Gerry Shih
"Clashes Pit Parents vs. Gay-Friendly Curriculums in Schools"
THE NEW YORK TIMES
MARCH 3, 2011
URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/education/04bcgay.html?pagewanted=1&ref=education
TOPIC: MANDATED GAY FRIENDLY CURRICULUM IN SCHOOLS AND THE INEVITABLE BACKLASH FROM PARENTS AND RELIGIOUS GROUPS.
SUMMARY: In the California Bay Area, after a lesbian student joined with the American Civil Liberties Union in 2008 to accuse the local school district of discrimination, district officials agreed as part of a settlement to show films and assign homework depicting same-sex families, beginning in elementary school.
But recently, more than a dozen parents, rallied by community religious leaders, attacked the school board, asserting that their rights were being violated because they had no control over whether their children received such lessons.
The clash was one of several related controversies at Bay Area schools.
INTENDED AUDIENCE: GENERAL PUBLIC
KEY POINTS: They’re here, they’re not queer, and they are having a hard time getting used to it.
Where is the sweet spot between mandatory education on LGBT issues, tolerance, bigotry, versus requiring all history textbooks to include figures and events in gay history and portray them “in a positive light”.
RELEVANCE: Continues our education on LBGT issues covered in yesterday’s seminar. Even a reference to And Tango Makes Three.
I seriously wrote a book and then AGAIN after trying to post it - lost it!!!
ReplyDeleteI am not even sure I remember all the points I made. So annoying. This is the 3rd time this week. If I was not going to be graded on my responses I might throw in the towel.
OK - all ranting aside. Let me see if I can at least recap some.
I was saying that I think fear might be driving some of what the parents / religious leaders are feeling. I have given a lot of thought lately to what I am really feeling if I start to have a strong response to something - and usually if I stick with it and really trace it to its roots - FEAR! Fear is the culprit.
The world we live in is one of exposure. Our kids will be exposed to things. I guess our parenting style has been sheild them when they are young but then release and move out of their way. I by no means think they are ready for full exposure but I do think they are at a place where we need to let them begin forming their OWN opinions. Offer support and guide them in the steps to making an informed opinion/decision but ultimately I trust our kids and love them regardless if they come to see things my way or not - maybe I will learn from them. Respect is the word that comes to mind.
As far as the school - I think in a neutral way views can be presented. I wouldn't want a heterosexual teacher promoting heterosexuality any more then I want a homosexual teacher promoting homosexuality. But I don't think censorship or denial is beneficial to students.
Our kids may come home and want to talk about any number of things that do or do not mesh with our views/beliefs - but hey as parents that just gives us opportunity to dialogue with our kids.
I know this riding the fence position might offend some but I can't find a better option. I am open to any you've come up with. As a teacher I don't want to spoon feed my views to my students - I feel it robs them of the opportunity to think critically for themselves.
I don’t know where to begin, this subject is “mad-awkward.” Nice, Lorenz. My parents never talked to me about LGBT issues, but as with anyone who attended public high school, it was just a part of my natural education. Kids are exposed to the spectrum of ideas on sexual orientation regardless of what we officially teach or do not teach in schools. I think the truly volatile factors in this discussion are the age and manner of presentation, not the presentation itself.
ReplyDeleteRegarding classroom appropriateness, I see no difference between sexual orientation and religious belief (or lack thereof). Both are intimately tied to our self-perception and certain parts of our lifestyle, and it is natural for us to reveal these facets as we develop relationships. However, this presents a dilemma in the classroom because it is difficult to align ourselves with a particular point of view without appearing to advocate for it. We must therefore clarify the disparity between tolerance (respecting the believer) and acceptance (supporting the belief) if we hope to present these issues objectively to students. I think the fear of many conservative parents and church leaders is the blurring of lines between tolerance and acceptance, especially when involving younger kids who may not have the reasoning capacity to distinguish between the two.
For example, a first grader may ask his teacher why there were two fathers in “And Tango Makes Three.” The teacher handles that question easily, but then another student asks if this is wrong… the answer is not a simple yes-or-no response because either of those commits the teacher to a side of the issue, and anything more becomes increasingly more abstract. Sure, there are escapes (some people think yes, others think no, but it is important that we respect the penguins’ choices, etc), but it underlines how carefully we must tread on impressionable minds.
So where do I stand… I don’t know really. Expose, but don’t advocate, and wait at least until they experience romantic attraction for themselves; emphasize tolerance over acceptance, and teach kids what it really means to “respectfully disagree;” and finally, inform parents when discussing or exposing students to controversial issues so they can help guide their learning.
Just like Jessica said, fear is the culprit. In the article, Leno is quoted saying, "People oppose and fear the unfamiliar." This is true.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, this is a really touchy subject! I'll be the first to say that. While I think that LGBT issues should be included and talked about at schools, it is a HOTBED of controversy right now. I think Bob Dylan said it best though, "Times they are a-changin'". The article mentions the political campaigns against Prop 8, the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. These are issues that kids will be exposed to outside of school, why not expose them to aspects of it in the classroom as well. However, it is obviously a touchy subject with some very loud objectors.
I am not by any means saying that teachers should be preaching homosexuality, but having books such as Tango Makes Three, is a far cry from advocating. If we keep the gays a secret, they won't go away.
In my opinion, it is better to make children aware that there may be families with two mommies or two daddies, just like their are single-parent families, kids that are raised by their grandparents, kids in foster care, etc. Families come in all shapes and sizes, especially today with a divorce rate of over 50%. One of the authors of "And Tango Makes Three" said the book is "no more an argument in favor of human gay relationships than it is a call for children to swallow their fish whole or sleep on rocks."
All this said, I will be the first to say I am terrified of trying to push for including anything LGBT related into my curricula. I feel that as a member of the LGBT community, I am far more at risk for being accused of "pushing an agenda" than any straight colleague would be.
On a very personal note: I was not exposed to any sort of LGBT issues throughout my schooling. I don't think my high school even has a GSA. It also wasn't something we talked about at home (good or bad). I did know a few gay guys as a teenager, but I did not know a single lesbian who was out. I think that if it were something that I had been exposed to at an earlier age (or at all?), I probably would have figured myself out a LOT sooner. It just isn't anything that I realized was an option (I hate that word option, because I don't actually think it turned out to be a choice/option, I just couldn't think of a better word.
This is such a difficult topic to wrestle with, but it is so important in society at large today and education in particular that it can't be ignored. Everybody had such great comments and I think as teachers we really need to address this issue personally so that we can deal with it professionally.
ReplyDeleteThere is such a fine line between promoting something and exposing children to something. I suppose in 1855 if your teacher talked to you about abolition, a pro-slavery parent could have accused the teacher of promoting abolition. Or universal suffrage in 1900 or civil rights in the 1950's. I think society as a whole needs to come out of the closet on this issue and demand equal rights for all (as the military is doing now). LGBT issues should not be taboo and the sooner we have open discussions about it the better. Children are smart and they know what's up. Why not talk to them about it? Discussion is not promotion. Schould teachers bring this discussion to schools? I say absolutely. Not as propaganda or promotion of an agenda but as fair-minded presentation and discussion about sexuality, identity, society, justice. Older children can make up their own minds about the issue and younger children can rely on their parents for help, as they do for many difficult topics. A parent can always say "don't believe the teacher" if they don't like the curriculum. I looked for a story about this in the SF Chronicle but oddly enought couldn't find one. I'll keep searching.