I'm not a trans kid in the US and so my perspective is definitely different here, however experiencing growing up in the UK has certainly been.. unique.. I've looked on in mild terror as the statistics associated with my identity drop as the opinions of people have been swayed against us. Watched in horror as the Prime Minister gets to callously deny my existence to thunderous applause from the Conservative Party conference last week, its so terrifying despite how much of it is most likely empty words of grifting to see how much of an effect it has.. It's so just.. insane.. but.. getting to see videos like this, where people actually defend us and make a stand against it is.. so uplifting.. I've not been around on the channel for ages and im usually way to anxious to comment haha, but your channel Steve, is amazingly funny and is just so nice to see.. I'm so glad to see someone who makes content about topics im interested in within sci-fi and has a strong political aspect too. This video has been an uplifting aspect to quite a low few months for me.. so.. I Thank you, deeply. Thank you so much for everything you do, Star Trek or otherwise.
No matter how it gets with our government being as horrid as they are.. Just keep in mind, you're not alone. Never alone. we're out there, across the country, and we're not going anywhere.
The drivel that came out the Tory conference is ... I literally don't have descriptive words on it. The only good idea was the Cigarette age limit raising one - I'm 52, and worked out that this was the blindingly obvious logical solution to the issue in my teens... All we can do is keep on keeping on, and vote the buggers out at the next election.
It’s scary to see the nations that fought fascism become fascist themselves and adopt the very same ideals they fought against. It’s no coincidence that the Nazis went after LGBTQ first.
Even though these are just fictional characters talking about a hypothetical student who doesn’t even exist I had tears of joy from how supportive they both were. I wish I could have had that kind of support and understanding growing up, but I was about 35 years early.
I'm sending love and hugs to you both . . . if you want them, of course. 💙🤗 I can only imagine the emotional, physical, and soul pain you've been through. It makes me feel sick that politicians have used you as scapegoats, turning you into targets, rather than working to make people's lives better. It's disgraceful that we've left you vulnerable. Just look how quickly we can move to enact protective legislation when the bodily autonomy of a large group of people is at stake. We should be moving with the same speed and the same outrage to protect the rights of every person, as long as they're not hurting anyone (. . . unless they have consent to do so 😉). We don't say this enough to other adults, so it can end up sounding condescending, even though that's not how I mean it to come across: I'm so proud of you. It takes an enormous amount of strength to allow the world to see you as you are. Most people are not brave enough to be so generous as to openly share the truth of their soul with the world.
This is what a great parent acts like. He is always supportive of his trans daughter, and patient with teachers when they talk about her in school... BUT HE DOES DRAW THE LINE IF YOU IMPLY SHE'S DOING THE ASSIGNMENT WRONG! DON'T YOU DARE TELL HER THE ASSIGNMENT IS WRONG, SHE'S AMAZING! Honestly, this skit just put a massive smile in my facce.
As a trans person who has recently gotten on the rocks with my own father over his refusal to affirm my identity, this hits hard. I appreciate your support and awesome content
When my kid came out as trans about a decade ago, one of their fiercest advocates was my 70yo father-in-law. A dozen years of Catholic school, fifty years as a trucker. But when we let him know what was up, he was right there.
Parents don't have rights; they have obligations and responsibilities. Teachers being forced to out kids to potentially unsupportive or even dangerous parents is terrifying. These laws will result in abuse and unhoming of kids.
As a trans person who's name is Alex, the avoidance on pronouns for the first part of this was totally lost on me haha. My pronouns are they/them and most people can't manage that so they just use my name the way the skit did. Bravo, and a follow 👏
I recently moved my teacher retirement in Texas forward a year because teachers were told they HAD to call parents if they knew their child was using different pronouns than their "correct" birth pronouns. (I was high school teacher) I had three transgendered students in my classes out of approximately 165 kids. two trans boys and one trans girl. Although I knew from speaking to two of the parents that the parents knew and were supportive, one of the students had told me his parents didn't know. He had approached me in class when rumors of the district policy changes were made and begged me not to tell his parents. So, I broke the rule, and kept his confidence. But I also knew that I couldn't keep dealing with that year after year. Thus, retirement. I am so sad for these kids today. This is not the world I wanted to leave behind.
I am intersex and identify as a transgender woman. I have a PhD from a top university in the USA and was a university professor and public high school teacher in Texas (dual credit Latin, Spanish, and English) until 2019. I left the USA that year and taught at universities in Vietnam and Thailand. Now I'm in Taiwan. I haven't been back since. I wonder how many of us the system is losing, just because of characteristics of our personal/medical lives that 1) we can't control and absolutely cannot change even if we wanted to, and 2) have absolutely zero bearing on our performance in the classroom.
The thing I will never understand about conservatives is that kindness costs nothing, but it's priceless to people who need it. It is shocking how easy it is to not be a dick.
My wife and all three kids are in education, (one did leave education a couple of months ago), and they would absolutely honor a kid's pronouns. They would also not inform the parents regardless of the law if the child did not feel safe telling their parent. One of my daughters had a situation like that. I find the law disgusting. If a child does not feel safe with their parents knowing, then a teacher shouldn't be required to tell the parents. It not only puts the kid in danger, it destroys the trust the kid has in the teacher. It will destroy the trust a lot of the students will have in the teacher and they can no longer be an effective teacher.
