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
I believe that everyone has the right to be who they are regardless or whether they are gay or straight. Being homosexual is a big part of the world today as anyone can see be the number of television shows, movies, books that include gay couples as well as the number of states that has passed the law for these couples to be married. Excluding books from these centers that depict homosexual couples will not make the issue go away, if the kids are not exposed to this type of literature at school, they are likely to come across this knowledge some other way and be given the wrong type of information. If they are guided in the wrong way or taught the wrong way they will develop bias against this group of people and as they grow older this bias could grow into hate and resentment.
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. I would let the parent know that just because the teacher may be homosexual does not mean that they will abuse their child or that they are a pedophile. Everyone has a right to choose who they want to be with whether it is a person of the same sex or opposite. I would let them know that the teacher is well-trained, certified, great with the kids and the kids love them and that I believed in letting my teachers be who they are not who someone else want them to be. I will politely informed them that I would not be getting rid of the teacher based on this attitude, and if they didn't like it and if they so choose they could take their child someone else.
Excellent post! I agree 100% with what you stated about not excluding books that depcit gay or lesbian relationships. As parents we want our children to learn about others so we should not want to exclude those who practice different relationships than what we do. We wouldn't want to exclude those of different religions or cultures so why would we do it for sexual preferences.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that homosexuality is very present in today's society and that children will be exposed to it no matter how much their parents try to hide it. I think that best approach is to answer a child's questions as simply as possible and if you have a personal view about homosexuality than share that with your child, but parents should encourage their children to believe that all people should be treated with respect despite what they believe in, as long as they are not hurting anyone.
ReplyDeleteHello Joanne! I enjoyed reading your post. You placed the hammer directly on the nail. Homosexuality is so ever present in so many different ways. It would be foolish to believe that children can be sheltered away from the knowledge of these types of families. That is why it is important that anti-bias learning environments teach children about these families and the importance of respecting these families at the same time. Without proper teaching or awareness, children can receive hidden or secret messages from their parents and the media that will seemingly be hurtful toward others. The Bible shares that the people perish for the lack of knowledge. I believe that this quote applies in all areas of life. We need to educate our children and parents about different sexuality groups so that they may not feel threatened and want to be prejudice and or bias against them. All in all, we need to respect all individuals regardless of their preferences or choices that they've made regarding their life. Great post!!
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Hi Joanne,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your response to tell parents that the teacher is highly qualified and is great with the children. I do not feel that the teachers sexual orientation has any effect on their abilities as a teacher and this should never be held against them for any reason but especially for employment. I would also tell the families politely that if they feel uncomfortable with their child having a homosexual teacher they can feel free to send their child to another school. I also think that as far as bringing sensitive curriculum such as books about same gender parent families, families should be given knowledge when they enroll that the curriculum will include these materials and the benefits of including these materials in the curriculum. However again it gives them the option to decide to go elsewhere if they are uncomfortable with this aspect of the school's curriculum.
You make a very good point that if centers are not introducing this material to their students, that the information that they do received could be false and laced with pre-prejudice bias. This is an important foundation for children to be exposed to positive diversity, so that they are able to make conclusions on their own terms, and not based off of someone else's misunderstanding.
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