Talking Points #3

Dennis Carlson: Gayness, Multicultural Education, and Community

Carlson argues that as teachers we have to make sure that all voices get heard, not just from the dominant culture but from the people he refers to as “others” (blacks, working class, female, homosexuals) and that each is represented to our students. So that as a result gay students, teachers, those who have gay people in their family do not feel like they need to hide who they are, and their beliefs. Not only do “others” feel like if they do not hide them well enough they will lose everything they have worked hard for, and I feel as if we (the privileged norms) believe that their beliefs shouldn't be put out there, and that we need to do as much as we can to keep it out of the classroom by “normalizing” the school. However Carlson argues that the same we acknowledge that there issues such as race, culture, language barriers that are and taught in the classroom, so should the issue of gays.

1. “In 1993, for example, the gay rights movement claimed a major victory in the signing into law of a Minnesota bill that makes it illegal to discriminate against lesbians and gay men in employment and housing. Yet what got ignored in all the celebrating was a provision in the bill that prohibits teaching about homosexuality in the public schools.”
Unfortunately reading this is not a shock for me; I can truly believe that this happened. Most of us agree that it’s all fine, they can say what they’d like but as soon as it comes up in their child’s classroom, or they (mainstream/dominant/norms) find out a teacher/student/students parents is/are gay they automatically have a problem with it or something to say. It’s like that saying Not in My Backyard (NIMBY) many agree that gay people should have the same opportunities as the people in marriage however we have the as long as its not around us acceptance. The bill was definitely a “tap in the glass” like in SCWAMP but not a full achievement. I believe that only until we (the norms) accept that we are part of the problem nothing/others will never be fully accepted or discriminated in society. The video below is the best example of this acceptance in schools.





2. “To the extent that gayness is recognized in the curriculum, it is likely to be in the health curriculum, where it is associated with disease. For example, one of the most popular health texts on the high school market is Health: A Guide to Wellness, which mentions homosexuals or homosexuality once in acknowledging that the first groups in the United States diagnosed with AIDS were male homosexuals.”

As I was reading this quote, I actually thought of a movie I had seen in health class about a gay teenager who was being picked on. I do remember this being the only class that ever talked about the issues and did relate it to AIDS. It portrays the people that are gay at a huge risk for AIDS and the cause of it at times. I don’t really know why or understand why it is being taught this way?

Sorry but this one really got to me I had to put it up ... It also relates to children automatically think that gays have diseases too... one of the little boys says one might have a disease then the other might get it too..




3. “We cannot and should not attempt to impose politically correct beliefs on students but we have a responsibility as public educators in a democratic society to engage them in a dialogue in which all voices get heard or represented and in which gay students and teachers feel free to come out and find their own voices.”

I believe this quote is the basis of his argument. It explains exactly what Carlson believe that as teachers we need to implement everyones voice in the classroom. Carlson believe that students and teachers need to feel and should feel comfortable with the gay community and people. Like Johnson says, "take the risk" talk about it....

Questions/Comments/Concerns: I honestly thought this was a little harder to follow than most of the texts we have read so far. I understood what he was saying but I couldn't follow his style of writing. However Carlson brought up alot of questions in my mind. For one, why was I also taught that gays were related to AIDS? I didn't know people(norms) worked so hard to keep the idea out of schools. I believe that Carlson has some great points and that only until people(norms) can give full acceptance to the gay issue than it will never be resolved or as others had said taken out from under the rug.