LGBT-Q in the Classroom

       Teachers in the United States are often misinformed and ill-prepared to work with the 

       LGBT-Q community.  They do not have the skills to communicate ideas and thoughts

       with the community let alone have it integrated in the curriculum, especially since the 

       United States does not included this subject in the education system.

• The books depict characters that are gay but there is so much more to that idea of being gay i.e. family dynamics, feelings, emotions, behaviors, actions and reactions to the environment around them therefore making the book superficial and not at all a replication of the LGBT community and should be included in the curriculum (Language Arts).
• Members of the literature community are suggesting that are no longer issues surrounding the LGBT-Q community across all spans of the country and therefore should no longer needs to be fought for.

Besides, with all the books that are being created and published, reflecting the LGBTQ community, who needs to fight anymore?  The issue is the content that these books reflect are not true reflections of the LGBT-Q community.

PROBLEM! “LGBTQ books are often taken to be positive or affirmative based on their mere inclusion of gay people as character”

SOLUTION! “We believe the catalog of LGBTQ texts must continue to increase in both quantity and quality and that teachers must explicitly engage students in critical discussions of the ways in which texts work to construct for readers what it means and looks like to be gay”

This is a solution as to how teachers should handle LGBTQ literature in their classroom.  In a critical way that engages students in conversation about what it means and looks like to be gay.

As a general conclusion, if LGBT-Q issues are to be included in the curriculum, teachers should be guided with detailed instruction of what books they should use and the approaches that will provide students with the ability to think critically and also engage in group discussions in a constructive and positive manner.  What is important to note, is that some books might be heavily encouraged in the classroom because of the influences publishing companies may have on the curriculum document creators.

Reasons why books should not be used in the classroom:

1. Limited types of characters to choose from
2. LGBT-Q characters can be secondary character

3. Difficult to relate to the character

4. Is not the main focus

5. Students do not know how to identify with the LGBT-Q character

6. Teachers do not know how to identify with the LGBT-Q character

7. There are nuances that can be overlooked

8. There can be a lack of awareness that are important to the LGBT-Q community

9. The reputation of the book may be negative and differ teachers from using it in their classroom.  This will depend on:

10. Who reviewed the book?

11. The response and how it has been perceived in various circles

References:

Crisp, T., & Knezek, S. M. (2010). Challenging texts: "i just don't see myself here"--challenging conversations about lgbtq adolescent literature. English Journal,99(3), 76-79. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ872813

Clark, C. (2010). Preparing lgbtq-allies and combating homophobia in a U.S. teacher education program. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies,26(3), 704-7013. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ872969

Parents should be able to teach their own children about sexuality and it should not be imposed upon the students in the classroom, especially if the parents disagree with the content and do not want their own children to be subject to these issues.

 Is the impression that speaking about these different topics in the classroom will lead to all students questioning their own sexuality and exploring the different possibilities that are available to them; one of six different sexual orientations.

There are several areas in the United States, such as in certain states of New England and California where LGBT-Q topics are being introduced in the classrooms and students cannot be exempted from the class, much to the parent’s disapprovement.  Their argument is that their children are not psychologically or emotionally prepared to learn and discuss this areas of conversations.

References:

http://www.cireport.ca/2011/10/stop-corrupting-children-petition.html

http://www.canadianvalues.ca/docs/Events.html

http://forlifeandfamily.blogspot.ca/2011/09/petition-stop-corrupting-children.html

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/schools-should-not-mandate-pro-gay-teaching

• Regardless of religious beliefs, teachers are obligated as professionals to treat all students with respect
• Religious beliefs need to be taken into consideration regardless of the school setting, public, private, or Catholic.
• Some families, parents, and students from various religious groups are against LGBTQ studies being incorporated into the curriculum
• Catholic School Boards in Ontario represent 51% of the school boards opposed to the 49% of public school boards

            “Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of 

            grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically 

            disordered.’ They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift

             of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity.

                                                                                             Under no circumstances can they be approved” (Ratzinger & Amato, 2003).

o   Heterosexual Catholics are expected to practice abstinence until marriage, where they are bound together by faithfulness and fruitfulness, they are required to procreate through sexual intimacy

o   The Catholic Faith believes that sexual intimacy is between a man and a woman for the purpose of procreation – not pleasure.

o   They believe that sex is at the service of love and in order to love fully, one must be total, faithful, fruitful and free

o   As an LGBTQ person, one is not fruitful with their partner, therefore not fully fulfilling their obligation to love fully in order to justify having sex with their partner

o   The Catholic Church does not disagree with LGBTQ issues and encourages people to be themselves, rather the Church does not agree with the actions that follow from the feelings

o   Overall, LGBTQ Catholics are expected to remain celibate for their entire lives. “Failure to do so is judged as a sin”

In terms of having parents who fall under the LGBTQ categories, the Catholic religion believes:

                     “Allowing children to be adopted by persons living in such [same-sex] unions would actually mean doing violence to these children, 

                     in the sense that their condition of dependency would be used to place them in an environment that is not conducive to their full 

                     human development.”  (Ratzinger & Amato, 2003).

References:

Ratzinger, J. C., & Amato, A. (2003, June 03). Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons. Retrieved from http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20030731_homosexual-unions_en.html

Yes, it is important that we as educators include LGBTQ issues in the curriculum, but there are so many different limitations:

•              Ross (2006), states that our curriculum is already overcrowded and the idea of setting aside days to address “gay history” is probably not going to happen, due to the many things that teachers are already expected to cover in the curriculum.
  

o   With regards to the LGBTQ History and Awareness Month or October, addressing LGBTQ issues only on special days or at special times teaches the idea that LGBTQ people are separated from the historical narrative rather than woven into it (Ross, 2006).

“Ready, Set, Respect: GLSEN’s Elementary School Toolkit” (McGarry, Friedman, Bouley & Griffin, 2013) is a resource for educators to turn to when incorporating LGBTQ issues in their classrooms

·   Weaving LGBTQ issues into the various subjects make the study something more than sexual education

·   This resource recommends that students write math problems with context that includes a variety of family structures and gender expressions as a curriculum expectation.

·   For example: Give a math problem about Rosa and her Dads going to the grocery store.

o   This can be very overwhelming for children, especially if they have not previously been familiarized with same sex relationships or gender identities

References: 

McGarry, R. A., Friedman, L., Bouley, T., & Griffin, P. (2013). Ready, Set, Respect! GLSEN's Elementary School Toolkit. Retrieved from http://glsen.org/sites/default/files/Ready, Set, Respect! GLSEN's Elementary School Toolkit.pdf