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We Must Make The Wise Choice For Our Grandchildren

 We in Staunton have a choice to make.  It is up to us.  Shall we choose solar energy ? Twenty one years ago, I was adopted into the Shenandoah family, Wolf Clan, Oneida Nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (People of the Long House).   White people call them Iroquois. We are taught to listen to our elders, learn to respect and act responsibly. Oren Lyons, 93, Wolf Clan, is an Onondaga Chief, and world leader of peace who teaches —  The Earth is our Mother.  She gives everything we need for life.  Imagine a living pine tree clinging to a cliff; getting all it needs for life from the earth.  We are like that pine tree.  Our Mother Earth provides, but time is running out.  We have little time to make changes in order to survive.  The economy of nations will be broken by natural disasters.  We see more disasters every year:  hurricanes, snow melt, coastlines washing into the seas, wild fires, drought, flooding, on and...
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Public Schools and Student Gender Identity: Parental Notification

At the October 15th Building Bridges forum, Staunton City School Board candidates were in broad agreement on every issue except one: whether Staunton City Schools should fully comply with Governor Youngkin’s order that schools notify parents when students request a formal change in their gender identity.

Two candidates, Lisa Hatter and John T. Wilson, advocated full compliance; one candidate, Kristin Siegel, said that notification should be at the student’s discretion; one candidate, Fontella Brown-Bundy called for more discussion (perhaps around specific cases?).

After considering this issue, one thing is clear to me:  A parent’s best chance of becoming aware of and supporting a student who wishes to change their gender identity is to ensure that the schools, and especially their counselors, enjoy that student’s trust.

In the age of the internet and youth culture, does any parent believe that they can shield their child from exposure to changing gender norms? And does anyone believe that parents or counselors determine a middle or high school student’s gender choices? Yes, they can each have an impact, but only to the extent that they are trusted in the first place.

Governor Youngkin’s policy will not achieve this trust. The predictable result will only be that young people who are uncomfortable sharing with their parents will also shun their counselors, leaving students with just their friends and the internet to work out their anxieties.

Young persons faced with anxiety regarding their sexual identity need trusted persons who will listen to them and help them achieve clarity in their own mind. And they need the final choice to be left with them and fully supported.

This is what counselors do. But they can only do this job in confidence.

Dan Stuhlsatz
Staunton

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