Dear Teacher, that child needs a champion

An open letter to every teacher with a trans pupil in their class.

There is a trans child in your class. They are watching you right now, deciding whether you are safe. Please be safe.

They are watching you

If you are reading this, there is probably a child in your class, or in your school, who is trans or who is questioning their gender. Maybe they have told you directly. Maybe their parents have been in touch. Maybe you have just noticed something, a quietness, a withdrawal, a child who does not seem quite at ease in their own skin.

I want to talk to you because I think teachers are some of the most important people in a trans young person’s life, and I do not think you always realise how much power you hold. Not power in a scary way, but power in the most beautiful way. The power to be their champion.

What they will remember