I could see why many childhood education centers would want
to avoid including books about gay and lesbian individuals. This is a very
touchy subject for many people in the United States and they want to have the
opportunity to take to their own kids and share there beliefs with them.
However, I feel it is very important to expose children to many things and
allow them to make opinions for themselves. I think especially if you have
children inside your classroom that would have parents of the same sex it would
be even more important to have these books. If the children are around other
children and see these families they often have many questions which books
could help give more unbiased answers than by them speaking to a person.
I think the term that I hear the most often when around
children is when they say gay. I hate it when children use the term “that’s
gay.” They are using it in the context of meaning stupid but it is not a word
that should be used. I also think that in sports you often here children refer
to each other and say don’t be a sissy especially in sports like football. I
think it is important that adults make sure that they stop children from saying
these things because it could offend someone. There are many children in our
society today that are growing up with parents of the same sex so it is
important to not make them feel uncomfortable.
Hi Zina,
ReplyDeleteI often hear the children in my classroom ask each other questions about church and God. I have many students in my class that attend church regularly and I hear them asking each other questions about what they believe and do at their church. One of my students is a Jehovah Witness and I've heard them talk amongst themselves in regard to religion and beliefs. I personally don't talk to them about my beliefs, but I am open to listening to them and answering questions on a very surface basis because I believe that is something their parents may want to explain to them, much like homosexuality or transgender.
I agree that classrooms should include information about all types of families. I also believe that if these things are introduced in the classroom as something that is not unusual, maybe different from their own family, this can help children come to understand and respect differences.
ReplyDeleteZina,
ReplyDeleteBias and prejudice have their roots from the lack of respect, which is the result of ignorant. There have been many efforts to keep information (books) from reaching the classroom, including efforts to purge the information that is already there (burn the books). Books are fundamental to teaching and knowledge is the root of respect. We need to teach the children to respect all aspects our diversify culture.