To the conservative parents and politicians that pushed for that law to be passed, their children's feelings don't matter. They think of their children as property, not people.
Was talking to a teacher friend of mine years ago (I used to teach) who said that one of her students wanted to be called "Chongo." She said "Heck, if he'll answer to 'Chongo' and it'll make him pay attention in class, damn straight he's gonna be 'Chongo'."
well if the child is'nt safe with their parents your duty bound to call in social services and petition to have the child remanded into their care due to the clear and present danger their parents are putting the child in.. hopefully that's what you do in situations where the "safety" of the child is in any way in doubt.....Right?
@@johntowers1213If we had a well functioning foster system and social safety net for children, yes. But here's the thing. Many queer kids stay in the closet at home because they know that if their parents found out they'd end up dealing with abuse and/or being unhomed. When teachers are forced to out a kid, you now have a situation where the child is now either with an abusive/unsupportive parent, on the street, or in the foster system. Is homeless or foster care better than in the closet at home? Probably not. I've worked with homeless youth. More than half of them are queer and half of those trans. They were "found out" by their parents by whatever means and that started a chain of events that lead to homelessness. And they didn't thrive in foster care either. When I'm talking to young people online, worried about coming out to their parents, if there is _any_ question about their safety (physical, financial, or emotional) upon coming out, I recommend not coming out. It sucks and it shouldn't be that way. But it _is_ that way and moving into the government care system is absolutely something to be avoided if at all possible.
@johntowers1213 It is more complicated than that. Some parents are awful parents but not bad enough for them to take kids away. The kids don't feel safe if they come out to their parents because the parents will absolutely lose their minds. One of my daughters had a student who's father found out he is gay. The father lost it and threw the teenage boy out. The kid then tried to commit suicide. This is a student my daughter still thinks highly of. I fully agree that no child should feel unsafe at home. I do live in N. Carolina and our system here is pretty poor.
This is the kind of allyship that makes me so happy. I was so tense and it went in a completely different but wonderful direction, I'm a little teary from how good they both are.
One of the hardest parts of teaching is that you can't call the parents idiots to their faces even though they are 90% of everything wrong with their child's education
The worry is that first of all insulting a taxpayer from a public employment perspective is always a no no, because they have direct access to the people that employ you and can cause headaches that can disrupt your career or plans if they're loud enough. Secondly, insulting the parents can cause them to remove their child from the school which would reduce the amount of money they receive from the local government/county/state. And lastly you're also showing in a way that you can't handle it and that shakes the confidence of the school and other parents. So not only can it disrupt your career but it's a bad look professionally.@@ryanamendt8363
Unexpectedly wholesome, thank you! Also as an English teacher, the part about one of the kids turning in a haiku for their research essay made me choke on my coffee.
As a trans person, thank you from the bottom of my heart for being such a wonderful ally. I wish my mother would have accepted me, and not abused me when I was younger for being trans, the 90's were a rough time for young trans kids. Thank you for all you do.
When he said, "I'm happy Alex has such a supportive dad," I was partly expecting the parent to go, "Dad? I'm her mom." A twist that would dilute the message, but that's where my brain took it. He is a very loving bun unhinged dad.
Florida History Teacher is the best. More please. It would have been funny if Alex's dad gave FHT shit because the research paper assignment was about how slavery may have benefited the slaves.
At a Parents Evening in a small town in Yorkshire a parent came in with a trans student I was teaching and the parent was wearing hi-vis road crew overalls with the thickest Doncaster accent and had pretty much this exact interaction. All he wanted to do was support his son. Hope they're both doing well.
I’m a transgender high school teacher, and while our state doesn’t require that teachers out transgender student, our school district does. And while the I’m simply a human trying to do a job and make a living…. I’ll be breaking that rule.
It warms my heart to see people like you. I wish I could have supportive parents, I’m out of the house but I’m still in the closet to them because I know they wouldn’t be accepting of me in the slightest, when they found out my brother is gay they just kicked him out of the house and I fear how they’d react to find that they have another daughter. While I grieve to not have supporting parents, I’m just happy to see there’s people like you in the world. It’s ugly and rough out there but Allie’s like you give me nothing but hope. Thank you
This choked me up. I have a gay daughter, and a trans sister. And my wife is an elementary school counselor. So this video was very impactful to me. Thanks for this video, and all your videos.
Yup. Parents' most basic job, before everything else, is to teach their children that they are safe. That includes providing basic needs like food and shelter, as well as respecting the child and giving unconditional love. A parent who rejects their child's gender identity fails on this measure.
