Comments on: You will not call other students “gay” in my class

By: mlemallin

mlemallin — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 05:20:35 +0000

Of course we all want our classrooms to be accepting and inviting to everyone, unfortunately that isnt always the case. It is one thing to set rules, but students are not as likely to follow rules that they dont understand as much as those that they do. I know many students, and even ones my own age that dont see a problem with using words such as “gay” to describe something they see as dumb. What is really going to curb this kind of behavior is educating our students to realize why those kinds of words are hurtful and wrong. If they dont understand why what they are saying is wrong, they are just going to keep on saying, acting and behaving in an ignorant way.

By: ro19

ro19 — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:53:07 +0000

I agree with you 100%. Schools have have thier individual policies and teachers should create thier own as well. One thing that needs to be enforced was the harassment in the classrooms. The torment a child feels when being bullied could affect them for a lifetime. School is where children should feel safe and my classroom will have an atmosphere that will do so. The times are changing and we are going to see more diversity in the classroom. We need to allow a safe enviroment for all different types of people.

By: 1schoolgirl

1schoolgirl — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:33:29 +0000

I totally agree with you here. I think that the fact that teachers do not enforce the rules that have been set for by the administration is one of the main reason why the students do not adhere to them. It is not fair for anyone to be made fun of for their personal decisions and we as teachers need to let our students know that we will not let their cruel and mean behavior slide under the meter unnoticed. The language that is used by many of the young adults now is in most cases unbearable and I think that it is getting worse because the students know that they can get away with it. Know that you are not lone because racial and gender slurs (or any kind of slurs) for that matter will not be tolerated in my classroom either. With the ever increasing numbers of gays and lesbians (at younger ages), we as teachers need to make them feel as comfortable as possible about their personal identities. I think that they have to endure enough with dealing with their identities and accepting themselves, so I think that it is far too much to make them feel as if they have to be picked on even more inside the classroom. I want my classroom to be a place of learning and positive energy and I am going to do all that I can to insure this.