Gayness, Multicultural Education, and Community.

It took me a while to write what I thought about Carlson's piece. It made me think long and hard about what if I was in a situation of having the opportunity to teach about gays and lesbians in my classroom and what would I do. I think it is important to include everything about this, even in a classroom of second graders which is what I want to teach. The more that kids learn at a younger age and the different views that they see can sometimes keep them from being "bias" and only having the opinion that their parents were raised on or what the TV and news has shown them.

• "... gay people have for the most part been made absent, invisible, and silent within this community..."

Carlson is talking about the community of the classroom and how they are so over looked. He even goes on to say that some teachers have been fired because they are gay and have some how brought it into the classroom which is just not right. Every person no matter what they believe in or who they choose to love should ever be punished. Yes, it is said that a "normal" relationship is a man and women but who says that a women and women or man and man can't be normal? What makes man and women relationships so special, some may argue that is it against religion or that god wouldn't approve. Love is love, there is no reason to deny someone that right. If you brought this subject up more in the classroom then maybe we could change the problem that is arising against LGBT's and what people think about this specific group.

• "Early in this century, the dismissal of gay teachers was legitimates as a way of keeping young people from being exposed to improper role models, lechery, and child molestation."

So now all of the sudden because a teacher is gay they are going to hit on their students and molest them? No. If this is an argument that someone is trying to make then it is not logical. It could be said for a female teacher and male students, it doesn't have to be because you are gay. There is no way that if this is what people are trying to say that it should be legitimate because then the same thing could be said about every teacher in the school systems.

• "selective tradition"

People don't want to include the subject of gays and lesbians because it is not the "normal culture" that they are used to. A lot of older people don't like change and it is hard to sway them from anything other then what they grew up with.