In a perfect world... This reminds of my dad actually. He was a gruff guy but didn't flinch when I came out. Said I'm his kid no matter what and he will always love me. Sometimes people surprise you ❤
As a teacher who has 1 or 2 trans students a year, talking with parents is almost always tumultuous. Ultimately, my responsibility is to my kids, making them feel comfortable enough in school to learn. Sometimes the meetings go like this, sometimes not. But in the end, the kids know I respect them for who they are, and that's all that matters
I loved the twist of the dad being supportive, but you really nailed the overall demeanor of the average conservative dad in this one. I grew up with one, and I've worked with dozens just like him. Honestly, if I were teacher, I'd be terrified to deal with some of these parents. They come unhinged so easily, and they've been absorbing the rhetoric for decades that public school teachers cannot be trusted, so they are adversarial to begin with. People underestimate the resilience, the compassion, and the absolute nerves of steel it must take to be a public school teacher in 2023, in a country where violence is constantly glorified, school shootings happen on an almost routine basis, trust (and funding) for public institutions is at an all-time low, and one of the two most powerful political parties in the country is spending billions of dollars on a media campaign to convince half the country that public schools are filled with groomers and pedophiles. It's such an absolutely crucial job for the development of the next generation, yet it is consistently underpaid, undervalued, unappreciated by the majority of people, and in recent years, blatantly demonized by the media. It's no wonder so many people are leaving the field. who'd want to do such a thankless job? The teachers who stay, though... the ones who still show up every day for the good of the kids they teach, despite all of that they have to endure? They're goddamn heroes, in my book.
Given the levels of shared joy and camaraderie between him and Jesse Gender, and the number of times Steve has spoken up for trans rights (and LGBTQIA rights in general), I’d have been incredibly shocked by any other position.
@@marcning918 You're not wrong, but to be fair, the youtube algorithm really does seem to be favoring all the transphobes lately. A lot. I can understand the concern.
Thank you for this. It was incredibly moving. I'm not in this situation at all, being a cis straight dude with no kids, but I can imagine how difficult it can be in those situations for those kids. This world sucks right now.
My kid came out as trans this year. He's 11, and we live in Tennessee. All but one of his teachers has been supportive as this *is* Memphis, but one refuses to honor his pronouns or use the name he chose despite freely using the preferred names of other non trans students. I'm sure she thinks she's being a good Christian but whatever she thinks she's doing she's sure as shit being a terrible teacher. His grades, great in all other subjects, continue to dip in her class...I'll be sure to advise her to try easing up on the bigotry if she has the gall to mention it. I've lived here my entire life as has most of my family for over three generations but I'm ready to get out. It just ain't home anymore.
Wow. This video actually made this cynical old trans-masc guy just tear up a bit, and in a good way for once. Thanks for putting such positive ideas out there, along with the idea of parents actually accepting their trans kids. I didn't feel safe coming out until my late 30's (and I still worry about a fictional trans teen with unsecured guns in the house, because it's still so hard!), and I feel like I'm among the lucky few in that my mother was open, accepting, and loving. But at the same time, my own best friend had to flee her home country in order to transition safely. Thanks for being such a great ally, and for treating this subject with both humour and humanity. You learned all the right stuff from Star Trek! 🖖🏳⚧
I love that the dad is clearly a "good old boy" type but is totally accepting of his daughter. :) That warms my heart. I'm far more worried about PT conferences where the parents aren't so awesome. PS: Teachers are friggin superheroes who should make at least six figures a year.
It's all about a hierarchy of values. When you hear about all of the breakups of marriages, families, and friends, it's clear that a big chunk of the MAGA crowd values their Orange Jesus cult over their own flesh and blood.
You got to love that "Parent's Rights" nonsense. You have the right to have a child and have a meaningful role in that child's life. You don't have a right to force them into a tiny copy of yourself or to assume that, just because you have the same intelligence to do what every animal in the animal kingdom was capable of doing in one way or another, you are an expert at raising a child and can do no wrong.
Thank you so so much for this. The whole forcing teachers to out their students to their parents thing is so frustrating and demoralizing. I'm nonbinary and although I didn't know the words to express that when I was a kid in the 90s, if some teacher had outed me to my emotionally abusive... sure let's call her a parent... I might not have survived adolescence. One very minor thing though; I've seen a big push lately to get rid of the 'preferred' in front of pronouns. For instance, my pronouns are she/they. It's my identity, not just a preference.
I am grinning so hard at this one Steve I can't even. As a trans-person (still coming out, still in the closet, doing my best, in my 40s) married to a teacher this hit on every level. Thank you for the happy tears on a bad day.
Given your opinions on the topic and perpencity for bait and switch jokes, it went the way I expected it to, but given my history with the topic, I was still terrified the whole time. Even knowing it was a sketch on RUclips by a person whose content I enjoy, I can't get over the memories I had as a kid and the things I did to keep people from ratting me out when I thought I could trust them. Knowing that teachers are being forced to do it is mortifying.
Steve, there's a somewhat notable philosopher who showed up a bit before your time who encapsulated the point of the conversation you relate here in a succinct and pithy fashion, to wit: _Ya know, Jane, it's always _*_SUMPTIN'!_* -- Rosanne Rosannadanna Or, as the teacher put it, "Aaaaaand there it is."
Good job getting that hand in there at the end for the reverse-shot. And... the whole rest of the video. Going to share it. Thankfully, I don't live in "one of THOSE states," but we're all just an election or two from it, nationally even. Keep up the good fight!
I live next to one of the 3 NJ school districts that tried to pull this nonsense and thankfully got shutdown by our State Supreme Court. Now half my ads on RUclips are about disgruntled parents from that district complaining about their ‘rights’.
I know you wanted to get the last joke in. I chuckled but really this broke my heart. Thank you for showing a loving normal parent instead of what we see so often...which is mouth breathing monsters hellbent on indoctrinating their kids to be what the parent wants instead of what the child is. we live in dark times right now and you very much took me by surprise in a wonderful touching way.
