A nearly unbelievable conversation today

[dsc]

I have started work at a new school and am still getting to know my fellow teachers. One of them is a black woman originally from Michigan. We were discussing adjusting to life in North Carolina and the talk turned to politics. She is a Bush voter, though sorry for it now, largely on the gay agenda. When I asked her what the gay agenda might be, even asking if it meant gay teachers at the high school level (I am not out at work). She started spouting stuff about supposedly teaching about gay life in elementary school. This is so aggravating. Educated people should know better than this.

On the plus side my school seems to be officially gay friendly to some extent.

[Olney Blue]

1. Sigh. I hope the world will finally become enlightened some day, dsc.

:hi:

[Cronus Protagonist]

19. Yup, perhaps more people should read The Gay Agenda

I'm glad it's out there for people to read and understand, at least.

http://cronus.com/agenda



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[GOPNotForMe]

2. Sorry.

It always does amaze me when people I do consider to be at least intellectually functional on some level reveal themselves to be bigoted like so many others. It's disappointing more than anything else.

[Straight Shooter]

3. Remember when teaching about Black History Month was controversial?

Amazing that this woman sees no connection as a human being between the history of her people's persecution and the hysterical reactions of people with regard to gays.

[dsc]

5. yeah I do

which means she must too since we are very nearly the same age. I don't know what the deal is to be honest.

[MadMaddie]

4. The Repug party has done a skillful job of dividing the

black churches with the gay issues....it's pathetic.....I think people don't want to educate themselves because everything they have learned is wrong.....and that would be uncomfortable for them.

[MichiganVote]

6. Sounds like a lulu, there is no "teaching" of gay life in Michigan schools

But the kids call each other gay a lot. I expect they do that everywhere.

[dsc]

7. I had kind of figured as much

but of course didn't know for sure.

[MichiganVote]

10. No curriculum for that topic

[cboy4]

8. Although you would expect nothing less from a Bush voter,

there is still a disturbing amount of homophobia within the black community.

Just ask around. I have plenty of friends who reluctantly admit so.

It's too bad, considering gays and blacks are all fighting the same people who wish we'd go live on an island, and leave the white, straight people alone.

[dsc]

9. Sadly I know that full well

People should know better but often don't. At least she has figured out Bush was a mistake.

[iamjoy]

11. That's Such Horse Manure

teaching gay life.
Watch it lady, the homosexuals are coming to get you...tip toe...tip toe..BOO!

[Siyahamba]

12. A Bush voter delivered by Michigan's Proposal 1 no doubt.

[NMMNG]

13. Did she explain what she thought "gay life" was?

I usually find that peoples' assumptions are far from reality.

[dsc]

14. we didn't really go too far into it

She appears to believe that gays are trying to get their life styles discussed in kindergarden.

[NMMNG]

17. My "gay lifestyle" is so outrageous I can see why she wouldn't want it

discussed in any grade.

Sleep, get up, take care of self and house, run errands as necessary, go to work, go home.
Repeat each day of the week.

Could you imagine how tainted the minds of those poor children would be if they heard about that? :sarcasm:

[sui generis]

15. congrats!

on the new job. Well, you did a good educational technique. You asked her to explain her understanding of a topic to gauge her level of knowledge.

The next step is to get her to separate the part of her opinion she bases on hearsay from the part she bases on fact, with examples.

So ask her what news article or school or court case concerned "teaching about gay life" and what specifically?

Ask her how she handles students whose parents may be same gender if other students are

1. ignoring them
2. ostracizing them
3. singling them out

And why.

The reality is clear and inevitable that some kids are going to be from single parent families, divorced/shared custody families, opposite gender and same gender families. Why shouldn't a teacher be able to talk fairly about the REALITY of childrens lives instead of some ideal they'd like for everyone? Doesn't that make kids who don't have that ideal feel inferior? What about kids who DO have that ideal and go through the loss of a parent from illness or divorce?

That level of pre-judgement has no place in a good educator's worldview.

[dsc]

16. The weird part of this is she has had students come out to her

I have to wonder what she said to them she sure wasn't all that positive in describing them to me. I hope she was decent to them, it can be a disaster if the first person you come out to ends up hating you.

[William769]

18. Ignorance & stupidity comes in all forms & colors.