Last week, I was teaching 2 young girls aged around 10 years old, when one of them ever asked me if I'd ever had a male examiner for any dance exams. I said 'yes, once'. Then, one of the girls asked 'Was he gay?' and I replied, saying 'yes, he was married.' I then went on to explain that he was married to a man. Then, girl A asked 'It's illegal for a girl and a girl to get married though, isn't it?'
EXCUSE ME?!
What made this little girl feel as if there was any difference between love between two men and love between two women? Maybe it's shoddy parenting...
Take exhibit A, children's book 'King and King.'
King & King, written originally by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland and then later translated into English, is all about a gay prince who marries another gay prince and lives happily ever after, just as in a normal fairytale, just with a hint more homosexuality about it. (Although this is debatable, as the Prince is still traditionally played by a man in tights.)Now you'd think that parents would be all for teaching their children that discrimination is incorrect and that you should not tease people for being gay. However, when teachers in Lexington, Massachusetts proposed that they read the book to their pupils to teach them about same-sex marriage, several parents of the children complained, declaring that book made gay relationships to be 'the way things should be' and one couple even filed for a lawsuit. (This lawsuit was later dismissed, thankfully, after the judge ruled that diversity is a 'hallmark of our nation.')
Now, am I the only one thinking 'GAY IS THE WAY?' Clearly not. But that's not my point. My point is, relating back to 'yes, in England it is legal for 2 girls to get married' is something that parents should be responsible for telling their children if they are not willing for their school to do so, along with 'touching fire will hurt you' and 'never take candy from strangers.'
So what do you think? Should same sex marriage be taught in schools?
Oh, and while I'm here... KEEP VOTING NO ON PROP 8!
2 comments:
I believe that children already have a level of compression, they must explain the options and non-traditional families, and no matter how old you have to talk about it with all the naturalness of the world, and watching them grow up as normal , As part of life ... I think if we educate the children and without prejudice and without showing things tag, because many parents show him ... but what label is this and that there is another, ... but this is fine and this is wrong, NO, only shows as something natural, I think that if schools would correct thereon education, these children now will enable equality.
But not as dependent on the children as they learn what we teach them, we should start by educating older people and take away those stupid prejudices ... if that's possible? It is not.
I think that tolerance and acceptance should be taught in schools, acceptance for other races, religions, orientations, etc. Kids should be taught that there are all kinds of people in the world and none of those factors make them bad people or less than anyone else.
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