At the Arizona Department of Education website, one can find a list of nine organizations that will offer affirmation and support to LGBTQ students: https://www.azed.gov/resources-lgbtq-students-educators-and-families#LGBTQ+%20Student .
Not one of them offers psychological evaluations nor any counseling that would question a decision that a child of limited experience has made that would affect that child, most likely negatively, for the rest of that child’s life.
As a teacher of mostly adolescent children for 32 years, I have a problem with children being encouraged to partake in anything that may hurt them. On the other hand, children should have several school choices available to them that broaden their knowledge, allow for self-expression, foster teamwork, and develop their talents.
When I was teaching at North High School in Phoenix a few decades ago, many of my Hispanic students in my English as a second language classes were joining gangs – usually to fulfill the need to belong to a group for friendship or protection from being bullied. Although gangs often turned violent, many if not most of the members were initially decent kids. They were no match for the forceful gang leaders who manipulated them into believing that they were victims of an alien world that required extreme measures for them to move ahead.
Fortunately, a captain in charge of the North High School ROTC program offered my students opportunities to compete on an even playing field with the English-dominant students in physical rather than verbal endeavors. He was well-aware of the gangs’ attraction and urged students to move away from that dangerous choice. Coaches of soccer and other sports helped with this problem as well but no one succeeded like the ROTC captain. I watched as many of our shared students resisted the temptation of gangs while others in the school succumbed to them, ending up dead or in prison.
It is outrageous and should be considered illegal for teachers, counselors, or other adults who work with children to motivate young people in even subtle ways to become part of the LGBTQ community. This can lead to heartache of a nature different from that of the gangs but equally destructive.
Children are too young to understand the damage they may suffer physically and emotionally from such a choice. Their reasons for joining the LGBTQ community are often based on unresolved psychological problems or adolescent confusion. According to a 2022 report in the National Library of Medicine, 82% of students who have identified themselves as “transgender” have considered suicide and 40% have attempted it. In addition, the evidence is strong that transgender youth grow up to regret the harm caused to their bodies through hormones and mutilation that was required for them to make the transition.
LGBTQ issues have a place in the world of adults, but absolutely NOT in the world of children.
By Johanna J. Haver, author of Vindicated: Closing the Hispanic Achievement Gap Through English Immersion and former member of the Maricopa County Community College District (2015 to 2019).