One of the best teachers I ever encountered was a lesbian. She taught the advanced US government class in my senior year of high school. She instilled the distrust that I carry to this day for anything as big and powerful as the federal government. Miss G told us to never ever consent to a search... insist on the warrant. She brought Vietnam vets, police, state congress critters and others into the class and allowed us to question visitors in a respectful way.
The interesting thing is that I was 30 years old before I figured out that she was a lesbian. My dad worked for the school system years after I graduated and made an innocent comment about Mrs G (who is now a principal) and it all fell into place. Even as HS seniors back in 1980 in small town America, we would have never put those pieces together nor did she choose to share her sexuality with us (it would have been a firing offense in that town)
Mrs G did a lot of good and was a very talented educator. If she had been allowed to be openly gay and did so, her message would have been lost in gossip, giggles, and general high school behavior as would her privacy. I think teachers need to decide if their “life style” or their mission is more important. Gay pride flags are fine if you work in a Starbucks but not if you are teaching our children. Kids need to learn long division before they have to make sense of the “two mommies” thing.
I’m sure I had some gay teachers, but they didn’t make an issue and nobody knew. Now how was “MRS” G a lesbian?
I know there were no same sex marriages then
There are many more lesbians and gays like the teacher you talk about. The problem is that all we ever see are the militants. Gay Pride in SF sells a lot of newspapers.
Our local library had a men’s choral group in for a recital. They called themselves “The Gay Mens’s Chorale” or somesuch. I could never figure out why I needed to know they were gay. Have you ever seen an ad for a “Straight Men’s Chorale”.
I had a teacher like that. Teachers who are truly able to keep their personal issues in the closet demonstrate a respect for boundaries and are not inclined therefore, to abuse their positions of authority and trust. This also goes for orientations in politics, culture, and religion, etc.
Nowadays there are too many dingbat or corrupt “teachers” who think teaching and indoctrination are synonymous, and that success is how well they can mold impressionable minds with propaganda. To challenge these ego-driven power-trippers is to see just how thin their veneer of civility is toward non-believers.
Two of my best teachers were gay men. I did have at least one lesbian teacher as well.
The lesbian teacher was fairly good, nothing special. She was let go from a convent, and was teaching at my prep school. We did not “know” she was a lesbian but now I have figured out that she was. As a kid, she was just a mannish lady who talked about football (ND) all the time. :)
My gay 5th grade teacher loved us kids. He put so much effort into our class. He did used to bust me for reading Nancy Drew books inside my school books, but other than that I really liked him, and so did the entire class. he made learning fun, and had fun with us. We had no idea that he was gay. He was single in his 40s and spoke with a soft lisp.
My gay high school teacher is still teaching. I adored him; he was one of the smartest people I’d ever met. Back then, he took some risks taking my girlfriend and I to plays and to dinners. He got us student tickets to serious plays downtown. He would have us meet him at his favorite restaurants (which were always in West Hollywood, so we definitely got what he was trying to hint to us). He did not pay for us.
He spoke to us with great respect, taught us so much about culture, and we ADORED him. Once, his friend (partner?) kind of outed him at the table by mentioning their little trip to Mexico. It was not a shock to us. We didn’t care he was gay. We thought the world of him. He took no advantage, and here he was going out with FEMALE students. If he did it to mask his sexuality, it sure didn’t seem like it. He laughed with us and found us at least somewhat good company.