·
Your
response to those who believe that early childhood centers should avoid the
inclusion of books depicting gay or lesbian individuals such as same-sex
partnered families
It
is my belief that society as a whole loves to be in the dark, but yet loves to
dictate what individuals can and cannot do, for example the right to marry for
all. Policy makers, educators, and those high up in politics try so hard to
cover up the various types of families and fail to realize that gay, lesbian,
bisexual, transgender families, children and individuals have been around for
forever. The LGBT community has spent so many years in the closet and with an
increase of people coming out; society still tries not to acknowledge those
individuals. As a lesbian, I believe it is important for all families and
individuals to be depicted inside the classroom and educators should be willing
to educate all children on the various types of people, whether gay, straight,
lesbian or other. Bullying is and has been at an all-time high and believe that
once teachers, professionals, and parents educated their children on all
persons of the world, than we will be able to cut down on bullying and increase
acceptance for all.
·
How
you would respond to a parent/family member who informed you they did not want
anyone who is perceived (or self-reported) homosexual or transgender to
be caring for, educating, and/or interacting with their child
When
I first read this question, I was flooded with a lot of emotions and
feelings. I am a lesbian and I was
hesitant to come into the field of education, because I felt that I would have
to live a double life and not be whom I am truly. I was fortunate enough to have a supervisor
and coworkers who were open and accepting and did not judge me on the life
choice I chose to make. In my mind, my
parents were my hardest hurdle because I did not want them to think anything
perverted or think that my sexual orientation hindered how I taught and
interacted with my students. I have been
a teacher for the past year and as of now; I have yet to experience hatred or
ignorance at that level. However, if I was in that position then I will let the
parents and those individuals know that I mean no harm and that I am capable of
providing quality care to their child and that my sexual orientation is not
flaunted, and that I respect each family and child represented inside my
classroom regardless of the family’s belief.
