"When the teacher does not identify as heterosexual, it gets complicated."

[Smarmie Doofus]

I'll say.

Given this context, I ask the following:

How... in ANY way... can Obama/Duncan - style "school reform"........ which rests on weakening existing job protections, primarily *tenure* in particular ( many "reform" advocates say explicitly that they wish to *eliminate*, not just "weaken", tenure; n.b.: they, unlike Obama, are not running for anything) ........ benefit GLBT teachers? How can it possibly benefit GLBT *students*?

What added protections are OBAMA /DUNCAN prepared to offer GLBT teachers who will... let's be honest before we start to pretend..... bear a disproportionate burden of the heightened job insecurity that is the DESIGN of the tenure-strippers?






>>>When the teacher does not identify as heterosexual, "it gets complicated," says Randy Hitz, dean of the Graduate School of Education at Portland State University. "Unfortunately, it is still the case that some people view the homosexual lifestyle as being inappropriate somehow."

This means that teachers need to be careful.

"You don't go out of your way to talk about it," Hitz says. "You don't flaunt it.">>>>>

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-blaze/lgbt-teachers-still-fear-_b_763257.html


Don't "flaunt it". Great. I haven't heard that....... outside of an Archie Bunker rerun... since the 1970s.

Good grief. Does this administration have ANY idea what it's talking about?

[Brickbat]

1. Looking forward, then, to not having my children's teachers talk about their upcoming heterosexual

weddings, their heterosexual partners, or their heterosexual "boyfriends/girlfriends."

[readmoreoften]

10. +1

[Deep13]

26. +1

[sfwriter]

2. DADT for education... Also known as GTFBITC.

Get The F*** Back In The Closet


For two days we have to get the vote out to stop the people from gaining power who would rather chain gays to a fencepost and beat them to death.

AFTER that, we can continue to scold, pressure and shame the ones who have this curious deafness to the consequences of their actions.

I've been thinking about how to responsibly send them a message. I'm not sure how to do that when not voting against the GOP feels SO irresponsible.

[Smarmie Doofus]

11. Realist meets Realist. I'm not sure either.

I will vote. Lesser of two evils is the lesser of two evils.

I have sent money.... selectively..... to people ( Dems) who I regard as good on "my" issues ( two of which are GLBT and public education).

But I can't and won't work to "get out the vote" generically for the party as an entity. I just cannot.

I did... in '08; crossed state lines to canvass in Philly.

But I just can't do it this time.

[sfwriter]

28. Me either...

GOTV just didn't happen for me this year.

[mzteris]

3. my son's old charter has

an out lesbian, one out gay male teacher, some others where it hasn't come up, but maybe they are and maybe they aren't - and WHO CARES?!?, and a headscarf wearing Muslim. . .

[ThomCat]

18. That is great that attitudes allow them to teach without any

problems.

But is it only because of current open and friendly attitudes that could change at any time?

Or do they have real protections that would ensure they could keep their jobs despite other people's prejudices if those attitudes were to change?

One of the big issues with charter schools is that many of them have been stripping away union protections from teachers. If those protections aren't replaced with any other new protections then teachers are vulnerable. Are they left at the mercy of other people's good will?

[mzteris]

23. The teachers at this charter are union.

And it's Madison so "liberal" goes without saying!

There are a number of unionized charter schools across the country, Thomcat. Did you know that some charters were opened and are run by the Teacher's Union!

That a lot of charters are not unionized is due to the fact that they don't "need" them. They (approximately 80%) are small, locally run and operated schools where everyone is on the same page - what is good for the kids. And they believe that what is good for the teachers, is good for the kids.

When you have an operation that treats it's teachers with the utmost respect, you don't necessarily "NEED" a union.

[Smarmie Doofus]

24. The fact that it's Madison is exactly why it's a bad example.

The rest of the country is most definitely NOT Madison.

According to Prof. Ravitch, 95% of existing American charters are non-union.

That's no accident.

[RetiredTrotskyite]

4. It Is Complicated Only Because...

the haters MAKE it complicated. Maybe if children were taught that love is love, there wouldn't be all this nonsense.

[kestrel91316]

5. A teacher's gender identity and preference should be no more relevant

than whether or not they are lefthanded or righthanded.