I constantly call and email parents when their kids misbehave at school. Their response is almost always, "What am I supposed to do about it? YOU'RE the teacher, and it's YOUR classroom." Then when I ask them to help me encourage their student to follow the rules by considering grounding them, limiting their cell phone use, not allowing them to play video games or watch TV until they are caught up on homework, etc. - they either look at me like a deer in the headlights or get mad that I'm trying to tell them how to parent.
Thank you so much for making an informative, funny skit that wasn’t exhausting. After a full day at a job where I’m misgendered constantly, with largely conservative colleagues and clients feeling free to judge anyone presenting in a gender-nonconforming way, I needed to see decency. Sometimes I start wondering if I’m addled for being accepting of myself & others. It’s nice to see a skit based on the idea of basic human decency being the assumed norm.
I must admit I was putting this one off. Because... you know. I liked how you managed to make it a good joke but also about how nothing really happened
So... The fact that teacher-you looks a lot like Matt Walsh (sorry, dude), and how he probably would see that as a personal attack, is just a little bit of icing on the cake...
When my wife taught history and world religion in rural Iowa she would always start the year doing roll call and would ask the students what they wanted to be called. One year she had a boy respond that he wanted to be known as Dragon. She just wrote it down in her notes and she made a point of calling him that whenever she had him in class or interacted with him. No harm, no foul. Had another student who went by Shorty (last name was Short). The entire school knew him as that and he went by that the entire 4 years of high school. Supporting the kids helps out so much.
Thank god(s) that as a CA teacher I am not required to out students to their parents. But man I have had some hard conferences with trans students and parents that refuse to use the students pronoun and keeps dead naming the student.
Steve, as someone who is trans, and who grew up in an unsupportive family in an unsupportive community I want to thank you for being such an amazing ally.
I’m close to tears!!! This was so beautiful! I so wish more parents and teachers were like that. I also wish states and governments would stop persecuting trans people!
A number of trans kids have already died as a result of their "unsupportive" parents finding out. And when you ask the parents, "better dead than trans" is their response.
Ultimately, I couldn't even tell which one would 'have the problem', the teacher or the parent, until it came out. I can imagine scenarios where both are waiting for the other to push the wrong thing.
❤ absolutely love this Steve. Wish so much that this kind of dialogue was possible in my day. I know its so scary and difficult for kids, parents and teachers at the moment too. Its disappointing that kids are being fought over like points in arguments, just because they either state who they are or want to experiment to find out who they are!
I'm not a trans kid in the US and so my perspective is definitely different here, however experiencing growing up in the UK has certainly been.. unique.. I've looked on in mild terror as the statistics associated with my identity drop as the opinions of people have been swayed against us. Watched in horror as the Prime Minister gets to callously deny my existence to thunderous applause from the Conservative Party conference last week, its so terrifying despite how much of it is most likely empty words of grifting to see how much of an effect it has.. It's so just.. insane.. but.. getting to see videos like this, where people actually defend us and make a stand against it is.. so uplifting.. I've not been around on the channel for ages and im usually way to anxious to comment haha, but your channel Steve, is amazingly funny and is just so nice to see.. I'm so glad to see someone who makes content about topics im interested in within sci-fi and has a strong political aspect too. This video has been an uplifting aspect to quite a low few months for me.. so.. I Thank you, deeply. Thank you so much for everything you do, Star Trek or otherwise.
No matter how it gets with our government being as horrid as they are.. Just keep in mind, you're not alone. Never alone. we're out there, across the country, and we're not going anywhere.
The drivel that came out the Tory conference is ... I literally don't have descriptive words on it.
The only good idea was the Cigarette age limit raising one - I'm 52, and worked out that this was the blindingly obvious logical solution to the issue in my teens...
All we can do is keep on keeping on, and vote the buggers out at the next election.
It’s scary to see the nations that fought fascism become fascist themselves and adopt the very same ideals they fought against. It’s no coincidence that the Nazis went after LGBTQ first.
Even though these are just fictional characters talking about a hypothetical student who doesn’t even exist I had tears of joy from how supportive they both were. I wish I could have had that kind of support and understanding growing up, but I was about 35 years early.
Oh yes. same for me!
I'm sending love and hugs to you both . . . if you want them, of course. 💙🤗
I can only imagine the emotional, physical, and soul pain you've been through. It makes me feel sick that politicians have used you as scapegoats, turning you into targets, rather than working to make people's lives better. It's disgraceful that we've left you vulnerable. Just look how quickly we can move to enact protective legislation when the bodily autonomy of a large group of people is at stake. We should be moving with the same speed and the same outrage to protect the rights of every person, as long as they're not hurting anyone (. . . unless they have consent to do so 😉).
We don't say this enough to other adults, so it can end up sounding condescending, even though that's not how I mean it to come across: I'm so proud of you. It takes an enormous amount of strength to allow the world to see you as you are. Most people are not brave enough to be so generous as to openly share the truth of their soul with the world.
Me too.
This is what a great parent acts like.
He is always supportive of his trans daughter, and patient with teachers when they talk about her in school... BUT HE DOES DRAW THE LINE IF YOU IMPLY SHE'S DOING THE ASSIGNMENT WRONG! DON'T YOU DARE TELL HER THE ASSIGNMENT IS WRONG, SHE'S AMAZING!
