Sunday, October 14, 2007
Discussing Gay and Lesbian Issues in the Elementary Classroom (revisited)
Hi everybody,
I'm bumping this post from Anna up because it kind of got buried amid some other topics, and I'm hoping that some of you have more to say on this issue -- especially after reading the two pieces from Rethinking Our Classrooms. Anna raises some interesting points and a few important questions as well. See what you think, then weigh in.
Anna said:
I think that the two articles we read from the "Rethinking Our Classrooms" book for this upcoming class meeting were quite interesting. They both brought up some really interesting issues regarding gay and lesbian education, particularly for elementary school teachers, and gave some really good tips on how to discuss these issues in the elementary school classroom.
For starters, I definitely agree that, like Mary Cowhey said, "When schools do get involved in promoting gay-straight alliances and so forth, it is usually at the secondary level" (173). In my own experience, I don't think that discussion about gay and lesbian rights and issues began until late middle school; and gay-straight clubs and groups were definitely not part of extracurricular activities until high school. I wonder why that is, though. I never gave it much thought until reading these two articles, but it definitely seems like although children are beginning to use hurtful words relating to gays and lesbians, like "faggot" or "dyke," at an early age (Gordon claimed even by 1st grade students are using these words to be hurtful towards one another!) the issue is not being addressed until much later in their schooling.
I think that part of the problem might be that we as educators are ourselves still a bit uncomfortable with the issues regarding gays and lesbians. I don't think that there is much of an emphasis in our preparation within the Education program that shows us how to deal with gay and lesbian issues as much as with issues of racism and intolerance. As the articles reveal, however, the issues of anti-gay language and behavior in the classroom are just as much issues of intolerance as anything else that we discuss in the classroom. This is where the other part of the reason comes in ...
Another part of the reason is that parents are also uncomfortable, especially at the elementary school level. I genuinely think that if homosexuality was discussed in the elementary classroom much like issues of antisemitism, racism, womens' rights, etc., there would be a number of parents who would be outraged. Even if the problem of children calling one another "faggot" was dealt with in the proper, educational way, much like Gordon suggested, I don't think that parents would be too pleased. I think that our society is still too deeply rooted in thinking that being gay or lesbian is "wrong" and "taboo." Therefore, until our society accepts being homosexual as just another way of life, then I don't think that we will be seeing these issues discussed as much as other issues of intolerance.
What I wonder is - -
If we are to teach about gay and lesbian issues in the elementary school classroom, when do we do it? Do we make it part of our tolerance curriculum like any other issue, or do we wait until it shows up in our own classroom by a student calling another student an anti-gay or lesbian term that is intended to be hurtful?
(If you want to read a few responses that have already been posted on this topic, scroll down to Anna's original post below.)
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13 comments:
Anna brings up some excellent points regarding the discussion of gay and lesbian issues in the elementary classroom. Like Anna, I was not exposed to these issues until late middle school, and even then the issues were not discussed in great detail. My high school had a Gay-Straight Alliance club which students could participate in after school; however, this club was not publicized as much as other clubs were. Growing up, I recall many students calling others “faggots” or “dykes”. Teachers would not take the time to explain to students that these names were inappropriate and should never be used because they are extremely hurtful. In fact, in some instances teachers would ignore and pretend they did not hear students calling others these hurtful names. I feel that teachers did this because they were uncomfortable discussing gay and lesbian issues in the classroom.
I believe that we should not wait to teach about these issues until they show up in our classrooms in a negative way. As future educators, I believe that we must learn to be comfortable discussing gay and lesbian issues in our classrooms. Mary Cowhey states in her article that, “an estimated one in 10 students may grow up to be gay or lesbian adults” (p. 174), not to mention that some of our future students may be raised by gay or lesbian parents. There are many ways that teachers can bring these issues into any classroom, including elementary classrooms. I think that one of the best ways is to discuss this topic during a tolerance unit and/or a family unit. Like Larissa had mentioned, there are many children’s books that center on this issue and can help teach students about it. I strongly believe that as teachers it is our job to teach our students about tolerance and accepting all people, and that includes teaching about gays and lesbians. If we don’t teach or address issues regarding this topic, then who will?
