Phatscotty wrote:Sexual preference is best dealt with by the parents, but sometimes with those hard line parents who say they will disown their gay child or something like that it's also cool if the child can talk to a school counselor. I'm not so sure about in an actual classroom as a lesson.
Unfortunatley, too many parents are themselves either misinformed or too uncomfortable talking about these issues. There is a line of distinction here. The school's job is to teach the "biology ", (maybe some sociology, etc.). The parent's job is to teach morality.
Phatscotty wrote:Why would a teacher at school with a classroom of 30-40 completely different children, be the better place for a child to learn about the H-word?
The fact is they WILL learn the word, because it is used so predominantly. The question is whether they learn, in school, a school context for that word..namely the basic fact of what it is and what it is not. It is important that kids learn that homosexuality is not akin to pedophilia, is not considered an "illness" any longer, though some religious groups do have problems with it. Basically, the analogy I would draw is learning about Hinduism or Buddhism. If you study other cultures, even some of the divirsity of the US, knowing the rought basics of "what it is" is important.
If you want to teach that homosexuality is evil, that is your perogative, but it should not be done in school.
Anyway, I have said this before and will say it again. I used to be very much, well I don't know if "against" homosexuality is precisely correct, its more that I found the entire idea disgusting and plain could not understand it. Anyway, then I found myself working with some who were "that way". These few were not shy about it. People were downright mean, in very childish ways. Things like "I'll give anyone a ride to town except
them" or "anyone but them can have some chips" (including the guy who never washed his hands
) . I made no bones about having religious issues with homosexuality, but as I said, I was also taught to treat people decently. Then, I found myself being accused of being homosexual myself, basically because I was not one of the "froofy" girls, declined a couple of guys (not the most stellar examples of the male gender, but "of course" the only reason I could turn them down was being homo
). And, I had the
audacity to actually outwork a few guys (note.. I am a petite, not very "buff" woman.. these guys just were lazy and would not listen to directions). Sadly, one supervisor actually believed this and even decided it was reason to try and get rid of me. I survived, actually wound up getting a promotion of sorts, but I had to put up with several months of pure h*ll.
Nor was that the only time.
The real truth is that most of you probably know people who are homosexual. And, unless you know them well, chances are you would guess wrong. The homosexuals who match the obnoxious stereotypes are roughly the same as those heterosexuals who go around flaunting themselves, who border on (or actually engage willingly in) prostitution,etc. MOST are no different from anyone else, unless you care to worry about what they do in their private bedrooms. AND, I will say that more homosexuals with children seem to have functioning locks on their bedroom doors than heterosexuals.