Honestly, this skit just put a massive smile in my facce.
I've never cried watching one of your videos before, Steve. Thank you. For this, and for always having our backs.
As a trans person who has recently gotten on the rocks with my own father over his refusal to affirm my identity, this hits hard. I appreciate your support and awesome content
"and...?"
"It's that all?"
"Good"
"Yeah, I knew she was trans!"
I didn't expect this to go in that direction.
When my kid came out as trans about a decade ago, one of their fiercest advocates was my 70yo father-in-law. A dozen years of Catholic school, fifty years as a trucker. But when we let him know what was up, he was right there.
I mean, this is Steve Shives, he's awesome, of course it wouldn't be bigoted and hurtful
Me neither. Biggest surprise I've seen in RUclips in a while. Which is probably a very sad statement of certain aspects of our society.
Hey, no spoilers.
It’s Steve Shives. This went as I expected.
Parents don't have rights; they have obligations and responsibilities. Teachers being forced to out kids to potentially unsupportive or even dangerous parents is terrifying. These laws will result in abuse and unhoming of kids.
quite a lot of those kids will disappear into homeschooling, without any oversight from anybody.
That is by design. Conservatives want LGBT people dead.
@caligo7918 which we need to crack down on. I've seen some pretty fucked up homeschooling
Definitely leads to abuse. A "helpful" teacher told my dad when I was little.
They'll almost certainly also result in kids dying, either by suicide or at the hands of their parents.
Sadly, there are thousands of teachers out there, that don't even have THAT effective of a interaction with parents. Teachers can be superheroes.
As a trans person who's name is Alex, the avoidance on pronouns for the first part of this was totally lost on me haha. My pronouns are they/them and most people can't manage that so they just use my name the way the skit did. Bravo, and a follow 👏
That's wild because the pronoun avoidance was SO obvious to me, but I'm a trans woman who goes by she/her so I probably notice these things more
I recently moved my teacher retirement in Texas forward a year because teachers were told they HAD to call parents if they knew their child was using different pronouns than their "correct" birth pronouns. (I was high school teacher) I had three transgendered students in my classes out of approximately 165 kids. two trans boys and one trans girl. Although I knew from speaking to two of the parents that the parents knew and were supportive, one of the students had told me his parents didn't know. He had approached me in class when rumors of the district policy changes were made and begged me not to tell his parents. So, I broke the rule, and kept his confidence. But I also knew that I couldn't keep dealing with that year after year. Thus, retirement. I am so sad for these kids today. This is not the world I wanted to leave behind.
Thank you for protecting your student 💜
I am intersex and identify as a transgender woman. I have a PhD from a top university in the USA and was a university professor and public high school teacher in Texas (dual credit Latin, Spanish, and English) until 2019. I left the USA that year and taught at universities in Vietnam and Thailand. Now I'm in Taiwan. I haven't been back since. I wonder how many of us the system is losing, just because of characteristics of our personal/medical lives that 1) we can't control and absolutely cannot change even if we wanted to, and 2) have absolutely zero bearing on our performance in the classroom.
thank you for being there
The thing I will never understand about conservatives is that kindness costs nothing, but it's priceless to people who need it.
It is shocking how easy it is to not be a dick.
Not being a dick is easy for most of us, but it's clearly as natural as breathing air for 30+% of the US population.
God, this sketch made me anxious and I'm neither a parent nor a teacher.
From a transgender school teacher, thank you Steve!
Thanks, Steve, for a great skit. Well done sir!
My wife and all three kids are in education, (one did leave education a couple of months ago), and they would absolutely honor a kid's pronouns. They would also not inform the parents regardless of the law if the child did not feel safe telling their parent. One of my daughters had a situation like that. I find the law disgusting. If a child does not feel safe with their parents knowing, then a teacher shouldn't be required to tell the parents. It not only puts the kid in danger, it destroys the trust the kid has in the teacher. It will destroy the trust a lot of the students will have in the teacher and they can no longer be an effective teacher.
To the conservative parents and politicians that pushed for that law to be passed, their children's feelings don't matter. They think of their children as property, not people.
Was talking to a teacher friend of mine years ago (I used to teach) who said that one of her students wanted to be called "Chongo." She said "Heck, if he'll answer to 'Chongo' and it'll make him pay attention in class, damn straight he's gonna be 'Chongo'."
well if the child is'nt safe with their parents your duty bound to call in social services and petition to have the child remanded into their care due to the clear and present danger their parents are putting the child in.. hopefully that's what you do in situations where the "safety" of the child is in any way in doubt.....Right?
@@johntowers1213If we had a well functioning foster system and social safety net for children, yes. But here's the thing. Many queer kids stay in the closet at home because they know that if their parents found out they'd end up dealing with abuse and/or being unhomed. When teachers are forced to out a kid, you now have a situation where the child is now either with an abusive/unsupportive parent, on the street, or in the foster system. Is homeless or foster care better than in the closet at home? Probably not.
I've worked with homeless youth. More than half of them are queer and half of those trans. They were "found out" by their parents by whatever means and that started a chain of events that lead to homelessness. And they didn't thrive in foster care either.
