5th grade seems like an appropriate time to start educating students about this as part of their health curriculum. That’s the grade when they gave us the puberty talk in my old school district.
Some early bloomers absolutely start puberty during or before 5th grade.
I hate LOTR! I’ve never heard anyone else say that. Thank you for making me feel less alone!
I made the mistake of reading the books before watching the movies. Say what you want about JRRT being a world building genius, the books are dull as shit. They are the most boring thing I’ve ever read. I was an avid reader at the time and ended up skipping large portions of the books to try to find any plot.
Of course that ruined any chance of me enjoying the movies. I tried watching Fellowship but I went into it with such a negative opinion after the books that it was unwatchable.
Yes they are two different things but they are related. Puberty can be devastating to a child who isn’t comfortable with their body. In some cases puberty blockers are prescribed to delay the physical changes for children with gender disphoria. So educating gender identity along with puberty isn’t a bad idea.
And yes, some children do start questioning their gender before they start puberty.
But this is all speculative. We don’t know what the context for this teacher reading the book, but calling it inappropriate for their age is wrong.