I would've just let the kid run into the wall.  Far more entertaining!     Also the reason why I'm not a schoolteacher...

I agree with the teacher's perspective, but don't understand his stubbornness about it.  Why does he care so much about something so trivial?  If the transgender kid wants to be called something else, just do it.  Need to punch something afterwards?  Go to the gym later and find a nice punching bag.  Problem solved!  

Fired that quickly?  Really?    We've got such a PC police problem that the PC police are PC policing PC police!

@Techstorm970 Well, I don't agree with the teacher's perspective, and I do believe that he should have been fired for that.

While you are free to practice and believe whatever you want, being an ass has consequences.

He has a job where he had to deal with people with varying perspectives, and if he can't deal with another child's wishes to be referred by a specific pronoun, then he was unfit for the job. 

ok so i'm on both sides of this. 

1. The teacher is aware of the pronoun the kid wants to use, and the parents are involved. So this isn't just Fred wants to be called "The bull" during class or something else stupid. The teacher by not using the pronoun is intentionally disrespecting the child and the parents and by doing so is creating a hostile learning environment to some degree.

2. I don't think this should be a career ending offense. The concept of gender being separate from sex is very new to society and taking away someone's livelihood because they haven't yet accepted they've been told their whole life isn't the case, by our very own school system no less, well that seems a bit harsh to me. Granted there should be some consequence, but it shouldn't have to go straight to firing. These are entirely new concepts of identity and a whole new use of the languages people have learned since birth. 

3. Sidenote, how often would a teacher be using a labeling pronoun instead of saying the kid's name??

Johnny please hand this to Marsha.

Johnny please read the following chapter

he/she pronouns are so rarely needed in a school setting.

@Jtalk4456 I'm in full agreement with your first point, but while I understand your second point, I don't fully agree with it.

While I don't think it should be career ending, if he refused to cooperate with his superiors, well, that's insubordination, which is what he was fired for.

And to be frank, do we really need a trans kid having his/her preferred identity dismissed by their teacher?  A person who is supposed to be a source of knowledge, and to a lesser extent, safety.

Kids are impressionable, and while this man would just be dismissed by most adults, these actions can leave a lasting impression on the young.

This is further compounded by the fact that the suicide rate for transgender people is much higher then non transgender, and we don't need the teacher's actions contributing to that.

So with all things considered, I think firing him was the right move, he can find a job as a teacher elsewhere as long as this doesn't ruin his reputation.

Behavior that can cause harm, be it physical or emotional should not be tolerated with any job around children, period.

@Cinnabar Sonar so to clarify I didn't read much into all of how he reacted. If he refused to change, then I can agree, but if he was just dismissing because like many he sees this as a weird rebellious phase and didn't know better, but is willing to change now that he knows, then he shouldn't lose his job. Intent vs. mistake basically

Edit: To be clear teaching is a very tough profession to come back to if you get fired for basically any reason. His career is over, no sane principal will hire him, that would be opening up the whole school system up to intense scrutiny, personnel reorganization, etc. I knew a GREAT teacher who didn't cowtail to a few girls who were troublemakers. They accused him of molesting them. Pretty much everyone was well aware he didn't, but he was let go anyways; there was nothing that could be done once that accusation was made.