When I'm talking to young people online, worried about coming out to their parents, if there is _any_ question about their safety (physical, financial, or emotional) upon coming out, I recommend not coming out. It sucks and it shouldn't be that way. But it _is_ that way and moving into the government care system is absolutely something to be avoided if at all possible.
@johntowers1213 It is more complicated than that. Some parents are awful parents but not bad enough for them to take kids away. The kids don't feel safe if they come out to their parents because the parents will absolutely lose their minds. One of my daughters had a student who's father found out he is gay. The father lost it and threw the teenage boy out. The kid then tried to commit suicide. This is a student my daughter still thinks highly of. I fully agree that no child should feel unsafe at home. I do live in N. Carolina and our system here is pretty poor.
This is the kind of allyship that makes me so happy. I was so tense and it went in a completely different but wonderful direction, I'm a little teary from how good they both are.
One of the hardest parts of teaching is that you can't call the parents idiots to their faces even though they are 90% of everything wrong with their child's education
Serious question; why can't you call a parent an idiot?
The worry is that first of all insulting a taxpayer from a public employment perspective is always a no no, because they have direct access to the people that employ you and can cause headaches that can disrupt your career or plans if they're loud enough. Secondly, insulting the parents can cause them to remove their child from the school which would reduce the amount of money they receive from the local government/county/state. And lastly you're also showing in a way that you can't handle it and that shakes the confidence of the school and other parents. So not only can it disrupt your career but it's a bad look professionally.@@ryanamendt8363
@@ryanamendt8363People employed by the school can't. Other people can, though...
Also admin. Don't forget them.
@@ryanamendt8363Because they're considered the customer by other idiots who set policy.
Unexpectedly wholesome, thank you! Also as an English teacher, the part about one of the kids turning in a haiku for their research essay made me choke on my coffee.
This made my day, thank you for wholesome comedy on a very dark issue🙏🖤
As a trans person, thank you from the bottom of my heart for being such a wonderful ally. I wish my mother would have accepted me, and not abused me when I was younger for being trans, the 90's were a rough time for young trans kids. Thank you for all you do.
The 90's were a little tough even for a young trans adult with supportive family... I can't even imagine what you went through.
When he said, "I'm happy Alex has such a supportive dad," I was partly expecting the parent to go, "Dad? I'm her mom." A twist that would dilute the message, but that's where my brain took it.
He is a very loving bun unhinged dad.
Florida History Teacher is the best. More please.
It would have been funny if Alex's dad gave FHT shit because the research paper assignment was about how slavery may have benefited the slaves.
I was about to write that I didn't know whether to laugh or cry... Then I started crying.😢
Well done Steve. 💞✊🏻💔
At a Parents Evening in a small town in Yorkshire a parent came in with a trans student I was teaching and the parent was wearing hi-vis road crew overalls with the thickest Doncaster accent and had pretty much this exact interaction. All he wanted to do was support his son. Hope they're both doing well.
Love it! I figured that was going to be the subversion, but the punchline was still pretty good!
I’m a transgender high school teacher, and while our state doesn’t require that teachers out transgender student, our school district does.
And while the I’m simply a human trying to do a job and make a living…. I’ll be breaking that rule.
Good. Maybe consider quietly looking for work in a different school district. Then once you secure a new job, tell the old district to suck a fat one.
The feeling of tension leaving my body as the reveal came was *chef's kiss*
It warms my heart to see people like you. I wish I could have supportive parents, I’m out of the house but I’m still in the closet to them because I know they wouldn’t be accepting of me in the slightest, when they found out my brother is gay they just kicked him out of the house and I fear how they’d react to find that they have another daughter.
While I grieve to not have supporting parents, I’m just happy to see there’s people like you in the world.
It’s ugly and rough out there but Allie’s like you give me nothing but hope. Thank you
The suspense had me on the edge of my seat.
This choked me up. I have a gay daughter, and a trans sister. And my wife is an elementary school counselor. So this video was very impactful to me. Thanks for this video, and all your videos.
I wish more parents were like this one. There would be a lot more well-adjusted, successful adults in the world.
Yup. Parents' most basic job, before everything else, is to teach their children that they are safe. That includes providing basic needs like food and shelter, as well as respecting the child and giving unconditional love. A parent who rejects their child's gender identity fails on this measure.
In a perfect world... This reminds of my dad actually. He was a gruff guy but didn't flinch when I came out. Said I'm his kid no matter what and he will always love me. Sometimes people surprise you ❤
I was so dreading when the dad was told about the pronouns. We're so conditioned now for it to be horrible. The relief I felt... very well done.
As a teacher who has 1 or 2 trans students a year, talking with parents is almost always tumultuous. Ultimately, my responsibility is to my kids, making them feel comfortable enough in school to learn. Sometimes the meetings go like this, sometimes not. But in the end, the kids know I respect them for who they are, and that's all that matters
I loved the twist of the dad being supportive, but you really nailed the overall demeanor of the average conservative dad in this one. I grew up with one, and I've worked with dozens just like him. Honestly, if I were teacher, I'd be terrified to deal with some of these parents. They come unhinged so easily, and they've been absorbing the rhetoric for decades that public school teachers cannot be trusted, so they are adversarial to begin with.