Like the other people who have commented, this issue was not brought to my attention until middle school and was never fully discussed. At my high school, there were people who were gay and lesbian but it was not announced as much by them. We did not have the clubs or alliances that colleges have. We knew it existed and some made a bigger deal about it as others.
Students often used the term to describe something as that is "gay" and deep down they meant that is stupid but it was very offensive for some. I never used it because i had friends that were gay, but teachers did not correct it either. I thnk teachers did this because they did not want to bring up the issue of gays and lesbians.
This subject is not as comfortable to talk about for everyong. For me, it is and i feel it is because i have some friends who are either gay or lesbian. I have the understanding and have not lost respect for them. As a teacher who is comfortable with this subject, I feel it should be brought up in a positive way before it is brought up in a negative way. The idea behind gays and lesbians can be brought into a classroom as young as elementary years in simple lessons such as family or ways of life. Like others have stated, there are many books on this issue that can help with teaching the subject in a more manageable way. We need to teach students to accept everyone and we talk about racism and diversity, so we can talk about gays and lesbians too. Why wait until it is too late to teach about this issue?
I believe that this is a very important issue to teach. Unfortunately there are not many teachers who take the risk and feel comfortable teaching this topic. I feel that the term "gay" is used way to often. Teenagers throw around the term like it has no meaning, saying things like "that's gay" or "you're gay." The issue definitely needs to be taught in middle school because thats when I feel it would be an appropriate time to do so. I am a little hestiant on teaching this topic in the elementary schools because of how young the students are. I don't think it should be apart of the curriculum but it a student calls another student gay then the teacher should discuss gay and lesibans. I don't think I am afraid to talk about this topic but since it is a hot topic that it maybe hard to talk about it in class. For me I want to teach my students about social issues but at the same time I believe parents should be involved in that as well. I remember in fifth grade when we talked about sex education there were several students whose parents didn't want their child to be apart of that unit. I would not be surprised the number of parents who would object to this topic as well. There is just so much curriculum that we have to teach the children when would be find the time to do a whole unit on gay and lesibans? Once again I believe that educating children about social issues should be from both the teacher and the parents.
There are some sticky issues that may be difficult to discuss, but it is better to talk about it rather than try to ignore that it exists. Children are not as naive as we believe them to be, unfortunately. Children are aware that some people are gay, but they only are exposed to the negative that are present in our society. I do agree that many parents would not want their children to learn about gay and lesbian people, but it is an issue that children need to talk about in a positive setting. Of course, this information would be presented in an appropriate manner, depending on the age of the children. I believe that it is much better to talk about the truth rather than pretend that it doesn't exist or learn to even hate.
I thought that our class discussion and the video we watched today brought up a lot of interesting points. I was very surprised by some of the comments that the students made in the fourth grade vignette. The students came up with words that they associated with the terms gay and lesbian. Some of the terms were: pervert, peep show, sex, naked. One, I was surprised that fourth graders came up with some of the above terms. Obviously, as Mary stated in her post, kids are not as naïve as we perceive them to be. They are can handle more and are far more aware of the world than we give them credit for. Second, I thought that it was very interesting that many of the words the students listed were associated with the sexual relationship that occurs between gay and lesbian couples. I think that not only kids, but a great deal of adults make sex the only aspect that they focus on when they think of gay and lesbian people. Unfortunately, this hinders them from looking at the actual relationships that gay and lesbian individuals have with the people in their lives. In the simplest sense, they are individuals who have families, a job, date, fall in love, etc. They just happen to be attracted to people of same gender.
I feel this is a very touchy topic, especially when dealing with younger children. After watching the video in class today, I feel that it should be taught or talked about to some extent. Like Mary and Jillian both pointed out, students know what is going on. They know the terms used in the media, on television shows and movies. In my opinion, the age of the students determines how in-depth you may go into the topic. For example, a couple girls stated in class that it may be taught in a family unit at a younger age. As students progress in age, teachers may find themselves talking about this topic in more depth.
