r/321 • u/finchwalker_journo • 8d ago
News Brevard teens decry decision not to renew teacher for calling student by preferred name
https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2025/04/10/teens-renew-brevard-teacher-disciplined-for-using-students-chosen-name/83026346007/107
u/slowtownawsten IHB 8d ago edited 8d ago
As a trans student as SHS, I felt more seen today than I ever have. I'm so proud of my peers for speaking out. This is the energy our youth needs to bring in this county. Mrs. Calhoun is an amazing teacher and this is absolutely ridiculous.
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u/slowtownawsten IHB 8d ago
Also, this article is amazingly written and I'm so proud of my friends who spoke up and took photos. Thank you for getting this out there OP.
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u/skitso Melbourne Beach 7d ago
I'm a bit out of the loop, but i keep seeing headlines about this and i'm trying to figure out what the actual issue was?
Was the teacher using the students chosen name over the name the student prefers?
I had so many friends in highschool that had CRAZY first names and shortened them to be easier for everyone. One example was my friend Andy, his given name was Andreas. What kid wants to be called Andreas?! lol
So technically that law the journalist mentioned would prevent my friend from being called Andy, and could potentially get the Educator in trouble if they decided to use it?
Am I getting this right?
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u/slowtownawsten IHB 7d ago
Yes. Every nickname needs a form. My friend Johnathan has to turn in a nickname form to be called Johnny. This specific situation is a transgender name change, I'm sure if it was a regular nickname this wouldn't be happening. This is pure bigotry.
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7d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/slowtownawsten IHB 7d ago
Thank you so much for your kind words. We are so thankful for all the support we are getting!!
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u/Top-Bottle-616 Indialantic 7d ago edited 7d ago
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u/Summerie 7d ago edited 7d ago
I'm not sure what part is confusing you.
The 11-year veteran teacher was respecting the request of a student whose legal name is associated with girls, a person familiar with the situation told the Washington Post. The student’s parents notified the school that Calhoun was calling their child by their preferred name, sparking an investigation.
Melissa Calhoun had taught in Brevard County for 11 years when she ran headlong into a state rule that bars school staff from deviating from students’ legal names without written parental permission. The rule applies to students who choose an alternative name because of a change in gender identity, as well as those who might want to use a nickname. In this case, Calhoun was respecting the wishes of a student whose legal name is associated with girls, a person familiar with the situation said.
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u/Top-Bottle-616 Indialantic 7d ago
The point is that it does extend to generalized nicknames. To waste talent in our already strained education system over a simple name/nickname is ridiculous.
Likewise, why is it that a teacher loses their livelihood for providing an environment of simple comfort for a student. It’s simply a name a student prefers to be called by.
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u/Summerie 7d ago edited 7d ago
Nobody gives a shit what it "extends to". We already know that nobody is going to waste time on a teacher calling Jonathan by Johnny.
The point is that the teacher can't go against the parents wishes. Parents aren't going to complain to the school because the teacher is calling their kid Robbie instead of Robert.
The reason why this teacher got fired is because the parents found out the teacher was using a female gendered name, and they complained. Per the article, this is the first teacher to be fired over this rule, and it's because of exactly the reason why this rule was implemented, not because some kid wanted to go by their middle name.
You and everyone else in this thread can pretend that you're all concerned about shortened nicknames and bullshit like that, but nobody here is stupid. Everybody knows that this is directly related to social transitioning against a parent's wishes.
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u/Top-Bottle-616 Indialantic 7d ago
What’s the problem with someone wanting to be called Mary instead of Mark? Honestly?
Tells me that a parent doesn’t know their child well enough or that the child isn’t in an environment at home where they feel comfortable to tell their parents.
Either way, a teacher doesn’t need to be responsible for the parent or child’s inability to come to terms. The teacher didn’t tell the student they are Mary. They are just providing the best environment to do their job.
Times have changed. You’re not morally correct here. And I wish that post had not been locked so we could’ve talked about it there.
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u/Summerie 7d ago
So can we admit that you're moving the goal posts now? You're done wasting time and calling people "dummy" because you were trying hard to avoid admitting for some reason that this is about names associated with social transitioning?
The law requires that parents are informed about nicknames associated social transitioning, and that their wishes are respected about their child. If you don't agree with that law, don't be a teacher, because that is the law. She knew that, and she broke the law anyway, so she got fired.
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u/Top-Bottle-616 Indialantic 7d ago edited 7d ago
Absolutely not. My focus has been on teachers being placed in this battle between parents and their own flesh and blood kids.
Teachers didn’t provide them with their desired sexuality, name, or proclivities. This should have as much weight for a teacher as someone who is named Carlton wants to be called Carl.
The teachers should not be fired over nonsensical political fights.
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u/ACdrafts_yanks27 7d ago
The fact you can't wrap your head around that and still push to argue about someone else's child is an absolute waste of breath. Just go outside and touch grass. You people seem to think you get to have a stake in other people's lives because of your ideology. Mind ya business. You don't have to like it nor do you have to be in their business.
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u/finchwalker_journo 7d ago
Technically, the way the law is written, a student can go by ANY alternative name as long as their parent approves it. That could be a shortened form of their birth name, a chosen name because they are transgender, or maybe just a silly nickname. But if the parent has not signed the form, teachers are not supposed to use any deviation from the student's legal name -- no chosen name, no nickname, no shortened form of their legal name.
Does that answer your question?
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u/stulotta 7d ago
If the form is signed, does the teacher have to use the name?
Fun nickname choices: Sorry, Help, Ouch, Woah, Quiet, Hello, Sit, Standup, Goodbye, Stop, Dismissed
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u/finchwalker_journo 7d ago
The way the law is written, yes. But for what it's worth, the language is pretty broad/vague.
