Gay Teacher Question for Freepers (Vanity)

None | 8/17/05 | Dr._Joseph_Warren

[Dr._Joseph_Warren]

Question:

Ignoring all legal issues....

Would you care/object if your children's teacher was openly (not flaming) gay?

Would it make any difference if the gay teacher was male or female?

Would it make any difference if the gay person taught elementary, middle school or high school?

[BillCompton]

There are practical aspects to this. I wonder what percentage of female PE teachers are lesbians (open or not). It really would not be practical to "pull your kid" if she were female. And there is really no such thing (in a practical way) as a lesbian pedophile. Gays are a more troublesome matter. I had a very nice 9th grade science teacher that, in retrospect, probably was a pedophile. Definitely gay. He used to like to rub me on the back and arm when we would talk. I didn't think much about it at the time except I did notice it. This was in the mid 70's and not as much was known. I also don't think anything ever came of it, so perhaps he really was just friendly and prissy. But the problem of gay men and young boys is not something that can be ignored. And it makes answering the question difficult.

[Kimmers]

I have 3 children ages 22,18,16 all boys....personally it would not bother me if my children had a gay teacher as long that teacher would not be pushing the gay agenda in school, just like I do not expect the straight teacher talk about their own sexuality. My eldest son really had a hard time in H.S. with gays but now that he is a senior in college and has been exposed to life outside small town Indiana his attitude is of tolerance. He is now looking at people based on their character and not their sexuality. I have always taught my kids that but those teenage years can be so tough....

[Modernman]

"Open" still means pushing an agenda(i.e the homosexual agenda).

Not necessarily. Am I pushing a "heterosexual agenda" because everyone knows I'm straight? Of course not.

Not everyone has an agenda. Most people, whether straight or gay, aren't all that political.

[BamaAndy]

There is no purpose in the classroom for one to be "open" about his or her sexuality. Any teacher who thinks that is important is putting this private behavior before the lesson plan in my view. An adult's habits should not be in any way, a popint of discussion.

[Skooz]

Try it yourself. If your married, try to have sex 10 times in an evening with your wife. Go ahead, try it.

I tried.

I failed.

[KosmicKitty]

Why should I know about the teacher's private life??

If I know this much about the teacher's sex life, the teacher is sharing way too much, whether they are hetro or homosexual.

My gripe with homosexuals, if you will, is that many of them have this tendency to share way, way, way too much personal information about what they do w/ their genitalia. There's just way too much "in your face" antics going on.

If the person in question is a good teacher, I would not have a problem with them teaching. BUT, if they are going outside of the bounds of what I consider appropriate, ie sharing their sexual orientation w/ the students, OR telling students that the beliefs that the students parents may have are wrong, then they are NOT being a good teacher and should NOT be teaching.

I know that am probably in the minority here on FR, but I have no problem w/ a homosexual teacher. I would really have a problem w/ a homosexual teacher who was also way out there and demands that I accept their being way out there.

[Modernman]

No. What difference does that make?

[7thson]

I have grandchildren who are in middle school. Never had children. The answer to your first question is Yes - it does matter to me. Why? Because I consider homosexuality an abnormality - along the lines of pedophilia and beastality. I do not want my grandkids thinking this behavior is acceptable and normal. At home we tell them it is not.

[sofaman]

Strippers and internet porn or public displays of lewdness. It's hardly comparable to a person who happens to be gay and does not discuss their sexuality at school (since it is nobody's business but their own).

I had several teachers who we suspected may have been gay, but the subject was never raised or discussed. They were good, caring teachers and I could not have cared less what their sexual orientation is/ was.

Just btw, I was in college with a girl that was dating one of her ex-high school teachers (male) and apparently had started dating him while she was in that school. It can cut both ways.

[Andy'smom]

Two of my kids have had the same lesbian teacher for American History. She was also the head of the "Diversity Club" at our local high school. She's competent, but not really well liked by the students for reasons other than her sexuality.

I wouldn't stand for my elementary age student to be in a classroom with a teacher who brought up the subject be they gay or straight.

[sofaman]

Agreed with that...

[HamiltonJay]

These people weren't doing the male role with every partner... go ask a female street walker how many jons she sees a night.. it isn't one!

You are beyond naive about their lifestyle, or at least very wide swaths of it.

Go hang out for a while at the bathhouses in san francisco, or NYC, and see just how many partners these pathetic souls have daily... they aren't lying.

[Skooz]

I have grandchildren who are in middle school. Never had children.

How'd you work that out? :0)

[wardaddy]

I would prefer not.

[Phantom Lord]

I have grandchildren who are in middle school. Never had children

If you never had children, how did you get grandchildren?

[Rembrandt_fan]

You wrote, referring to homosexuals and lesbians, "...Most are sex addicts, having sex with as many as 1,000 "partners" a year, regradless (sic) if they are male or female gays."

I happen to be in a line of work which has a larger percentage of gay men and lesbian women, perhaps, than is the case with the general populace, so I know many gay people personally and professionally, and count several as friends. While my own experience is purely anecdotal, based on familiarity with friends and acquaintances in that subculture, it seems that a relatively small percentage of (primarily) gay men might fall into the rampantly hedonistic category, engaging in dozens (and sometimes hundreds) of casual sexual encounters in a relatively short period of time. This sort of behavior is clearly pathological and blatantly self-destructive, but there is no evidence that sexual addiction is universal among the gay community writ large, so you might want to reconsider that "most are sex addicts..." statement.

To the point of the thread, I would have no problem with my daughter and son being taught by an openly gay teacher if, by 'openly gay' one means a qualified professional who, if asked, answers openly and honestly about who and what they are. How that question would come up in a school setting, I don't know. I certainly don't believe that the classroom should be a soapbox to promote any 'lifestyle' agenda. Educators should leave advocacy at home.

[The Brush]

Define "openly"
If he/she discusses it, yes I object, it has nothing to do with the job.
I had a lesbian gym teacher and drama coach in grade school. I didn't even realize it until a few years later.
An individuals sexual orientation doesn't need to be apparent, unless they have another agenda... for instance, if a male teacher discusses his husband or a lesbian discusses their wife, yes, they've crossed over the line.

[mountainlyons]

I would object if I had some kids. I would object of homosexuality, pedophilia and especially to an flaming liberal. I was taught by some very thoughtful conservative people. They understand both sides of the items being taught. Liberals and sexual deviants do not understand both sides of things and would present things in a biased form. Kids should be given both sides of the stories and allowed to make up their own mind.

[Gaffer]

It is my belief that such a teacher would not be able to REFRAIN from interjecting their social, political, and moral feelings into the teaching. Impossible......

[workerbee]

The inane humor on the various gay lifestyle sitcoms that the public has had inserted into the tv menu tries to get everyone to think it's all just healthy and just so much cuteness.

I think it's all part of the same problem: queer characters on TV, queer teachers in the classroom. A generation ago the idea of either would earn the scorn of most Americans -- now, most people shrug. We've been numbed to the real sickness of homosexuality. What's more, like you said, gayness is "all the rage". This is why I think an openly gay teacher -- intentionally or not -- would be a distraction and an (bad) influence in the classroom.