What a difficult topic for me this week! However, it has allowed me to think deeper about children's feelings about their family structure. Even with my difficulty with homosexuality, I do feel as if we need to make all children feel proud of their family, even if they are not the traditional family.
When I think of homosexuality and preschools, I believe it is not represented because it is such a taboo subject to discuss with people, especially young children. When I read the questions for this blog assignment, it prompted me to think about my own classroom and the books I have in my classroom library. None of my books represent families that are gays or lesbians. Many of my books do not show complete families; at times, some of the books actually only show a mother but no other family members. I also spoke with my school librarian, and there are no books that represent diverse families. Next, I decided to look at my kindergarten teachers' books, and the same applied. When I asked the teacher about this, she stated this is such a touchy subject, especially for such a small school. She stated she did not want to put her job in jeopardy as this is something that is not spoken of to young children (Y. Sanchez, personal communication, 2013). The preschools I have seen, as well as my own classroom, do not depict any type of family other than the typical family; a mother and a dad. I began thinking about dramatic play centers, and decided to talk to one of my friends that had been a preschool teacher for 20 years. She said she was always homophobic, and refused to talk about something she knew was wrong in the eyes of the Lord (S. Cardenas, personal communication, 2013). When prompted with the question of how this made children feel that came from homosexual parents, she simply could not talk about this type of family with her students; she could not teach something that she knew was so wrong, even if the child was not at fault for what type of family they were born in to (S. Cardenas, personal communication, 2013). I do believe schools and stores are focused on the heterosexual family, rather than the diversity of all families because of the discomfort it may cause someone, as well as the confrontation they may face from other families.
I am very uncomfortable with homosexuality because of my strong Christian faith; however, I never want a child to feel as if they and their family structure is not as important as their peers. Should I have a parent come to me with their concerns about someone being a homosexual or transgender teaching children, I would assure them a person's sexual orientation has nothing to do with their teaching ability, and their child is in no danger of being harmed by this person. Second, I would also remind them they are only assuming this person has this sexual orientation, and that making assumptions can certainly harm someone's reputation. I would also make sure I have research and articles on this very subject and go over this with parents. I would also stress to parents how important it is to talk about diversity and acceptance.
My daughter is in the 8th grade, and everyone has assumed one of her teachers is gay; it has never been confirmed. I have never thought negative feelings about him teaching my daughter because he is an amazing teacher, as well as being my daughter's favorite this year. I have never focused on this as I believe the person's sexual orientation has nothing to do with their ability to teach.
I am very thankful we can be honest and open throughout this course. While I know how important it is to make all children feel proud of their family, I find it quite difficult to discuss same sex parents. I am inclined to agree with the fact that early childhood centers avoid the inclusion of books that depict homosexuality as it is not what a typical family is made up of. However, I feel very torn as a family is made up of those who love you and support you. In the media presentation, it is discussed how it is important to discuss gay and lesbian parents so children can be respectful (Laureate Education, 2010). I believe this is important as all children need to learn to be respectful to all adults. My biggest concern, however, is how to accomplish this without offending all other families.
I think back to Tina, (Laureate Education, 2010) and her family never speaking of homosexuality. I never spoke about with my daughter as a young child either; it is just a difficult topic for me because of the discomfort I have with.
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010).Learning from another’s life story (Video webcast). In EDUC 6357 Diversity, development, and learning.Retrieved from http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6357/CH/mm/audio_player/index_week3.html
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Start Seeing
Diversity. (DVD). In EDUC 6357 Diversity, Development, and Learning. Retrieved
from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2098819_1%26url%3D
Susan,
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading your post I could completely understand where you are coming from on these issues. I have never had a student from a gay/lesbian family and therefore have never had to address the topic with my students. I do not know for certain how I would handle it if I did, but I would definitely want to respect the student and his/her family. I have known of teachers that were perceived as gay/lesbian. I do not feel their sexual preference (whatever it may be) impacted their ability to teach or care for his/her students. I think the bottom line should be that everyone is different, but we should always respect others.
Susan
ReplyDeleteIn the early childhood field it is important that we make our children and families feel as comfortable as possible. So when addressing families who comes from different background we must respect them for who they are and not their sexual orientation.
Susan
ReplyDeleteIt is important that we treat the children and families that we come in contact with in the early childhood field with respect. Our role as educators is to empower children and families that we are involved with.
Hey Susan,
ReplyDeleteLike you, I do not feel teachers sexual preference should interfere with being a quality teacher. My husband has a family member who is married to same sex and she works with children. She is the most well respected young lady and she truly cares for her students. She takes the extra effort to help her students and their families. Though there are not many books, my children create a family tree in our class and there were occasions where we had pictures of same sex families. The children were absolutely proud of the parents and shared their happy occasions with the class. The parents all see these photos and everyone knew that everyone was to be respected.