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

[SistemaAddict]

Dd has been sent a video for the school diversity week. Teachers hold up pieces of paper with something about them written on it e.g. Gay and Proud, curly hair, Jamaican etc to give 3 examples. The information before the video states:

"...please watch the staff video to get a sense of how diverse our school is. We have such a range of different personalities, hair colour, opinions, genders, sexualities, religions, beliefs and colours that our school is a rich, welcoming diverse pot..."

I struggle to see how it's anyone's business what sexuality you are especially for a child to know that of their teacher. Surely sexuality is a private matter and not one to share with students? The video shows one teacher with a piece of paper saying gay and proud. They are not the only gay teacher in the school so it makes me wonder why they chose to say this about themselves but the other teachers chose something else about themselves. Another teacher declaring they have bipolar which seems something else that is not something to share with students. I get that they might be sharing so that students feel they have something in common with their teachers but it doesn't sit comfortably with me.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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 kids are helped by knowing there’s a Happy gay adult in their lives. Helps them feel If they are gay and feel bullied etc that it Will get better. That they can find love and peace some day even if their parents are homophobic.

I think it’s less cringy if it’s done as a “meet my partner” thing. So maybe short videos of straight AND gay teachers in a conversation with their husband or wife, family etc. Clearly shows they are gay in an extremely family friendly way no one could possibly object to.

@FWRLurker

I think kids are helped by knowing there’s a Happy gay adult in their lives. Helps them feel If they are gay and feel bullied etc that it Will get better. That they can find love and peace some day even if their parents are homophobic.

I think it’s less cringy if it’s done as a “meet my partner” thing. So maybe short videos of straight AND gay teachers in a conversation with their husband or wife, family etc. Clearly shows they are gay in an extremely family friendly way no one could possibly object to.

I agree that this would be better, if it absolutely MUST happen. The placards encourage one dimensional labelling and fitting people into boxes.

I agree that it's good for kids to know that being gay is normal. I just don't see it has be such a thing that it requires a placard. The only thing I know about this teacher is that he's gay and believes TWAW and in that fully supports trans ideology. I'd be interested in hearing more about him as a teacher, about his subject and what he's doing with regards to the curriculum. Him being gay I'd of no relevance to his teaching, or shouldn't be. Strange how there was no BAME diversity in the video or difference to religions stated. Someone was part Spanish and another Scottish. There is so much more that makes up who we are. But maybe that's my heterosexual privilege as my sexuality is not something I particularly think about be star I've never had to.

There’s a difference between referencing your husband or wife Or your family situation and mentioning your sexuality. I’m not married but it would be weird I think if I made a point of identifying myself as straight to my pupils even though it’s moot right now because I’m single.

If I had a partner I’d say - married to Jane who’s a dr or married to John who’s a shopkeeper. It’s relevant to my current family life. Otherwise I’m basically saying ‘single but aiming to date someone with a penis’.

I find it a bit cringey tbh.

Maybe a better solution is to reference role models other than teachers. I don't know if it's fair to either teachers or students to put them into this dynamic/structure. I certainly didn't want to emulate or model my life behaviour on any of my teachers at school, whether or not I liked them.

It's not really up to teachers to model certain lifestyles for kids, is it? Behaviour, sure. Respectfulness, kindness, curiousity, perhaps. But lifestyle? No, that's not appropriate. I do think it might be harmful to kids to know too much about teachers - politics, lifestyle, religion, sexuality, it's all stuff that I think teachers deserve to be allowed to keep private and maintain strong boundaries on, and likewise pupils.

Then again, I'd make an utterly shite teacher so maybe I'm misunderstanding the dynamic entirely.

@bercows how do you know from one sign all that information??

Was their really no mention of ethnicity in the video?

There is a massive need to promote diversity in schools...why? BLM campaign, the racism surrounding Brexit, the debates around Trans, the fact that some.kods at.your school.have 2 mums or 2 dads, the influence of religion on our lives.

As long as my kids school addresses the fact that we live in a diverse society and should accept all people....i really couldn't get.worked up about how they choose to do it.

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.

Exactly this!

