Homosexuality in the Classroom.

[Darcey1]

My daughter is nine. Yesterday she came home from school and said that her teacher had told the class that she was a lesbian. The teacher is about to have one of these civil partnerships and according to my daughter told the class that girls could marry girls and boys could marry boys if they wanted to.It was according to her entirely natural. This seems like corruption to me. I don't want my daughter exposed to this kind of lifestyle.

I am very upset about this and don't know what to do. Am I over reacting? Should the school have warned us that the teacher was going to do this? Do you think I should make a complaint to the school?

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why can't i just say "i think xyz" without having to produce a 20 page document to back it up....?

when you're out with with your friends do you carry books around to back up everything you say....?

i can't write long posts.., can't spell very well..y'know...not well educated, sorry.

but to compensate for that, i'll just rip out my soul for you...

**

If I claim something I back it up with facts or it's just an opinion which I state at the begining, you didn't. Opinions don't carry much weight and really won't persaude anyone to see your pov.

There aren't many rules to debate except, you make a claim, you back it up, unless you can't back it up in which case it's just an opinion and should be declared as such. You claimed regligions are against homosexuality, I asked you to back it up with chapter and verse for your religion, I'm going to have to assume you are a Christian from your writings. As a Christian it wouldn't be that hard to back up your claim with chapter and verse - pretty much reading Leviticus should give you some of the information you need.

Over reacting much - you made a claim, I called you on your claim, there was no need for hysterics.

I include the questions again here so you don't have to go back and search for them:

Could you clear up a couple of things for me?

Please quote chapter and verse to back up your first sentence.

Please advise what the obvious reasons are.

Please advise why anyone should show respect for anybody else's belief system.

StillWaitingForAnAnswerTiggaxx

dawntigga..

hi..

will get back to you tomorrow if that's ok..

very tired... i need to get some sleep

"t isn't homophobic to not want a teacher talking to your 9 yr old about being a lesbian....."

Yes it is!

quite.

it is surely good that the issue of homosexuality is brought out as an issue to discuss, many parents believe that if you don't mention something that your children will grow up not noticing or having any concept of being different from other children - naturally accepting. Whereas in fact everyone notices the differences between each other, whether that is colour or anything else, it's natural to want to belong to the group that is most like you. But, if you bring up that discussion with your child and discuss what it means then you open up the lines of communication. Don't just assume DP that if you don't mention it your child won't have thought about it. You can make a difference in how your child approaches other people in the way you talk about things.

My dc know that whatever they are, they are loved, and that I would never want them to pretend to be something they weren't. We also talk about accepting others as equal, whether that's someone of the opposite sex or someone who is a different colour or anything else. But I don't assume they think that, that has to be reinforced.

badietbuddy Thu 26-Nov-09 19:50:44 :
I quoted the OP, who posted that the teacher told the class that a lesbian relationship was natural. (And I agree that it is, btw. I am not a homophobe) I have no way of knowing if the OP quoted the teacher correctly, but I have no reason to think she is making things up.

Smee: I would object if a teacher announced she was marrying a man, and included a speech to the effect that this was normal and natural. Children come from all sorts of families and to say to a class of 9 year olds, many of whom may have gay parents or straight parents who are not married, that marriage is normal or natural, would be unacceptable.
This has been my consistent position throughout my posts.

Schools have rules governing what may and may not be said by teachers to students regarding their own personal sexual orientation, sexual experiences, or sexuality. Thandeka has posted here regarding these rules and the reasons for them. In addition, parents may withdraw a child from formal sex ed classes if they object to their child going to these class for any reason.

Schools therefore recognise that children are in many ways a captive audience, and in the area of sexual and relationship values and information they recognise that this circumstance cannot be abused by individual teachers, nor may a student expect an answer from a teacher where these areas are concerned.

