Diversity week-do my dc need to know they're teachers ' sexuality?

All of this puts pressure on kids to be public about things some of them may not even know or care about yet. Where is the concern for those of us who like to maintain boundaries around our feelings and desires, our bodies? So much pressure to erode your own privacy.

I think if you are a young gay or lesbian growing up in a hetronormative society, it could be immensely cheering to realise not everyone else is straight. And if you are straight, it is useful to know that there is nothing wrong, dirty or not respectable about being lesbian or gay.

I think it is great - if my DH (a teacher) mentions his wife in passing (which I know he does) then he is telling the world his sexuality, in a way. I think it is really useful to young people to know that they are not alone or unique if they are not straight. In fact, I think it is essential.

And to a previous poster, who wants teachers to be personalityless drones in the classroom, my DH teaches some really challenging pupils and he will often have to have to connect in many different ways, which may mean sharing general chit chat. It can help pupils to know teachers are human too!

I think something needs to be done to challenge the unconscious bias that everyone is straight.

I'm not sure this is the right way?

I can't think of a better way!

Though encouraging conversations where pupils learn about others in a more natural way might be part of it.

Pictures on desks of loved ones, talking about them in context. Things like that. The way people who are straight are able to do so easily, safely, comfortably.

The teachers that choose to say "gay" as one of their descriptors probably have 100s of other things they could share, but see value in sharing that.

What an intelligent response. You twisted what I said and created a straw man.

You can't twist....

No I actually I wouldn't be ok with teachers talking about their hetero marriages. What the hell has that got to with teaching maths, history, English etc?

Just as well really, twisting peoples comments to create a straw man is way past my intelligence level.

Providing that the teachers had a choice whether or not to be involved in the video and what they chose to say about themselves, then I think it's a great idea. Secondary schools are full of children who feel that they somehow don't conform or belong. And if they know that the adults around them are so varied is going to help.

And yes, the OP's views are the sort of thing I really hoped were consigned to history.

I think it’s out of order, the poor teachers deserve their privacy. I grew up in an era where it was taboo to mention even the teachers’ first names and their private life was off limits - rightly so, a bit of distance helps with authority. Equally, pupils private business is nothing to do with school. Stamp out outright homophobia etc but stop harping on about it beyond that.

Your teacher is not your kid’s friend and shouldn’t try to be. Seems schools are asked to solve all of society’s problems. They need to focus on education, lord knows somebody needs to !

And I thought yours was idiotic and twattery at its finest

What an intelligent response. You twisted what I said and created a straw man.

Oh, and the sexuality of the students: Also none of the teachers business.

I HATE all this "diversity" stuff we are constantly bombarded with it at work.

a) All it does is divide people and point out superficial differences between people, as if those minor facts about everyone defines them as a person. I have been in situations at work in D&I training where a particular "difference" is mentioned and eveyone looks at the person who is "different"! (It's not a great way to make you feel included..!)
I just don't see the point. Make an effort to employ a diverse range of people and then let them get on with their jobs.

b)I don't see why any teacher, gay, straight or bi, needs to discuss their personal life at all. If they happen to mention "my wife" or "my husband", whichever sex they are, fine, but they really don't need to be "connecting" with students by giving them details of their lives.
Being lesbian or gay is normal. It's a fairly common thing to be, just act normal about it!

Now that really would not be something to bring up at school nauticant

Year 7 assembly "raise your hand if you're straight"

Yay grooming at school! FFS

I assumed you were talking about a partner made out of a plush material WomaninBoots.

Female! FGS autocorrect!

A make partner? A male partner!

When I was teaching I tried to reveal as little as possible about my personal life to pupils. I would discuss the dogs maybe or a hobby. Framed in the context of a lesson sometimes. I made connections with pupils usually by talking to them about them! By natural progression many classes will have found out that I had a make partner at home. Because I'm femake they all knew my marital status through the miss vs mrs mechanism. I'm not sure how Ms would have gone down. If I was still in teaching now I would go by Ms.

