Saturday, March 22, 2014
Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation
As a fifth grade teacher, the word "gay" and "homo" have come up on many different occasions. When I have questioned the children about it, they generally know a very basic definition about what the terms mean. A couple of boys called a couple of girls “lesbos” because they went to the bathroom together. I simply pointed out that girls go to the restroom with other girls on a regular basis and that they also went to the restroom with other boys as well. So did that mean the same thing? Of course, they said, “No!” I think that most children use these terms for a shock factor. Most don’t know the complete definition, but they know something. Therefore, they use it to be “cool.” When the girls were called this, it bothered them because they know that it is a term that is used to describe girls doing sexual things with other girls. Kids that bully other children by using these kind of terms can lead to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and can make children become afraid to come to school. We must step up and take this type of situation seriously. Because it is not something that we see a lot of in elementary school, we tend to brush it off and not really discuss it. GLBTQ students are also at risk for not getting the support they need when they are being bullied due to their perceptions that adults at school may have intolerant attitudes or may not provide confidential help in which to deal with their situation.10 Four out of five GLBTQ students say they know of no supportive adult at school (Riese, 2014).
As I thought about material that I have seen throughout our school, I would say that we do not do a good job of representing the different family structures in our classroom libraries. It is not just homosexual families but we do not do a good job of representing heterosexual families either. We are a small school, and I only know of two children that come from families with two moms and two dads. We do have several single parent homes and those where the grandparents or other family members are raising them. If we are going to represent one type of family structure, then I feel we should seek material that would depict as many family structures as we can.
References
Riese, J. (2014). Youth who are bullied based upon perceptions about their sexual orientation. Retrieved from http://www.violencepreventionworks.org.
You present a good point. When children say things like that, they do not fully understand the implications. Through gender diversity education, we can better equip our students to deal with these situations and make them more aware of what their words mean and feel like.
ReplyDeleteHello Amy,
ReplyDeleteI love how you explained the terms and handle the situation as a teacher. I agree with you that most don’t know the complete definition, but they know something and they use it to be cool. It is so true that kids that bully other children by using these kind of terms can lead to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and can make children become afraid to come to school and we must step up and take this type of situation seriously. What is GLBTQ? Thanks for sharing.
LaCasa Mosby
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog post this week and was able to learn some ideas from you. I will like to add that in addition to what teachers are doing, the society and indeed parents have an important role to play as well. Sensitivity to gender difference, awareness and respect for other adults that chose to be gays or lesbians on the part of some of our parents will help complement our efforts as teachers.
Shola Ogunjide
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteYou raise a very good point that if we are to represent different family structures in materials we need to consider all the various combinations of people that make up a family. This will help children who come from different families feel validated and supported. Thank you for sharing your insights.