I try to keep informed of locals issues and one source I use is Oxfordshire County Council leader, Keith Mitchell’s political blog at http://www.
krmcbe.co.uk/political_blog.htm.
I was most concerned to discover from his entry of December 10 that Oxfordshire is ‘turning out far too many children from our primary schools wholly unable to read, write and manage numbers’.
Mr Mitchell reports this, because he is alarmed that, what he terms, ‘transgender studies’ may be added to the National Curriculum and there won’t be room for this on a crowded syllabus.
He ends by saying: ‘teaching young children about alternative sexual practices’ is ‘inimical’ to him.
His observations raise two very serious issues.
How is it that Oxfordshire primary schools have allegedly done so badly under his watch of 10 years?
And, if Mr Mitchell had had the benefit of transgender studies during his education, would he have avoided the mistake of confusing transgender with ‘alternative sexual practices’?
Dr PAULINE WILSON, Milton Road, Sutton Courtenay
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