School teacher told to avoid trigger warnings

Translation of an editorial in the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. Letter from a teacher:

"Last week (June 14), Janerik Larsson wrote about the feminist concept trigger warning. I couldn't refrain from smiling to myself when I read the article.

About three weeks ago I was at a job interview at a secondary school (high school) with about 600 pupils in central Stockholm. The temporary position concerned teaching Swedish and French. The principal and teacher who interviewed me told me that there are strong pupil groups who are very active within feminism and ecologism. The principal asked me what I think about that type of pupils. I responded that I enjoy pupils who are concerned, pupils who want to change the world. The principal seemed content with my answer.

She continued to ask about my stance to a pupil who didn't want to read texts with the words he/she, because the pupil in question got offended by texts that divide people by sex. At first, I thought for a while and wondered if I had got the question right. I found the response in the principal's somewhat embarrassed facial expression and responded that I thought that the pupil should nevertheless be urged to read the text, that the pupil can have any opinion about the text but should still be able to take in texts with he/she; anything else would be unthinkable.

Then I got the question whether I knew about the concept trigger warning. I tried to recall whether I had heard about the concept during my ten years at the university but finally responded that I didn't have a clue. The principal informed me that many pupils at the school are very "conscious" and expect that teachers are as well. She told me that they normally let pupils attend during job interviews since pupil influence is an important part of the school's working manner.

The interview continued and my environmental consciousness was tested. I felt, however, that I had already lost the job opportunity; my answers hadn't been satisfactory enough. At the same time I realised that I don't want to work at a school where pupil influence, in my view, has gone too far. This is a question where the school's leadership and staff have to put their foot down instead of anxiously give in to the students by removing teachers who don't have the exact same viewpoints as the pupils. In addition, it is wrong to let pupils of age 16, 17 have any kind of say when it comes to recruiting new teachers. In this case, the principal and the leadership must dare to take their responsibility.

I don't mind if the job goes to a more qualified colleague. I'm sure there are plenty. But if the thing is that you are removed as a teacher if you don't know the latest feminist concepts or try to satisfy all students, then you are on a dangerous path.

SEBASTIAN MARQUEZ VON HAGE Certified secondary school teacher"