Mumdiva99 when dd was in year 7 she cane home upset that she'd been asked such personal questions during LGBTQ+ week and that there was so much focus on it. Every lesson had some kind of link, there was an assembly, flags went up outside every building and were painted on to walls. It was too much for autistic dd who is not on board with changing sex being possible. I had concerns about what they were teaching and spoke at length with this teacher who basically told me that TWAW, no debate, everyone loves the mixed sex toilets, there are no issues here etc. I've just looked at the school twitter page. Quite illuminating on how much coverage the LGBTQ+ department gets compared to maths or science. It's just too much focus on one topic.

I've just checked with dd and there are no BAME staff at her school. There are only a handful of BAME students but I'm surprised there are no BAME teachers.

Dd has the opinion that you can love who you want to love, be who ever you want to be, as long as you are not hurting yourself or others, and that's how she's been brought up.

But why is ‘diversity’ principally framed in the context of sexuality? Unless we are going down the rabbit hole of fetishes and the alphabet soup there isn’t much diversity involved. You are either attracted to different sex, same sex or both.

Exactly

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

Sexual attraction really only develops with puberty so won’t even be a thing for most year 7s.

Dds entry for the activity set for this is:

"I am more than a label. My diversity does not define me."

All seems a bit forced to me. My dd's teacher had a baby with her partner recently and the school celebrated her and her wife's new arrival in assembly by using the phrase Mrs ........ and her wife gave birth etc . I thought it was done very nicely as it normalised it ( as it should be).
This is what we should be striving for. Putting up labels somewhat 'others' them as the straight couples aren't announcing they are straight.

But why is ‘diversity’ principally framed in the context of sexuality?

From the OP, it's not....

Teachers hold up pieces of paper with something about them written on it e.g. Gay and Proud, curly hair, Jamaican etc to give 3 examples. The information before the video states:

"...please watch the staff video to get a sense of how diverse our school is. We have such a range of different personalities, hair colour, opinions, genders, sexualities, religions, beliefs and colours that our school is a rich, welcoming diverse pot..."

You've contradicted your own OP there. One of the teachers said they were Jamaican but there's no BAME representation?

Always disappointing but no longer surprising to see homophobia lurking beneath the surface on MN.

Secondary schools are full of children who feel that they somehow don't conform or belong.
That's right. Almost ALL teens feel at one point or another that they don't belong. It's called adolescence.
It's fine to show them that different sorts of people exist (Mr Jones is married to a man, Miss Ahmed is a goth etc) just as a normal part of the fabric of society.
That way young people get a sense of where their tribe might be, where they might fit in. It's a gradual process.
Staff literally labelling themselves, and encouraging students to so do too is not only cringey, it's forced and just.. too much.

I also am very wary of "sexuality" being used in schools as part of diversity, and if students being encouraged to identify as a sexuality.
Adolescent sexual orientation us none of adult's business, unless you are a close relative and they come to you for help, and even then I would stick with " it's normal, you're normal, don't worry so much".

peachgreen sorry, that was because I was changing a few details in case the school was identified. There's no one Jamaican.

They’ve missed a trick - why does it have to be “ I am gay “ just a face and “ some of us are gay / Jehovah’s witnesses / have an artificial limb etc. Without being identifying ?

It’s normal for a teacher to talk a bit about their personal life with the students. I know my dd’s whole year 4 class when their teacher was getting married. So if it comes up like that I think it’s great. You know, here are some picture of my summer trip. There is my wife and our son.

The labels part worries me. If for no other reason than our school has very little diversity in students and even less in teachers. A video like that at our school might make the few kids who don’t fit the stereotypical mold at our school feel isolated.

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?

Teachers are human beings who see their pupils every day and get to know them pretty well. Most teachers do not want to present themselves as impersonal automatons with no life outside the classroom.
I'm an MFL teacher. A lot of my lessons involve asking kids about their hobbies, families, opinions, likes and dislikes etc in the foreign language. I usually start the ball rolling by giving examples about myself. I have described my husband and children and talked about our holidays, hobbies etc countless times. All the pupils I've taught over my 25 year career have therefore known I am heterosexual. Is that a problem?!