Saturday, February 5, 2011
Pedro & me deep question....
It seems that youth feel less inhibited to discuss their sexuality these days, including identifying their sexual orientation. What if, as a teacher, reading Pedro & Me, inspires one of your students to "come out of the closet?" How as an educator do you handle such a situation in the classroom?
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If a student decided to "come out" in a classroom I think that says a lot about your classroom environment. If they feel comfortable talking about their private life, particularly their sexual orientation, clearly you have done a very good job of fostering a sense of community. The student(s) must feel valued, equal and comfortable in the learning environment if they are going to share such a personal life details and risk potential ridicule, harassment, or embarrassment.
ReplyDeleteThat isn't to take away from the fact that might put a teacher in a pickle. I would first say "I'm so glad you feel comfortable enough to share that about yourself with your peers and myself. Sometimes talking about who you are, what you believe in and things of a personal character take a lot of courage to talk about. As a class it is important that when people share things about themselves we remember that we are community here to support our peers and no negative comments are welcome in this community." I think the most important thing to do is treat the conversation normally. If students see you squirming or uncomfortable, they will pick up on it and react in that way also. A discussion could start if the class seemed interested otherwise, I would thank the student for sharing and then converse with fellow teachers and a guidance councilor about how to further proceed after class.