I didn't know at the time I was teaching but I am autistic... I can see a situation in which SLT could have pressured me into holding up a sign saying "autistic" in a context like this. You would do it because SLT asked etc. But it would be a really bad idea to reveal that level of personal information in my view. I hope the bipolar teacher is well-supported, I don't think that was a good idea.

I don't think there's anything wrong in pupils knowing a teacher is gay but the video context is cringey! I just think that knowledge would come out naturally anyway if the teacher is comfortable with that.

To be honest I couldnt have told you if half my colleagues were straight or gay anyway. Unless people talked about family it just didn't come up! Maybe that was my autism though... not. that. interested!

I think your comment was ridiculous hyperbole and a straw man.

I did not say teachers should not connect with their pupils. I said it was no businesses of pupils to know about their teachers' private personal lives. What I said was "No I actually I wouldn't beok with teachers talking about their hetero marriages"

You chose to misinterpret that. Whether that was due to a failure in comprehension or deliberate, I don't know.

I gave you an example of a teacher connecting in a meaningful way; whether that teacher was gay, straight, married or whatever was beyond irrelevant to the assistance and encouragement he gave me.

What a ridiculous comment.

The teachers' private lives have nothing to do with their pupils.

Correct, but you said teachers should just teach and not discuss their lives. It's literally fine for a teacher to mention a spouse. You reckon my comment is ridiculous

wellbehaved that’s such a shame. I suppose I was naive in thinking it’s the norm now, I thought/hoped it was universal in that generation
The school isn’t progressive particularly, it’s a small Private school in Yorkshire but the kids (at least in DDs circle) really don’t seem at all interested in who is Gay/straight etc

I assume it was entirely voluntary. It would definitely wrong if it had been done as, "Mr Jones, you're gay, so you have to be in this video." But I'd like to think no school would be that crass.

When I was at school, we knew some teachers' sexualities, not least because it was a small town, so the chemistry teacher's daughter was in my sister's class and so on. But a lot of them I didn't know about at all, and while there were rumours about some, in most cases, it just wasn't something we thought about much. In any case, Section 28 was in force, so they couldn't have said anything about it.

I feel the same about work - of course we shouldn't be discriminating against anyone, but if someone is gay, there's no reason for me to know - what I care about is their technical knowledge or their authority to sign off on something.

Having said that, we do have active employee support groups for minorities and protected characteristics, and we have a name for being a good employer in terms of diversity. But it is all voluntary. I know people who would fall into a particular group, and are annoyed at being the default person to ask about diversity events - it can make people feel like they're the token. Having a diverse school or work population doesn't count for much if there's no focus on the inclusion side of things.

So it depends how it's done...

I know. Howdarea teacher connect with the pupils. Just teach and shut up

What a ridiculous comment.

The teachers' private lives have nothing to do with their pupils. The teacher who taught me biology connected with me over a shared interest in the novels of Evelyn Waugh and lent me his own copies for my 6th year English dissertation. He suggested Waugh was a better choice from the point of view of the examiners than Somerset Maugham whom I had been considering.

That is connecting in a useful way. I've no idea what his marital status or sexual predilection were.

Personally I think it is fine for teachers to be able to be open that they are gay and mention that they have a same sex husband/wife. But that nobody should be expected to share what their sexuality is or what their relationship status is.

I used to work (not in a school) with a gay man who was very insistent that people must be out at work. This was in a relatively liberal environment with plenty of senior gay or lesbian seniors so there was no obvious big career risk by coming out. I disagreed and said whilst disclosure is absolutely fine, who I choose to sleep with, and what sex they are, was none of his business and if I choose to keep that to myself then that is up to me.

Children worry about being different
If there is one child with any worry about their sexuality, body image or mental health they need to know they are not alone.

If the teachers are happy to say something about themselves I don't see any problem.

If you come from a family or community where being gay is a sin who do you turn to, to not feel like a failure or when you are considering suicide?

No I actually I wouldn't be ok with teachers talking about their hetero marriages. What the hell has that got to with teaching maths, history, English etc?

I know. How dare a teacher connect with the pupils. Just teach and shut up