“Start Seeing Diversity Video” Blog:
Gender, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation
My 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 would help
engage children in learning and knowing about gay and lesbian individuals. In
today’s society there are so many individuals that are coming out the closet
and living together and getting married.
Many of our children are becoming confused, seeing women engaging with
women and men engaging with men. As a
parent, I would sit down and let my child know that many children have same sex
families and even though they may experience discrimination, they are still
considered a family. As stated in the
media segment, many families consist of two women, single parent, two men or
foster parents, but they still care and nurture their child/children just like
any other parent. They are always there
when you need them, a shoulder to lean on and an arm to carry you. Many children are explore to this a school, mall,
movies, radio and even television shows, that’s the reason why we need to sit
our children down and let them know what’s happening in the world and what to
expect. As stated in the text, some states recommend high schools to establish
policies protecting gay and lesbian youth from harassment and violence; teachers
and counselors being able to receive professional development to respond to the
needs of the students and also establish a support group, so topics can be
talked about (Pelo, 2008).
My response to a
parent/family who informed me that they did not want anyone who is perceived
homosexual or transgender to be caring for, educating, and/or interacting with
their child is to let them know that it’s all about the job and not about the
person’s beliefs. I live in a fairly
small community and the school district does not discriminate a person of who they
are, it’s all about what you can teach my child and your qualifications. I would love to sit down with this family and
listen to what they have to say and explain to them it’s all about education
and we need to support our children. We need
to find out why so many families fall out with individuals that are perceived
to be homosexual/transgender, if we would listen, we’ll probably learn
something.
Reference
Pelo, A. (2008). Rethinking Early Childhood Education.
Good post Janet. Both of your topic provide great insight and knowledge. I see you picked the same question I did concerning parents who are bias against people who are homosexuals or transgender. This is one situation when dealing with it you have to be very careful of what you say and how it is handled. Thanks for sharing your post. I look forward to reading more blog post from you....Linda
ReplyDeleteJanet,
ReplyDeleteyou chose to answer the same difficult questions I did. I really like your approach and response to both. I like that in the first question, you brought in points shared in the That's a Family video, especially about how a family, no matter the structure, cares for and nurtures children all the same. I also like your point that this provides emotional support for a child who has this family structure.
Great post!
Lydia
Hi jJanet,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! My opinion on what young children notice between gay/lesbian are only what people tell them. If young children are watching show on topics like transgender or homosexual they do not understand what going on. When families open up these types of world to their children because they have a family member, and they want their children to understand, most young children are still learning about their self. In addition, most adults who are gay/lesbian and working with children keep it professionals around children. Tamarah
I completely agree that children should be explained to that all families are different and it should be allowed in the classroom. We want the children to feel welcomed and their family as well. I love how you would tell the family that it is the job and not the beliefs. I like how you would mention that it is about education the child. It takes a village to raise a child and we want our village to be diverse.
ReplyDelete