What's Chaz Gotta Do with It?

Somebody told me that I kind of looked like Chaz Bono the other day.  Excuse me?

Yeah.  Before he was a man.  When he was Chastity Bono.  You kinda look like him then.

Ummmm.

So I googled some pictures of Chastity Bono and I guess if you just look at the ones where she's in make-up and has really long blonde hair with bangs and is holding her guitar, then maybe I bear a resemblance to that.  I guess, because I'm white and I have long blondish hair.

On the other hand, I suppose I look kinda like Pamela Anderson or Blake Lively if you want to use that criteria... so I mentally gave that person the finger, smiled, and said thanks I feel famous.

The whole Chaz thing came up, because my team was talking about a student with a gender identity issue during lunch.  Ashley is in Ms. Bullock's class.  She's a tomboy.  Not just a girl that can rough and tumble, but an honest to goodness tomboy.  This year, though, she's stepped it up a notch.

Most of the kids don't realize that Ashley is a girl.  Almost all of them refer to her as "him."  Ashley wears cargo shorts, a polo shirt, and sneakers everyday.  Mostly she plays basketball or games with the boys at recess.  On occasion, she will accuse another girl of being a boy, but she doesn't seem to make an issue out of it.

About a week ago, Ashley cut off her hair and began to style it like a boy haircut.  This blew my mind.  Ms. Bullock was entirely unfazed.  I think Ashley is one of those kids that saps your energy in so many other ridiculous ways that the kind of hair style she chooses or clothes she wears seems petty to nitpick.

Ms. Bullock is also emotionally and mentally evolved.  "I don't want to decide what Ashley's gender is when she's 8 years old.  What if she changes her mind?  So, it's all yes ma'am and no ma'am for me."  See what I mean?  Who looks ahead like that?  Sometimes kids wind up with just the right teacher.

Today, Ashley decided to check into the boys bathroom at recess.  Who would stop her?  She looks, acts, and talks like a boy, so anyone who wasn't familiar with her would just assume she was right where she was supposed to be.  So, now she's not allowed to use the restroom during recess.  Simple solution.

For some reason, I have a hard time wrapping my mind around this situation.  I don't get it.  Can kids know that young that they should have another body than the one they were born with?  Seems like maybe so.  Or maybe not.  What if she does change her mind?  Hair grows back, clothes can change, and new friends are made.  Where does this come from though?

And is there anyway that we can isolate this issue for what is... a kid that is confused... and stop comparing me to Chaz!!!  I'm happy for you now, man, but I've got to draw the line somewhere.  Luckily, I think I've found it and it's somewhere near the boys bathroom.

Fifth Grade Flashback!

Let's talk about 5th grade!  Not my favorite year of teaching.  I never got to give it another go around, but I'm okay with that.  If I could sum it up in one word, it would be clusterfuck.  That's what makes the 5th grade flashback so much fun!  I can visit it in my mind, but I don't have to live it.

Like the day Elisa snipped off a chunk of my hair in the back and called me a bitch for writing her up.  Then she refused to leave the school and the Assistant Principal had to call the cops to remove her from campus, since we couldn't physically remove her ourselves and her mom was unreachable.  Nevermind that she committed a crime when she cut my hair off.  It's called assault.

The principal assigned her to a day of in-school suspension.  That's typically what students got for coming out of uniform.  This is one of the many reasons why I couldn't stand my administrator from that school.  No consequences of consequence.  I'm all for compassion, but I want the consequences.    

I walked Elisa out of the building myself that day.  I hugged her at the curb and let her cry.  I don't remember if she said she was sorry.  It was a rocky road for me and Elisa from there on out.  I felt sorry for her and I did my best to hold her responsible.  At the end of the school year, she told me that I was the third best teacher that she ever had.  Not too shabby.  Considering.