I feel as a teacher, you should talk about accepting one another and being open to differences that exist between people. Children need to be taught these core values in school at all grade levels. The only question I have is it the school's responsibility to talk to students about gay/lesbian issues? Or do we leave it up to the parents/guardians? Where do you draw the line? I went to a private grade school and I know parents would have been out raged if a teacher spent time talking about this issue instead of a core subject, such as math or reading. I understand that it may come up in class. At that point, I would take time to address it with the students. But do you take class time to address some of the negative stereotypes that students see in the media?
Anna, I agree with how the topic of gay and lesbian is usually taught later in middle school or even high school. The topic never came up until high school for me. We had a leadership program called Knight's Way in which many leaders (students) taught fellow classmates many ways to respect and accept others. We had to share how it might feel if someone said, "That's gay or retarded," and how it may affect others. Anyways, I feel that such discussions such as gays and lesbians are not talked about until a serious issue happens. I think that it is very important to educate children when they are young because it will carry on throughout their lives. Also, it is important to teach this early on because this name calling and stereotyping can truly harm those involved. Many of us worry about what others think...will the world accept me for this decision? Will my friends, parents, classmates, teachers or neighbors think of me differently? I actually had a cousin come out this year. He is a Senior at Lake Zurich High School. Initially, I accepted it, but most of all I was there for support. I did not want him doing anything that he would regret. His mom did not accept it at first. She was crying and saying how could I have not seen this, what could I have done? And he lost many friends throughout the process, but he also gained many with support. He is a very smart and strong kid. I just worry because some kids can be bullies and say some really mean things. And this can lead to suicides, drugs/drinking, and hate crimes. I was shocked to hear from the movie that most teenage suicides are due to teenagers being unsure of their sexuality. This is definitely something serious and should not just be discussed in middle and high school, but in the elementary level as well.
I think that schools should look into having a PRIDE day (as shown in movie), in which , all grade levels will talk about the topic of gays and lesbians. This will help students grow an acceptance of the topic at such a young age.
Reading through the responses to Anna's posting, I can't help but agree. Unfortunately, I too didn't see any sort of awareness or clubs relating to gay and lesbian issues and acceptance until high school. Even then, I believe we only had one club and it didn't go out if it's way to include straight students. The majority of students that were involved were the few that had actually come out as gay or lesbian. While I believe that this is beneficial to have a safe place for those students to go, it makes me wonder if this lack of outreach to straight yet supportive students to be involved in the club did just the opposite. The club seemed to isolate itself and it's memebers even more so. By doing this, even unintentionally, the positive message the club strives to send out to the student body gets lost within the club and between those students that already seem to know about true acceptance.
If we want to begin raising awareness and creating an accepting atmosphere in schools, I feel that we not only need to start teaching about these issues earlier than high school, but also that we make a point to try to include everyone. We need to give gay and lesbian students a voice within schools where they feel safe and secure to be who they truely are. By making a point to reach out to ALL students, not just those that fit the description of the club, the subject of gay and lesbian students and citizens will begin to be accepted.
I think that gay and lesbian issues are something we need to implement into our curriculum from the beginning at the primary level. I do not think that this needs to be a huge lesson plan that points out people that are gay or lesbian. It needs to be taught informally as the students do not see being gay or lesbian as unusual or weird. The truth is that most of the younger children will not know the correct meaning of the words as they use it in conversation. These degogative comments needs to be stopped. However, (as the video we watched said..) we cannot just simply say, "Don't say that word," we must teach the students about what it means. This is what will get them to stop saying gay and lesbian as a negative thing and will hopefully get them to encourage their friends not to say it. Having two moms or two dads should be thought of as another "normal" form of parenting. If we casually talk about this with students from the start, it will not become a problem later on. Students need to learn to be accepting of other people as no two people are the same. We can learn from the diversity of others.
Anna,
I shared this in my class, but wanted to share with you as well since you wrote, "If we are to teach about gay and lesbian issues in the elementary school classroom, when do we do it? Do we make it part of our tolerance curriculum like any other issue, or do we wait until it shows up in our own classroom by a student calling another student an anti-gay or lesbian term that is intended to be hurtful?"
