For this lesson we were given a video to watch about all the different types of families there were. When you first think of family, what comes to mind? A dad, mom, brothers, and sisters, right? It's much more than that, and I realized that after watching and answering the questions about the video that it's all about love.
EDUC 2120 – Lesson 7 – Sexual Orientation and Family Structure
Do you think it would be important to show this video in your classroom? If so, why? If not, why not?
I think it might be okay to show this video at an older age in the classroom. Maybe in the middle school years it would be important because they’re in a bigger school and see these types of people surrounding them. This is when I think it would be important to show the video, but not in elementary school. I think it’s really up to the parents when they want their child to know about different types of families, and things like that, honestly.
What kinds of problems can you envision if you were to show this video to your students? Describe at least two problems.
Showing this video, there could be students who maybe have those kind of families and then some students who are confused and don’t understand why. One problem that I could run into when showing this video is conflict between the students. Some students would agree and others would make negative comments about the families that were shown in the video. Another problem is with the students’ parents. The parents of my students may not be happy with me and would make a fuss about me showing a video like this to their children at such a young age.
How would you address or solve the problems that you described in response to the above question? Be specific.
If I were to ever show a video like this, I would first make a permission form for the students to take home to their parents to sign telling if it’s okay or not to show the video to their child. This way there won’t be much conflict between the parents of my students and me. To fix the conflict between my students, I would have to explain all types of families and tell them that some families are going to be different (not in a bad way) and that all of us have opinions. Although every opinion won’t match with ours, we’re going to have to respect every opinion that a classmate shares.
This may be difficult to explain to children at such a young age, and that’s why I think it would be better to show this video in middle school, instead of elementary.
Do you think that there is such a thing as the “perfect” family? Why or why not?
I think that families who all get along in public, dress nice, and who have great personalities come across as the “perfect” family, but in reality, no one’s family is perfect. I think that someone could call their family perfect, but that only being said because of how much they love their family. I think love is what makes a family “perfect”. But if we’re looking at “perfect” being like, no arguing and such, than no, there is no perfect family. But if a person is calling their family “perfect” because of how much love is in their house between them, than it could be “perfect”, to them.
How would you feel if someone said bad thing about your family and what would you do about it?
It’s according to how bad it is… My family isn’t perfect, by no means, but I do love my family and I would do anything I could do to keep them safe. If something bad was said about my family and it wasn’t anything to worry about, I wouldn’t worry about it. I would ignore it. If something were said about my family that was worth worrying about, I definitely would. I also have a ton of other family that would have my families back also, if anything were to ever be said. I can’t really say would I would do specifically at this point, because nothing worth worrying about has ever been said about my family.
What did you learn from the video? Can you relate to any of the experiences described or illustrated by some of the people in the video?
I learned that no matter how young a child is, and who their parents are, they love them anyways. It is easier for a young child to love quicker and better, than an adult. If a child were in middle/high school and their parent came out and told them they were gay and brought home his/her girlfriend/boyfriend, it may be a lot harder for that older child to comprehend of why their parent changed all of a sudden. If the same situation happened to a younger child, they would be more accepting. In this video, they didn’t really show older kids and their families. They really just showed the younger children and their families. Maybe what I said has something to do with it. Maybe the older kids weren’t as accepting as the younger ones were. I have not had any experience with anything like this before.
Regarding the “Gay or Straight” video – Is a person “born” gay or lesbian? Explain.
I watched the video and didn’t get the answer to this question. I just remember them saying it could have something to do with how they are raised up by their parents, or something to do with their hormones. But in my opinion, I don’t believe anyone is born gay or lesbian. I believe that you are born who you are supposed to be on this Earth. In one of my other lessons, I mentioned that everyone is born with a struggle that you are going to face throughout life, and it’s up to you to overcome that struggle or act upon it. So I believe that someone being gay is just a struggle that they are going through at the time.
Also, can a person become gay by associating with gay people? Explain.
No, I don’t believe anyone can become gay just from associating with other gay people. That’s just kind of ridiculous to think about, really. That’s like asking “can a boy become a girl by associating with a bunch of girls?” The answer is no. Everyone is their own person, has their own actions and beliefs. Just because someone is friends with a gay person, doesn’t mean that they’re going to turn out gay also.
Summary
These types of lessons always get me because I’m so opinionated on this subject. I’m not going to judge someone if they are gay and lesbian, by no means, because that’s not my job to do so, but I will think that their decision is wrong. I have had friends who are gay and lesbian, and I didn’t stop being their friend because of that reason, or because of our disagreements on things. We’ve just accepted that that’s how they want to live their lives, and that’s not how I want to live mine.
I do honestly think it’s good to talk about these types of things because not everyone is comfortable with the subject, including myself. I know that it’s everywhere, but it’s not something that I face every day, so I’m not as comfortable with it as others may be.
Research Question
Why should schools be the place to address gay/lesbian issues?
Reference(s): http://groundspark.org/latest-news/presskits/elementary_kit/ie_kit_whygay
Research Analysis
Negative comments and hurtful name calling starts as early as first grade. It happens on the playground, in the school hallways, and sometimes even in the teachers’ lounge. Research shows that five to nine percent of children grow up to be gay, lesbian, or bisexual. The percent of parents, of students in school, who are LGBT, the numbers are steadily increasing. First graders who make hurtful comments towards gay or lesbians don’t fully understand what it means exactly. All they know is what they’ve been taught, and what they are saying is going to hurt someone. The schools aren’t the ones introducing this topic, but they are addressing it to students because they want the students to be able to be open and ask questions, if needed.
It is appropriate to teach this topic in schools, even as early as first grade. The issue is schools don’t want to teach on this topic. As soon as gay or lesbian youth reach adolescence, because they weren’t accepted when they were young, they are more likely to turn to drugs and alcohol, run away from home, or even drop out of school in their futures. So, it is important that young children know about this topic. It will help them become more accepting to people who are different than them, and might even help prevent prejudice, discrimination, and violence.
Research Summary
I don’t completely agree with my research. I still don’t think this subject should be taught at such a young age because of all the confusion and questions that could take place. I believe that parents should make the decision of when they want their child to be exposed to this issue.