People underestimate the resilience, the compassion, and the absolute nerves of steel it must take to be a public school teacher in 2023, in a country where violence is constantly glorified, school shootings happen on an almost routine basis, trust (and funding) for public institutions is at an all-time low, and one of the two most powerful political parties in the country is spending billions of dollars on a media campaign to convince half the country that public schools are filled with groomers and pedophiles.
It's such an absolutely crucial job for the development of the next generation, yet it is consistently underpaid, undervalued, unappreciated by the majority of people, and in recent years, blatantly demonized by the media. It's no wonder so many people are leaving the field. who'd want to do such a thankless job?
The teachers who stay, though... the ones who still show up every day for the good of the kids they teach, despite all of that they have to endure? They're goddamn heroes, in my book.
Well done sir. Subverted my expectations and made me question my biases. Love it!
This is a very heartwarming skit. It seriously brought a tear to my eyes when the father was supportive and accepting.
Oh good Steve has the right position here. Was worried for a second I was about to have to unsubscribe from another channel to avoid more transphobia.
Hasn't Steve been vocally pro-trans for like... at least 5 years?
He doesn't mince words. I believe the exact quote is "fuck that nazi shit"
You must be really new to the channel if you thought there was even a chance of that.
Given the levels of shared joy and camaraderie between him and Jesse Gender, and the number of times Steve has spoken up for trans rights (and LGBTQIA rights in general), I’d have been incredibly shocked by any other position.
@@marcning918 You're not wrong, but to be fair, the youtube algorithm really does seem to be favoring all the transphobes lately. A lot. I can understand the concern.
Thank you for this. It was incredibly moving. I'm not in this situation at all, being a cis straight dude with no kids, but I can imagine how difficult it can be in those situations for those kids. This world sucks right now.
Teachers are superheroes and I adore each and every one. There is a huge difference between teaching and instruction. What a nice vid!
My kid came out as trans this year. He's 11, and we live in Tennessee. All but one of his teachers has been supportive as this *is* Memphis, but one refuses to honor his pronouns or use the name he chose despite freely using the preferred names of other non trans students. I'm sure she thinks she's being a good Christian but whatever she thinks she's doing she's sure as shit being a terrible teacher. His grades, great in all other subjects, continue to dip in her class...I'll be sure to advise her to try easing up on the bigotry if she has the gall to mention it.
I've lived here my entire life as has most of my family for over three generations but I'm ready to get out. It just ain't home anymore.
Wow. This video actually made this cynical old trans-masc guy just tear up a bit, and in a good way for once. Thanks for putting such positive ideas out there, along with the idea of parents actually accepting their trans kids. I didn't feel safe coming out until my late 30's (and I still worry about a fictional trans teen with unsecured guns in the house, because it's still so hard!), and I feel like I'm among the lucky few in that my mother was open, accepting, and loving. But at the same time, my own best friend had to flee her home country in order to transition safely. Thanks for being such a great ally, and for treating this subject with both humour and humanity. You learned all the right stuff from Star Trek! 🖖🏳⚧
I love that the dad is clearly a "good old boy" type but is totally accepting of his daughter. :) That warms my heart. I'm far more worried about PT conferences where the parents aren't so awesome.
PS: Teachers are friggin superheroes who should make at least six figures a year.
It's all about a hierarchy of values. When you hear about all of the breakups of marriages, families, and friends, it's clear that a big chunk of the MAGA crowd values their Orange Jesus cult over their own flesh and blood.
You got to love that "Parent's Rights" nonsense. You have the right to have a child and have a meaningful role in that child's life. You don't have a right to force them into a tiny copy of yourself or to assume that, just because you have the same intelligence to do what every animal in the animal kingdom was capable of doing in one way or another, you are an expert at raising a child and can do no wrong.
as a young non-binary adult, i’m so relieved i was already out of grade school when these laws started getting passed
They're both so supportive. I'm crying.
That went better than I hoped.
"...and there it is...". Great skit. Great ending!
Thank you so so much for this. The whole forcing teachers to out their students to their parents thing is so frustrating and demoralizing. I'm nonbinary and although I didn't know the words to express that when I was a kid in the 90s, if some teacher had outed me to my emotionally abusive... sure let's call her a parent... I might not have survived adolescence.
One very minor thing though; I've seen a big push lately to get rid of the 'preferred' in front of pronouns. For instance, my pronouns are she/they. It's my identity, not just a preference.
I am grinning so hard at this one Steve I can't even. As a trans-person (still coming out, still in the closet, doing my best, in my 40s) married to a teacher this hit on every level. Thank you for the happy tears on a bad day.
This was honestly way more wholesome than I was expecting
It brought tears to my eyes.
Thank you.
Given your opinions on the topic and perpencity for bait and switch jokes, it went the way I expected it to, but given my history with the topic, I was still terrified the whole time. Even knowing it was a sketch on RUclips by a person whose content I enjoy, I can't get over the memories I had as a kid and the things I did to keep people from ratting me out when I thought I could trust them. Knowing that teachers are being forced to do it is mortifying.
Steve you are a blessing and a credit to this world. 💜💜
"What a TWIST!"
M. Knight Shyamalan
Steve, there's a somewhat notable philosopher who showed up a bit before your time who encapsulated the point of the conversation you relate here in a succinct and pithy fashion, to wit:
_Ya know, Jane, it's always _*_SUMPTIN'!_*
-- Rosanne Rosannadanna
Or, as the teacher put it, "Aaaaaand there it is."
