When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a little boy. I disdained dolls, tea parties, and all things pink and girlish. I embraced baseball and hockey, and beating all my classroom peers in arm wrestling.
When I loudly insisted that I wanted to be a boy, my parents and teachers laughingly called me a tomboy and continued on with their day. In Junior High, everything changed – I loved all things feminine and boys became of great interest. In 1972, I married the best man ever and we have thoroughly enjoyed a rich marriage in every way, complete with children and grandchildren.
In today’s educational climate, school would be a very dangerous place for children like me. Today, any child proclaiming in class that they want to be a member of the opposite sex will surely be singled out for further questioning and counselling. Alberta’s Bill 10 states that students can form clubs with other children who may be questioning their sexual identity. Children actually can demand this as teachers and administration must support it and parents will only be informed if their child allows the teacher to do so.
What doubt and confusion this would have brought to me. I would have been an example of an innocent child making innocent declarations, leading to social experimenting and disaster. What grief and heartbreak it would have brought to my wonderful parents to see their loved child go through this. The psychological cost to me would have been enormous, as would the practical costs to society.
I am confident that years ago, as well as now, that all parents, teachers, and administrators strived to promote welcoming, caring, respectful and safe learning environments at school. We all continue to work toward these goals and can do so without the dangerous interference of the new guidelines of Bill 10.
Pauline DeHaas, St. Albert
