A few days ago while I was on facebook, I couldn't help but notice this article on my newsfeed. The article was posted by the facebook group New Jersey Teachers United Against Governor Christie's Pay Freeze. They were sarcastically remarking that Christie was jealous he had not thought of this himself, as he had just voted down the right for same-sex marriage in New Jersey.
I think that the points here are of great concern to myself as a future teacher. I believe that same-sex marriage is a right. I have many homosexual relatives and friends who are waiting for the day when they can marry who they want. But on the other hand, I am not unaware of the fact that depending on certain positions I take as an educator, and how public I make them, I may not get hired or could be fired. I know that identifying as being a homosexual, publicly, can restrict people from getting jobs.
With all of this debate about state laws, the first amendment, religion, diversity, acceptance - I am curious how/if I can voice my opinion on such matters. Does Newt Gingrich have a point that teachers who are trying to be neutral are doing a disservice to their students? This is a very complicated subject, but it's a very big concern of mine, and I'm sure other future teachers in this class.
Lizz, you bring up a rather interesting point regarding current events and their correlation to the American public school system. This is definitely a controversial topic right now and I agree with you: everyone should have equal rights regardless of their sexual orientation. It is tough to decide when it is appropriate to discuss this topic in the classroom and I find myself confused as to when it is appropriate and when it is not. I feel like an appropriate starting point would be to discuss this with senior teachers/supervisors to see how the district stands on these types of discussions. I feel that since you are a future English teacher and that I am a future Italian teacher it would be more likely that these type of discussions would occur in our classrooms especially when literature and critical events are being examined. Furthermore, since we will be teaching at the high school level the chances are fairly high that we will be instructing homosexual students who wish to discuss these types of topics. Here the question is evident more than ever: when is it appropriate to engage in a conversation in the classroom regarding controversial issues.
ReplyDeleteIf someone is truly neutral, they will have no reservations about bringing up both sides and teaching students about everything equally and freely. By not being truly neutral you are doing the biggest disservice to them because you're giving them encrypted messages in your faux-neutrality. Especially in public school, there's no excuse for not being totally neutral. It's a public school where all beliefs, etc. are to be accepted and embraced. By fearing or not discussing homosexuality what kind of service are you doing to your homosexual students who are going to be left out, but especially to your heterosexual students who are going to grow up completely confused by homosexuality? Seriously, Newt needs to explain how being partial or entirely ignorant is going to benefit anyone.
ReplyDeleteI think he needs to get his head checked out, but that's another discussion entirely.
Lizz, can you help me understand the connection to English and technology in schooling?
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of issues that teachers face in general in schools. This is a really heated topic that greatly effects the LGBT community. As I will hopefully be teaching high school English, I'm sure I will have students that are open with their sexuality.
DeleteI feel that because this topic is so seeped in politics - as the issue of gay marriage is a law issue - that using technology would be the only appropriate tool to help me as a teacher. I will need to research current issues, politics and politicians. Also, I will need to be up to date with the policies in the district I am teaching about how far the in classroom discussion can go - using the resources of the internet and emailing.
In English, looking at a text through a "LGBT lens" can be very useful and reveal several underlying messages that a writer could possibly have developed. Trying to teach this lens to my classes would take a great deal of care on my part, and maturity on theirs, and again using technology to aid me in teaching the technique. I could use a smartboard to do a "syntax surgery" and model the inferencing necessary to have the lens be successful. I could also use the smartboard to show different reviews of readings/novels in class to explain several lenses.
Overall, while my original post is broad, because the LGBT community is so important, it's easy to see how to relate this back to the classroom in general, technology, and technology used in the classroom.
Elizabeth, thanks for your thoughtful response.
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