Re: Gay California teachers 'come out' in classroom

[John Harrell <johnbharrell@yahoo.com>]

Hi Sue,

> It seems to me that I remember a teacher who, days after
> the Sheppard murder in Wyoming, came out to his students in an effort 
> to let them know that people they respected, even loved, might well 
> be gay.  I would be hard-pressed to say what he did was wrong.

But maybe there were many parents who had children in that class who
wouldn't want this to have happened in front of their children? Why 
can't we respect them? And show compassion and tolerance to those
families by not "coming out" in front their children? Why can't we
let families have "choice"? And let them decide how they want to handle
this issue? Some of those children may not even be familiar with what 
happened and now those families who were enjoying themselves, loving
life and having fun are now placed into a difficult position of having 
to explain what "sodomy" is to their children.

So I say - not with my children do you "come out" in front of them.

Thank you for the discussion,
John Harrell



--- Sue Hovey <suehovey@moscow.com> wrote:
> This is not an easy issue, but I can think of numerous times when
> discussions in my government, history,  and sociology  classes turned sexual
> either because of student questions or the nature of the material.  And
> sometimes at issue was homosexuality.  Other times it was rape, (To Kill a
> Mockingbird, comes to mind) other sexual abuse, or maybe even plural
> marriage in certain societies.  I have also had students "come out" to me
> concerning very sensitive issues such as homosexuality, rape, and pregnancy.
> They came to me because they trusted me and I worked diligenty not to betray
> that trust.   I tried to give assistance to them that  was non-judgmental as
> well as helpful.  It seems to me that I remember a teacher who, days after
> the Sheppard murder in Wyoming, came out to his students in an effort to let
> them know that people they respected, even loved, might well be gay.  I
> would be hard-pressed to say what he did was wrong.
> 
> Sue
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Archie" <archie@moscow.com>
> To: <vision2020@moscow.com>
> Sent: Sunday, June 09, 2002 11:44 AM
> Subject: Re: Gay California teachers 'come out' in classroom
> 
> 
> > There it is again, the "homosexual agenda".  I believe the homosexual
> agenda is an attempt to
> > affirm the worth and dignity of every human being.  Not such a bad idea.
> >
> > > But you miss the whole purpose of announcing one's homosexuality in the
> > > classroom. It's to further the homosexual agenda.
> >
> >
> 


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