Max Pospisil aspires to be a music teacher, and is underway with coursework at Morningside University in Sioux City towards that.
Part of Pospisil’s coursework included observing a classroom, which is called a practicum. That was supposed to take place in the Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools system.
However, that practicum never took place.
Pospisil never heard directly from any official from that private school as to the reasons for that, but learned of the practicum being called off from Morningside Professor Josh Nannestad.
Bishop Heelan Schools have a policy that no teachers who identify as transgender can teach in any of their schools.
Pospisil is a transgender man.
Private schools in the United States don’t have to follow all the anti-discrimination laws that apply to public schools.
For this episode of What’s The Frequency we hear from Max Pospisil, and also Professor Nannestad. Heelan officials did not respond to requests for information.
Pospisil said, "Like it or not, trans people exist and we are going to exist. And if your students can’t deal with that, then that becomes dangerous, not just for people like me, but people like them. They have to learn how to deal, even if they don’t agree. I’m not telling everyone they need to agree with trans people, although I would like it. I’m not telling you what to believe, but you need to be able to coexist with me, and we need to be able to share the same space."
*Click on the audio link above to hear the entire show.
What's The Frequency, Episode 44