[readmoreoften]

9. But it is in student evaluations, which form a basis for tenure.

[aquart]

6. A teacher's sexual preferences should NEVER be discussed.

Teachers, like parents, don't have sex.

[Smarmie Doofus]

7. I said, "Let's be honest before we start to pretend."

I will not dispute the contention that heterosexual preference is NOT discussed ALL THE TIME... as it is manifestly ridiculous.

[Creideiki]

14. How dare you not recognize the Privilege of Being Straight

Straight people get to talk about their relationships. Gays, lesbians, and bisexuals in same-sex relationships don't. It's not unfair at all. It's just Right and the Way It Should Be.

I personally am truly glad that we had someone come by to remind us.

[ThomCat]

21. There is always a double standard involved.

:(

[readmoreoften]

8. So no heterosexual teachers should use the term "my husband" or "my wife"

They shouldn't be called Mrs. because is a sexual language. It shows that they married a man and, hence, are fucking.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

13. Right Answer

While I was teaching HS the students tended to dig on that and other hot issues. One student came up to me ans declared that since I did not wear a wedding ring, it meant I was gay. I suggested she look at my desk where there was a family picture with my wife and children and that I did not wear hand jewelery for safety reasons. The latter really confused her.

[readmoreoften]

15. So you shared intimate information about your sexuality with your student.

A picture of my partner on my desk would be perceived as "flaunting my sexuality" and even be interpreted as "pushing sexuality" on a student.

[ThomCat]

20. No, it was a wrong answer.

She's saying that LGBT teachers can't say anything that disclose that they are LGBT, including mentioning their relationships, because mentioning a relationship is apparently the same as talking about sex. :eyes:

I'm surprised that you would agree with that.

You discussed personal information about yourself to prove that you were straight, to defend yourself from an accusation of being gay.

That reinforces the idea that being gay is a bad thing that needs a defense. What a nice lesson to teach. Unless you also said something to correct that notion.

But your post doesn't say anything about that. I'm guessing, from what you DID post, that discussing THAT would have been inappropriate.

So it's okay to let a kid go on thinking that being gay is a bad thing, as long as that kid doesn't think you're gay? But talking about gayness, and how there's nothing wrong with being gay, now that's just not okay... right?

[readmoreoften]

16. Should all those without a Ph.D. go by the name mz. to hide their sexual preference?

The term Mrs. implies a very active straight sex life. Photos of sons and daughters? Evidence of vaginal sex and ejaculation into said vagina.

Well, that's how we're treated. Welcome to equality.

[Starry Messenger]

17. Kids bring it up all the time.

"Are you married Ms. Messenger? Do you have kids?" Classrooms don't just serve as dispensers of the Official Dogma. They are social relationships. They are formal, but like a workplace is formal. Students are learning how to be functioning adults in the big world. They are naturally curious about how the teacher fits into how they understand humanity. Drawing a veil over your private life is unrealistic. Teachers aren't robots. No one is discussing their "sexual preferences" but their orientation is naturally going to come up in conversation.

[ThomCat]

19. That's a simplistic statement.

It's not about having sex.

Are you saying that teachers can never, ever say anything that indicate that they have a husband or wife? They can't ever use personal stories to illustrate anything, if, in telling that personal story they'll mention "my husband" or "my wife?"

That would immediately tell the class that the teacher is straight, without ever talking about sex.

I remember teachers using personal stories to illustrate points all the time in social studies and history classes and English classes. Is that against the rules now? Or is that a special rule only for LGBT teachers?

[dsc]

12. It is tough to be openly gay as a teacher

and removal of tenure would make it tougher. I came out before I got tenure but I didn't plan on it I had planned on getting tenure first, then coming out.

[HillWilliam]

22. Arrrrgh, dammit, Hitz

I am sick unto death of this meme, "homosexual lifestyle". This isn't a lifestyle you fuckwit. These are our lives you're talking about.

Fanatical fundigelical religion is a lifestyle. Wearing a nose-ring is a lifestyle. Dressing in a suit or in Goth attire are lifestyles. Being LGBT is a life.

Until we break that idiotic mode of speech, we'll continue to be held hostage by language.

[readmoreoften]

25. She paid her bills! She fed the cat! She lived...THE HOMOSEXUAL LIFESTYLE.

[Deep13]

27. +1