When I was in 1st Grade my teacher did teach us (briefly) about gays and lesbians. When we learned about families we learned about all different types of families.. a mom and a dad, divorced families, and gay and lesbian families. I don't remember reading any books in particular, but I do know that she had activities about families that included gay and lesbian families. Anytime we were studying something that gays and lesbians were a part of, she taught about them.
I observed her when I was a freshman at ISU and asked her about it because after all of my schooling experiences I realized just how abnormal that type of education is. She said that she taught it because it was an important issue to her-- her brother is gay. She wanted to begin educating us about gays and lesbians so that hopefully anyone in her class that was homosexual would never have to go through what hwe brother went through.
She also told me something else that I had never thought of.. yet it made perfect sense... If you wait until you have a student with gay or lesbian parents, or until you hear the words used then you are at risk of teaching your students without well planned lessons, materials, etc. If you plan to teach it all along, then you take a ton of time finding and evaluating resources, talking to people, etc. I thought this was a great point!
Hope this helps a bit!
I, too, agree with everyone that this is a very sticky issue in schools, but that it is a very important one to teach. At my school, we never discussed anything even close to this topic and we certainly did not have any clubs. I don't know if it was because we were from such a small town where there is basically no diversity, or if it was because we were never taught about it, but someone who was gay or lesbian would have never stood a chance at our school. With so few people, basically you either fit in or you didn't, and if you didn't then the next eight or so years of school were going to be extremely difficult since we don't change schools. I can't think of a single person that I went to school with who came out while in high school. I know several people who have now that we have graduated, but they knew better than to say anything while we were still in school. I think if teachers would have made a bigger issue out of being accepting and having tolerance when we were younger, then it could have helped our school a lot. Teachers would always hear kids saying words like "fag" and never do a thing about it. This just reinforced our idea that it was okay to do that. I don't think teachers realize how much they impact the way students will act. I think that both gay and lesbian issues need to be taught in school as part of a much bigger acceptance and tolerance unit. In my opinion, these are some of the most important things that can be taught in school. It is hard to deal with because parents have such an issue with it, but teachers need to work hard to find a way to get these issues across and not just ignore them.
To be honest, it never occured to me that elementary schools would talk about the issue because I had never heard about it until about 8th grade. After watching the videos in class, I really think that it shoudl be discussed in classes in Elementary school. I loved the video because the children were so concerned and comforting. The one little boy talked about how being gay meant being happy and if you like someone then you are happy. My mentor has told me before that children are the best judge of character and they have a lot more insight than we think they do. It's not about the fact that students need tok now agbout personal relationships within any couple, gay or straight, but it is the ability to teach students the idea of acceptance. There are words and remarks that can not be ignored by teachers. I know that some teachers may find themselves in situations they did not want to be in but there are other resources to help teachers create a more accepting atmosphere in a classroom. There are books and speakers that are more than willing to help reach out to children about accepting people of different sexuality, race, religion, etc. It is something that is crucial to teach to children growing up. I believe the only way that teachers are going to experience less name calling and discrimination is when they bring the issues up themselves.
I agree with what most others have been saying. I was not exposed to gay and lesbian issues until high school. We had a Gay-Straight Alliance club, but students were never told what the club was about. Several students in one of my classes senior year asked my teacher, and she could not provide a response. I believe many more students would have become involved in this club had there been more information given to them about the purpose of the group.
The students at the school in which I am student teaching run laps every day. After the laps, students usually have a few minutes to play on the playground. Some students were "playing a game" where the objective was to hit other students on the backside. When some female students did not want to participate, they were called lesbians. One of these girls went up to the teachers and asked what the word lesbian meant. She was told it was a bad word and that she should ignore it and go play again. I'm not sure exactly how I would have reacted in the moment, but I think that situation should have been handled much differently. The students often tattle on each other, but I think the students who were calling these girls lesbians should have been talked to about the comments they made, rather than just the game itself.
I think teachers need to be comfortable discussing difficult and controversial issues in the classroom, but that parents need to be aware of when this is done. I agree with some previous comments that a great way to bring up discussion about gay and lesbian issues is to share a children's book. Students love to be read to, and read aloud stories are a great way to expose children to difficult issues.
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