Keywords:
curriculum, explaining, queer labour, inclusivity, acceptance, homophobia, gendered language, teacher support, action, advocacy, concern, communication
curriculum, explaining, queer labour, inclusivity, acceptance, homophobia, gendered language, teacher support, action, advocacy, concern, communication
Transcript
Bev: It would have been nice to see a little bit more of a formal curriculum structure from the TDSB. I was quite disappointed when Ontario decided not to include more educational material about homosexuality within the early years curriculum. What that meant was that when other kids in my daughter’s class, for example, noticed that she had two mums, because we were both very active in the schoolyard, they would then… It would be left to her to explain what a lesbian family looks like.
Tara: I see…
Bev: So I don’t think it’s very appropriate that the grade three student, or the grade five student, should be explaining that to a friend when the teacher isn’t allowed to do that because it wasn’t included on the curriculum, and I think it’s really something that people have to think about when they say it shouldn’t be discussed in those early years. Because it’s happening in front of them. And it’s not particularly fair to a ten-year-old or a nine-year-old to have to explain that to their friends. Within PPS, um, there was always, uhh, emphasis on making sure everyone was included, so there were posters up in the classrooms that said, ‘This is a gay-positive space’. Um, the teachers, um, were frequently gay or lesbian, uh, and it was actually brought up when kids would say things that were… not quite right - not exactly homophobic, ‘cause I don’t believe that children can be homophobic, but they would explain that you can’t have two mums or two dads, or boys can’t wear nail-polish, or something else that would be - that those sorts of things were brought up and the teacher would gently correct them, that’s of course, that could be the case. Sometimes that was reported to me in case J felt excluded. It did happen actually in one of J’s classrooms and, in all cases, he wasn’t the least been bothered. So we did actually have an experience where in his grade five class the teacher called home before he got home and said that he’d been exposed to a ‘homophobic incident’. And what had happened was one of his friends who are - and he was a good kid, he really had no problems - had found a homophobic website, and had been showing his friends. And…
Tara: I see.
Bev: …She had caught this and corrected him and was very worried in case DAJ was concerned about this. And he was fine by then, there was no problems at all.
Bev: It would have been nice to see a little bit more of a formal curriculum structure from the TDSB. I was quite disappointed when Ontario decided not to include more educational material about homosexuality within the early years curriculum. What that meant was that when other kids in my daughter’s class, for example, noticed that she had two mums, because we were both very active in the schoolyard, they would then… It would be left to her to explain what a lesbian family looks like.
Tara: I see…
Bev: So I don’t think it’s very appropriate that the grade three student, or the grade five student, should be explaining that to a friend when the teacher isn’t allowed to do that because it wasn’t included on the curriculum, and I think it’s really something that people have to think about when they say it shouldn’t be discussed in those early years. Because it’s happening in front of them. And it’s not particularly fair to a ten-year-old or a nine-year-old to have to explain that to their friends. Within PPS, um, there was always, uhh, emphasis on making sure everyone was included, so there were posters up in the classrooms that said, ‘This is a gay-positive space’. Um, the teachers, um, were frequently gay or lesbian, uh, and it was actually brought up when kids would say things that were… not quite right - not exactly homophobic, ‘cause I don’t believe that children can be homophobic, but they would explain that you can’t have two mums or two dads, or boys can’t wear nail-polish, or something else that would be - that those sorts of things were brought up and the teacher would gently correct them, that’s of course, that could be the case. Sometimes that was reported to me in case J felt excluded. It did happen actually in one of J’s classrooms and, in all cases, he wasn’t the least been bothered. So we did actually have an experience where in his grade five class the teacher called home before he got home and said that he’d been exposed to a ‘homophobic incident’. And what had happened was one of his friends who are - and he was a good kid, he really had no problems - had found a homophobic website, and had been showing his friends. And…
Tara: I see.
Bev: …She had caught this and corrected him and was very worried in case DAJ was concerned about this. And he was fine by then, there was no problems at all.