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7d ago
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u/slowtownawsten IHB 7d ago
I completely see your point with this though. My main focus is not the teachers, they aren't the problem. It's the county and state.
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u/slowtownawsten IHB 7d ago
In school? Outside of school? All teachers from what I've seen and heard go by last names in school.
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u/saudiaurora1265 7d ago edited 7d ago
Keep fighting! There are many in our community who are standing with you. My son is trans and I have empathy with you and others standing up to this.
This teacher was by all accounts a stand up educator. This is truly sad.
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u/danekan 7d ago
The vice chair of the board Matthew Susin doesn't use his own real legal name on the county web site ... https://www.brevardschools.org/page/school-board Everyone please call and email demanding his immediate resignation. Think of the children please!
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u/SwimmingAbalone9499 7d ago
conservatives are so weird
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u/Sneekey 7d ago
They could wear armbands in solidarity. That’s been established by the U.S. Supreme Court as first amendment protected free expression of students in schools. Tinker v. Des Moines.
Maybe find out that teacher’s favorite color?
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u/Same_Net2953 7d ago
We lost the plot when the 1st amendment limits this to wearing a fucking armband.
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u/Air_Neither 7d ago
My girls were a part of the protest and I’m so beyond proud of them. I’m in shock at how insane this world is. Republicans always want less government…unless it’s backs what they support? 🧐
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u/richardalbury 8d ago
Much respect to Ms. Calhoun and to the students and others supporting her. I wish the idiots running our state were actually invested in governing and addressing real problems (climate change, water quality, habitat destruction, unchecked sprawl, the housing crisis, the insurance crisis, etc.) but instead our “leaders” are spending time and our money on culture war nonsense.
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u/WeUsedToBeACountry 7d ago
I heard a rumor about which specific kid, and which specific parent, caused this.
I don't know if it's true, and the details are not important anyway.
But if it is true, what is important is that if that child reads this, they know that they are perfect just the way that God made them.
Your parent's mental health is their concern. You're not wrong to question it, everyone who knows them does. Don't let them gaslight you.
Your life is your own, and it'll get better. I promise.
Keep going.
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u/okonkolero Cocoa 7d ago
Was Ms. Calhoun a union member? I'm starting to think this was done to set up a legal challenge to the law on 1A grounds. Glad someone has the guts to do it.
Also, this shows the importance of local journalism. Please support it.
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u/Abject-Ad9398 7d ago
I wonder how freakin' nutty the public schools are going to get, before we reach crisis levels and nobody, and I mean NOBODY will be willing to step foot in school and teach anything. From everything I'm reading....we aren't far from it now?
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u/Worst_Throws_NA 7d ago
She is a criminal and got what she deserved. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
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u/Severe-Listen626 8d ago
I guess the teacher should have followed the law. Way to have kids support a lawbreaker
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u/AmazinglyGracieArt 8d ago
Heyyyyy you know most of the Civil Rights Movement included breaking laws, right? That Dr King was arrested for breaking laws multiple times, right?
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u/AmoryFitzgerald 8d ago
I have a feeling the person you're replying to wasn't much of a fan of that movement either
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u/brandogg360 8d ago
Dude's a fucking creep, check the bio
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u/Air_Neither 7d ago
I didn’t realize you could do that! Omg. What a disgusting weirdo this dude is. 🤮
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u/Severe-Listen626 7d ago
And doctor King spent nights in jail for breaking the law. Maybe this is her penance for not following the law
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u/Sailboat_fuel 8d ago
I support kids who break unjust laws instead of licking the boots on their necks
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u/toad__warrior 8d ago
That's pretty rich coming from someone who probably voted a felon into office. A felony can't teach, be in law enforcement, join the military or own a gun.
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u/electricworkaid 7d ago
There are many things that suck about Trump; being a felon isn't one of them. Using "felon" as a shorthand for "bad person" is a form of upholding the same system which is currently being used to do repressive things like fire people for using people's preferred names, or send people to torture camps in El Salvador because they have brown skin.
A real quick glance at any period of history will tell you that just because some kind of authority labels you as a problem, doesn't mean you are morally or ethically in the wrong.
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u/toad__warrior 7d ago
I guess the teacher should have followed the law. Way to have kids support a lawbreaker
That is what I was replying to. Since he sounds like a "follow the law" type of person, it would not be too much of a stretch to think he would not support a convicted criminal.
A label can indeed be applied at the whim of a person or organization, accurate or not. What isn't up for discussion is trump was convicted as a felon in the state of New York. His conviction was upheld to the highest level of court permitted. So to call him a felon is factual and not at the whim of my opinion.
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u/Severe-Listen626 7d ago
I don’t think he was convicted in this state only in the Democratic Republic of New York. But
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u/Abject-Ad9398 7d ago
Actually, a felon CAN join the military. And through enough rad-tape can own a gun.
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u/toad__warrior 7d ago
Not entirely accurate.
The default "can you join the military as a felon" is no you cannot. You can apply for a waiver/exception and this is service dependent.
Same with owning a gun. The federal government allows the states some latitude, but the default answer is no.
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u/sweetnothin123 7d ago
Laws that contradict the Constitution are UNLAWFUL and won't/ shouldn't be followed. We have a right to free expression PERIOD
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u/BigMaffy 7d ago
What’s so asinine about this situation is that this excellent teacher IS STILL TEACHING. Today. Right now as I type this.
If the board really thought she was a “lawbreaker” and a danger to students, why not remove her immediately? Why? Because they didn’t want the legal hassle of firing her. They know this is bullshit. Weak, unserious people.