Again, the OP expressed negative feelings and a regrettable degree of ignorance about homosexuality, but the important question she asked was whether the school should have given advance notice of what the teacher was going to do. Given that the class was aged 9, and given the fact that she basically came out to them, I would say what she did was ill advised. And I think the parents should have been given a heads up. Same goes for any wedding announcement anyone else on the staff was thinking of making.

I'll let my headteacher know then that I need him to contact all my (around 400) students' parents to see if they have any objections to me mentioning my forthcoming marriage to my classes, or letting it slip if they ask me "what did you do in the holidays miss?"
I can imagine his reaction!

I am glad to say that my 9yo is innocent. So innocent that if he heard about a teacher's wedding- gay or straight- he'd be thinking about love and people caring for each other, not about corruption. Long may it last!

What the teaching was saying is just fact.

Boys and girls can marry each other and the teacher should be able to tell the class that she is getting married.

I wouldn't worry, better to get the first glimpse of homosexuality from a nice responsible adult like a teacher.

I think your response is homophobic. It't not that the teacher went on to describe her preferred sexual positions etc.

I don't hide the fact from my children that my sister got divorced...just explained that she used to have a husband but they were no longer in love.

How do you explain your friends's partners if they have same sex partners.

dawntigga;

ok...will try and explain this as best i can.

1. I said most religions are against homosexuality, you asked me to back this claim up...i already had by quoting from Leviticus. i'll do it again.

Lev. 18.22

"you shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination"

Lev 20.13

"if there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act"

i think that is self explanatory.....the bible is against homosexuality....you can't re-write it...it will never be the bible according to mumsnet.

2. please advise what the obvious reasons are;

God created man and then created woman, if God had wanted homosexuals he would have created two men...he didn't. man and woman were created to reproduce, homosexuals cannot reproduce with each other. homosexuals are commiting a sin (and a pretty big one)...they are giving into passions and we are taught to pray for their salvation.

3. please advise why anyone should should show respect for anyone else's belief system.

I would have thought that was common courtesy...?

although the bible teaches us that homosexuality is wrong, it also teaches us to treat all humans with dignity and respect...i do that.

Where's the respect in telling 10-20% of the population that they're committing a 'pretty big' sin?

we pray for sinners....i can respect people without agreeing with what they do..

But daftpunk I would say your intolerance and prejudice is a pretty big sin itself People like you are exactly the resaon I don't go to church anymore, using the bible to back up their own vile views.

And I assume you only have sex with your dp for procreation then DP? Not pleasure. Becasue the purpose of sex is reproduction according to you? What about childless couples? Are they not doing their human duty either? I cannot believe you are using the bloody fairy story of Adam and Eve as an arguement against homosexuality. Don't ever go to the natural history museum will you, the dinosaurs might shock you....

Daftpunk now that you have quoted Leviticus, can you clarify whether or not you follow the other rulings from that book? The ones about eating shellfish, wearing mixed fibres and so on?

listen....i'm not saying i'm pure as the driven snow...i have sinned, but i go to confession and pray for gods forgiveness..

Sure, sure. Have you ever heard of projection Daftpunk? I now think thta aside from ignorance and hatred it might be your main problem. You are quick to point out the sinner. But it's ok for you to sin because, hey, you confess

Have you read the whole of Leviticus DP?

Because I have, and I can tell you that it is awash with abominations. Wearing mixed fibres, eating shellfish, eating blood, (Blood pudding anyone?)having tattoos, men touching women who are menstruating etc etc.

Did you know that if you give birth to a son, you are to be confined for 7 days; if you have a girl, your confinement should last 2 weeks. Chuch! Not only that but I hope you have been taking a new lamb to the alter to purify yourself after this confinement, because otherwise, you are going against the very same law which commands you that man lying with man is an abomination.

You seem strangely silent on these laws.

Meh. If people are going to pride themselves on following a religion, they can't pick the bits of the rulebook they fancy following and ignore the ones they think are stupid.

That makes them hypocrites as well as bigots, I reckon.