instagram, the sports department are promoting “The Passing Playbook”

This is the premise of the book:

Fifteen-year-old Spencer Harris is a proud nerd, an awesome big brother and a Messi-in-training. He's also transgender. After transitioning at his old school leads to a year of bullying, Spencer gets a fresh start at Oakley, the most liberal private school in Ohio.

At Oakley, Spencer seems to have it all: more accepting classmates, a decent shot at a starting position on the boy's soccer team, great new friends, and maybe even something more than friendship with one of his teammates. The problem is, no one at Oakley knows Spencer is trans - he's passing.

So when a discriminatory law forces Spencer's coach to bench him after he discovers the 'F' on Spencer's birth certificate, Spencer has to make a choice: cheer his team on from the sidelines or publicly fight for his right to play, even if it means coming out to everyone - including the guy he's falling for.

I have emailed the school and pointed out:

• single sex sports are not discriminatory, they are necessary for women.
• promoting the idea you can play sports according to how you feel, and not your biological sex, only has a negative effect on girls
• That it is a crime in the UK not to disclose your sex to your partner. In the book Spencer kisses the boy who is unaware that Spencer is actually a girl.

i am now on tenterhooks to see what they reply….

I don't know about that. I certainly could pass for male even now other than lack of stubble - lantern jaw, AA boobs, broad shoulders, thin lips, very hairy arms and legs, monobrow. Mother Nature hasn't been kind! So I don't find that idea to be too crazy, though the idea of hiding identity from a potential partner highly distasteful.

Regardless, not into book banning. Let the kids read the book and help them engage with where it's problematic.

Another mother has also emailed the school. I think we can safely say the era of “no debate” is over.

maybe there aren’t many books which should be banned, but that doesn’t mean that they all should be actively promoted.

Well, is 'passing' effective or not? If it is, why are only trans people allowed to care about it?

Sometimes school librarians just order books based on recommended lists, and have not really investigated their content.

My 11 year granddaughter came home from school one day with a book that talked about people having 'a gender identity' - my daughter got in touch with the school and expressed her concerns - and provided links to 'Transgender Trend'. The headteacher agreed to look into it, and then the class teacher agreed that it was not appropriate and the book was removed.

archived at archive.is/xKbdu

Yeah, right? Silly old homosexuals with their obsession about only having relationships with people of the same sex.

If ever you wanted confirmation of what a vile homophobic ideology this is, here. it is.

The book is unbelievably homophobic.

The boy says he's gay, the girl successfully gets him to kiss her, and when he finds out she's a girl suddenly he's not gay. Her being trans changes his sexual orientation.

It's not only an immature form of wishful thinking, It's suggesting to other young people who read it that this is an entirely plausible situation. Overcoming a person's sexual orientation in order to validate your personal self image.

People who think not informing someone with whom you're about to have an intimate relationship that you're the opposite sex to the one they think you are, seem to have a little bit of trouble with the word consensual.

Enormous, enormous kudos for sticking your head above the parapet and making a fuss

The first people to point out the emperor has no clothes risk attack, but as soon as people realise... you get support and others join in

Well done OP. I suspect posters are right - this has likely been recommended by the school librarian. Many of them are sadly responsible for purchasing second rate transactivist 'literature" designed to normalise sex change, gender identity and the erosion of boundaries to children.

As soon as responsible adults read some of this activist drivel, then the problem becomes evident. It's a tricky one as censorship / ensuring age appropriateness is a genuine challenge - for parents and schools.
Targeting children to instil a belief in GI has been a major occupation for many transactivists (and a depressingly lucrative one). What's needed is some critical analysis of texts with the gaslighting / lies highlighted and challenged.
Schools must not teach that gender identity is a fact (RSE / Health Ed guidelines from the DfE) so literature - especially for young children - must be accurate and not promote this ideology. Transgender Trend have done some very useful research into some of the grim offerings for children designed to embed GI in their thinking. A couple of links below and a link to the DfE RSE guidelines that come into force from September:

https://www.transgendertrend.com/trans-picture-books-little-children/

https://www.transgendertrend.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Trans-and-non-binary-picture-story-books-for-children-under-11.x13777.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education

Well done OP… hoping your head does absolutely the right thing 💪

Why the hell do schools not simply get on with teaching pupils and scrap the indoctrination?

They probably just wanted to tick a box for OfSted about inclusivity.

I agree @Datun this book is incredibly homophobic.

However, there is some good news, the instagram post has this morning been removed from their profile. Yeay!

Thanks @MrsOvertonsWindow for the links. I may still need them as I am waiting an official email reply and update. I will keep you posted.

If I can offer any advice off the back of my own experiences - get whatever they say in writing, get eyes on their policy for approving things, get that policy changed, and published and absolutely public

You really can be the instrument of change here, it's exasperating how much you will have to drive it to the end though

Must be risky for a girl to play in a boys' football team at secondary level.

I searched for images of the author and as expected, the book is just wish fulfillment fantasy.

I had to re-read it to check and made the same conclusion.

Ah now. That would be sexual assault and people have been prosecuted for it.

It's very enlightening that these people seem to think that sexual assault is just petty and silly.

Or they want other people to think it.

F*cks sake this stuff's not going away is it. The only thing you can do is to (somehow) talk to your kids about it and hopefully that will be their shield against this cult.

Well done, OP. I hope and trust the Head is bricking it. I actually think you should make sure the governors are involved in this discussion too.
I'm also interested in whether you're in the UK. I'm kind of assuming you are. Why have they chosen an American-set novel?
I had a quick look at an author bio on Goodreads, and Isaac Fitzsimons 'is an acclaimed author, sought-after speaker, and dedicated educator, known for his commitment to writing inclusive and quietly radical queer joy'
apparently.
And, nail in the coffin, he plays the banjo.

I would hazard a guess that we really ought not to be indoctrinating school children with "quietly radical queer joy."

So, this book was written by a female who identifies as trans, and Spencer is essentially a self-insert. That explains a lot, as does the fantasy, which is to have a gay, male boyfriend (not bi) and to be 'seen as male'.

Ridiculous. When I was younger I sometimes played in "the boys' team" when they were short because I was pretty good and nobody really cared because we were 8-9 years old so way before puberty. After puberty there is no way that I could have competed with the boys. I got hips and breasts and they got muscles😅. There is also proof of men having better lung capacity (learnt from my son's science class) so we just don't have the same bodies. IF a girl was to play with the boys she would have to be exceptional to fit in so the book seems more like a science fiction project than anything else.