Welcome to Transkids.
This site is primarily for teachers in primary schools. It is not just for teachers in primary schools with transgendered children in their class, it is for all primary school teachers. (However there is also material here which may be useful to secondary teachers and parents.)
The reason for this is that if you have a transgendered child in your class or your school, you are very unlikely to know it. Transgendered children, especially transgendered boys, are extremely secretive and feel that they are freaks. They become aware at quite a young age that their gender identity and the way they feel is unacceptable. Other children will often pick on any sign of them not fitting into the gender into which they have been born in order to brand them sissies.
Transgendered children need to know that they are OK, that the way they are is not unique and that, even if they do not feel they can tell anyone. Hopefully given this, they will feel reassured and may grow in confidence enough to start to be themselves, remembering the Shakespearian adage,
"This above all, unto thine own self be true."
"Tomboys" usually do not have quite so many problems as transgendered boys, but still often suffer from homophobic taunts and as such sometimes try to keep their gender identity suppressed also.
All transgendered children have problems, but those problems are not caused by beng transgendered, that is never a problem in itself. The problem is everyone else's attitude towards transgendered children, whether they are other children, their parents, other children's parents or school staff. This site aims to help rid transgendered children of the problems of other people's negative opinions.
