Seattle teacher allegedly told students identifying as 'straight' is offensive

A history teacher at a Seattle high school who previously came under fire for lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity allegedly told students that identifying as "straight" is offensive.

Ian Golash, who is the social studies department chair at Chief Sealth International High School, also told some male students they are a "product of the patriarchy that teaches young boys not to care," according to a parent who filed a complaint with school officials. 

The mother, who requested anonymity, provided a copy of a "Social Identity Wheel" worksheet Golash assigned to his 10th grade class to "The Jason Rantz Show" on KTTH. The worksheet asks students to self-reflect on their various identities, including racial, ethnic, gender, socio-economic status, physical, emotional or developmental disabilities, and sexual orientation. 

The parent said her 15-year-old son labeled himself "straight." Golash then allegedly told the boy that he needed to pick a term that was less offensive.

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Ian Golash, Social Studies Department Chair at Chief Sealth International High School. (Superior Court of Washington for King County)

Email communications obtained by Fox News Digital show the mother raising her concerns with Golash and Chief Sealth Principal Ray Garcia-Morales. 

"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," the mom wrote in a Sept. 24, 2023 email.

In an email response thanking the mother for her feedback, Golash denied that he specifically targeted her son. 

"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," Golash wrote. 

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However, he did admit to telling the entire class why he prefers not to use the term "straight." 

"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 teacher wrote. 

"Straight" is a noncontroversial and accepted term for heterosexuals, and LGBT people often use the term "straight ally" to describe those who support their political causes. 

A "Social Identity Wheel" worksheet assigned to students at Chief Sealth International High School asks children to reflect on their various identities. ("The Jason Rantz Show" on KTTH)

The mother also claimed in her email that Golash singled out her son during a classroom discussion on Florida "banning ethnic studies" — likely a reference to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' new African-American studies standards, which have been criticized by the left. The mom said her son had missed class the day before and when Golash asked for his thoughts, he replied that he did not know. 

"I’m told that rather than converse about the topic and provide him with information and an actual answer, he was told that he was a ‘product of the patriarchy that teaches young boys not to care,'" the mom wrote in the email. "You missed an opportunity here to teach your student about current events and instead shamed him for being a male. To assume that he’s being raised in a patriarchal household is a very mistaken one."

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Golash disputed that characterization of what happened but did not deny that he told children they were a "product of the patriarchy." 

"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," he wrote in the email. 

"I certainly wasn't making any implications about your household," he wrote. "I was referring to a system of power that we all live in." 

Fox News Digital reached out to Golash for additional comment but did not receive a response in time for publication. 

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The Seattle high school's student's quiz was marked incorrect when he said that it was "true" that "all men have penises." ("The Jason Rantz Show" on KTTH)

This was not the first time topics broached in his classroom have stirred controversy. Last month, parents of students in Golash's class complained after he allegedly gave a student a failing quiz grade after he answered that only women can get pregnant and only men can have penises. 

"The Jason Rantz Show" on KTTH also reported that Seattle Public Schools (SPS) is investigating two separate complaints against Golash, one for the quiz and another for an incident when an antisemitic curriculum was allegedly taught to students. 

"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," the mom told KTTH host Jason Rantz, author of "What's Killing America." 

"In this particular instance, he tried to persuade the language the students used in an attempt to censor them. Mr. Golash instructs his students what to think and not how to think. This in no way provides identity-safe classrooms that allow students to feel visible and valued," she said. 

The mother claims her son has started to "self-censor … due to Mr. Golash's "intolerant teaching tactics." 

She also previously claimed that teachers have called her son "f---d and racist." 

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In a statement to Fox News Digital, the school denied that such name-calling occurred. 

"Claims that the student was called names have not been reported to SPS. We have confirmed with the school’s principal that this is the first reference to any name-calling," a spokesperson said. 

However, Rantz reported a Feb. 2, 2023 email in which the mother's husband emailed a teacher and the school principal about the alleged name-calling incident, which appears to contradict the school's statement.

SPS did not respond to a request for clarification.