Good job getting that hand in there at the end for the reverse-shot.
And... the whole rest of the video. Going to share it. Thankfully, I don't live in "one of THOSE states," but we're all just an election or two from it, nationally even. Keep up the good fight!
I live next to one of the 3 NJ school districts that tried to pull this nonsense and thankfully got shutdown by our State Supreme Court. Now half my ads on RUclips are about disgruntled parents from that district complaining about their ‘rights’.
He does these characters way too well
I know you wanted to get the last joke in. I chuckled but really this broke my heart. Thank you for showing a loving normal parent instead of what we see so often...which is mouth breathing monsters hellbent on indoctrinating their kids to be what the parent wants instead of what the child is. we live in dark times right now and you very much took me by surprise in a wonderful touching way.
Damn, what a ride. A great example on prejudice and some of the issues of current school politics.
You had us in the first half, not gonna lie ❤
I constantly call and email parents when their kids misbehave at school. Their response is almost always, "What am I supposed to do about it? YOU'RE the teacher, and it's YOUR classroom." Then when I ask them to help me encourage their student to follow the rules by considering grounding them, limiting their cell phone use, not allowing them to play video games or watch TV until they are caught up on homework, etc. - they either look at me like a deer in the headlights or get mad that I'm trying to tell them how to parent.
Thank you so much for making an informative, funny skit that wasn’t exhausting. After a full day at a job where I’m misgendered constantly, with largely conservative colleagues and clients feeling free to judge anyone presenting in a gender-nonconforming way, I needed to see decency.
Sometimes I start wondering if I’m addled for being accepting of myself & others. It’s nice to see a skit based on the idea of basic human decency being the assumed norm.
I must admit I was putting this one off. Because... you know. I liked how you managed to make it a good joke but also about how nothing really happened
So... The fact that teacher-you looks a lot like Matt Walsh (sorry, dude), and how he probably would see that as a personal attack, is just a little bit of icing on the cake...
This is by far the best skitt you have done, Steve I loved it ❤😊
Well, this is refreshingly wholesome. It's nice to see.
I'm sure there are those folks out there. I hope there are more each day
When my wife taught history and world religion in rural Iowa she would always start the year doing roll call and would ask the students what they wanted to be called. One year she had a boy respond that he wanted to be known as Dragon. She just wrote it down in her notes and she made a point of calling him that whenever she had him in class or interacted with him. No harm, no foul. Had another student who went by Shorty (last name was Short). The entire school knew him as that and he went by that the entire 4 years of high school.
Supporting the kids helps out so much.
Thank god(s) that as a CA teacher I am not required to out students to their parents. But man I have had some hard conferences with trans students and parents that refuse to use the students pronoun and keeps dead naming the student.
Wholesome af. I love this channel
This was very heartfelt. Definitely teared up.
Your dramatizations are first rate. I appreciate all the prep you do for them. Surely this is a team effort?
Another genius one! Keep up the good work, Steve! 🙂
This made me about as happy as any of your sketches could have possibly done. I was terrified it would another way. But that ending was priceless.
This is wonderfully acted. Well done, Steve! *raucous applause* 😀 Thank you for this. It gives me hope even just a tiny bit of hope, for the future.
People need to vote in school board elections. The first thing is to eliminate every candidate who talks about "parent rights" or something similar.
y'know I think this is your best work so far.
I love these, Steve!!!!
that final joke was not surprising. We all know what would happen. And it still was good.
Masterful work my friend. The twist at the end was perfect! 😂
Steve, as someone who is trans, and who grew up in an unsupportive family in an unsupportive community I want to thank you for being such an amazing ally.
This is incredible. It didn't end up going the way i thought it would. I LOVE your stuff
Thank you for calling this out, Steve. -- Dad to a non-binary child.
No pronouns up until the ball drops is some deft writing.
Deft?
demonstrating skill and cleverness@@thatdumbass9856
@@thatdumbass9856deft = clever, skillfull
@@thatdumbass9856It means "done with skill and agility." So like well-done and graceful in this context.
I’m close to tears!!! This was so beautiful! I so wish more parents and teachers were like that. I also wish states and governments would stop persecuting trans people!
A number of trans kids have already died as a result of their "unsupportive" parents finding out. And when you ask the parents, "better dead than trans" is their response.
Oh fantastic, that had a few layers to it. I loved it.
Ultimately, I couldn't even tell which one would 'have the problem', the teacher or the parent, until it came out. I can imagine scenarios where both are waiting for the other to push the wrong thing.
Were you in the Navy? loved that.
Aww this was way more heartwarming than I was expecting
I don't know why this one made me tear up. Great video steve
This was another great video Steve🎉
A well-written haiku is actually great...
And there it is...
That didn't go the way I was expecting. I thought the dad would be unaccepting of his trans daughter.
Good work, thanks for your material and for being a nice person ^-^
Well that took a turn for the better unexpectedly in the middle!…
❤ absolutely love this Steve. Wish so much that this kind of dialogue was possible in my day. I know its so scary and difficult for kids, parents and teachers at the moment too. Its disappointing that kids are being fought over like points in arguments, just because they either state who they are or want to experiment to find out who they are!