·
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.
Sha'Keema,
ReplyDeleteI like the connection you made between being educated about diversity and bullying. You are right that the narrow-mindedness of others can lead to bullying. If more efforts were taken to create a society of acceptance then bullying would certainly be cut down dramatically. Great point!
Sha'Keema-
ReplyDeleteI am glad you decided to continue your journey as an educator and have coworkers who accept and are open with your identity. Your students are very lucky to have such a caring, devoted teacher as yourself. I couldn't agree more with your first statement. As an anti-bias educator, it is my goal to help children construct a positive sense of self and a respectful understanding of others Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010).
Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010).Anti-bias education
for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: National
Association for the Education of Young Children(NAEYC).
Hi ShaKeema,
ReplyDeleteI salute you once again for being brave enough to open up to others. Being in this field does places a LOT of pressure on an educator (on all levels). We feel as if we have to be perfect because we have other smaller beings following us and looking up to us. I felt this way somewhat myself--entering the field with a child and not being married. Sometimes, I hope that I'm not making a bad influence myself. I've even been asked about my "husband" by a couple of my students before. They are shocked when they find out I'm not yet married, but i quickly turn the subject into a teachable one. And at the end of the day, my personal lifesytle has little to do with how I teach my students. In fact, I think they need a little sprinkle of imperfection here and there just so they can see that life is not always that fairy tale that they read about in books and that's perfectly fine. This all reminds me of the Beyonce documentary that I saw recently. She stated something very important. She stressed how her personal life should not affect the sound of her music. And this is exactly how it should be in the education field as well. Our personal lives should not affect the way we teach, nor should we be judged by it. Thanks for sharing your story! :)