Our discussion last week centered on the One in Ten article.  We discussed what one in ten means and why it is important for teachers to know this statistic.  One in ten people consider themselves gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.  As teachers this means we will have students in our classrooms that are GLBT and we must incorporate ways in which to make these individuals comfortable and feel accepted.  Whether we have a bias or not we are teachers and our job is to teach our students not to mold or influence their sexual preference.

As a class we discussed whether your personal life should affect whether you are hired as a teacher or not.  Do our employers need to know what our sexual orientation is?  Do our employers need to know what we do with our life outside of the school?  The consensus was that a person should be mindful of his/her behavior and what he/she posts on social networks.  However, your sexual orientation should not play a role in your future career. 

We also discussed how biology could be wrong?  If someone is born GLBT how can a religious doctrine say it is wrong? We agreed that religion is the main reason people struggle with this issue.  As teachers regardless of what our religion says we must be able to reach beyond that and see our students as students we need to educate.

As a future teacher I will make sure that each student knows that I care about them individually and I want to make each and every one of them feel safe and comfortable in my classroom.  Therefore, they are ready to learn all they need to from me.   My hope is that my students will see me as approachable and feel they can count on me if they need my help in their social situations or personal life.  In my classroom there will be zero tolerance for not appreciating or respecting others. 

ActivityGrades 5-6

 Begin lesson asking students the definition of family.  Have students write down their response and read them as a class.  Then read the book, The Family Book, by Todd Parr.  The book talks about all the different families possible including gay and lesbian families.  After the book, discuss as a class what makes a family a family.  List these on the board.  Tell students sometimes people do not accept or appreciate families or people that are different from them. Could you imagine someone telling you that your family is wrong?  How would that feel?  Next ask students how can we as a class be a part of the solution to accepting and appreciating all types of people and families?  Discuss.  Now have students write an essay of how they can be part of the solution.  Assessment:  Essay must have an introduction and a conclusion.  Essay must have three ways in which they can help show appreciation of all people.  Methods must be effective.  Essay will also be assessed on grammar, punctuation etc.