Ian Golash, the social studies department chair at Chief Sealth International High School in Seattle, has been accused of telling students that identifying as "straight" is offensive.
This allegation was made by a parent who filed a complaint with the school officials, according to "The Jason Rantz Show" on KTTH.
The parent, who requested anonymity, provided a copy of a "Social Identity Wheel" worksheet that Golash had assigned to his 10th-grade class. This worksheet asked students to reflect on their various identities, including racial, ethnic, gender, socio-economic status, physical, emotional or developmental disabilities, and sexual orientation.
The parent claimed that her 15-year-old son identified himself as "straight" on the worksheet, to which Golash allegedly responded that he needed to choose a less offensive term. This incident was brought to light through email communications obtained by Fox News Digital, where the mother expressed her concerns to Golash and Chief Sealth Principal Ray Garcia-Morales.
In her email dated September 24, 2023, the mother wrote, "When filling out a Social Identity Wheel, he [her son] was told that if he identifies as straight that he needed to pick a term that was less offensive. It is completely inappropriate to dictate what terms a student can and cannot use to identify themselves with."
Golash responded to the mother's email, denying that he had specifically targeted her son. He wrote, "I did not tell anyone what words they should use to identify themselves. In fact, I stated explicitly that I was not going to tell them how they should identify except to explain the difference between race, ethnicity, and nationality."
However, Golash did admit to explaining to the entire class why he prefers not to use the term "straight." He wrote, "Because I think language has power and that it shapes the culture that we live in, I did say to the class, in response to a student, that I do not use the term straight because it implies that to not be straight is to be crooked which could have a negative connotation."
The term "straight" is widely accepted and noncontroversial for describing heterosexuals, and it is often used by LGBT people to describe those who support their political causes, known as "straight allies."
The mother also alleged that Golash singled out her son during a classroom discussion on Florida "banning ethnic studies" likely referring to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' new African-American studies standards, which have been criticized by the left. She claimed that instead of providing information on the topic, Golash told her son that he was a "product of the patriarchy that teaches young boys not to care."
Golash disputed this characterization but did not deny that he had mentioned the concept of patriarchy to the students. He wrote, "My response about patriarchy was not directed at one student, it was connected to discussions of systems of power that we had been having in the previous few days and the behavior of several boys in the class."
This is not the first time Golash's teaching methods have sparked controversy. Last month, parents complained after he allegedly gave a student a failing quiz grade for answering that only women can get pregnant and only men can have penises. Furthermore, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) is reportedly investigating two separate complaints against Golash, one for the quiz and another for an incident involving an allegedly antisemitic curriculum.
The mother told KTTH host Jason Rantz, "Mr. Golash has introduced many controversial topics into the classroom and instead of inviting open, constructive and truthful conversations, he provides biased resources that only aid in pushing his own ideological agendas."
She also claimed that her son has begun to "self-censor due to Mr. Golash's intolerant teaching tactics," and that teachers have used derogatory language towards her son. However, the school denied these allegations in a statement to Fox News Digital, stating that no such name-calling incidents have been reported to SPS.
Despite this, Rantz reported a February 2, 2023 email in which the mother's husband emailed a teacher and the school principal about the alleged name-calling incident, contradicting the school's statement. SPS has not responded to a request for clarification on this matter.
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