Comments on: Gay people deterred from teaching due to homophobia

By: Ceri Chambers

Ceri Chambers — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:47:05 +0000

I’m a lesbian secondary teacher and though I’m out with a few of my collegues, I don’t feel that confident coming out to the students. My main problem with this is the senior management’s disapproval, not the kids. We have a very religious head and I’ve notced that most LGBT issues are avoided, despite the constant homophobic language used by the kids. Even the staff handbook states that, we’re not to ‘divulge our sexual preferences’ to pupils. Yet, when a straight collegue marries, this is announced to all at assembly; whereas my ORIENTATION is reduced to something suggestive of something simply one dimensionally sexual and therefore must be hidden.
I would have now problem with student knowing.Despite the rife ‘gay’ comments, it would be for all, gay and straight, to have a positive gay role model and I believe their ignorance would soon disappear, if this was to happen.

By: Corey Mondello

Corey Mondello — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:25:43 +0000

That’s odd, you DON’T really hear about teachers raping children, maybe some of those heterosexual pedophile men that work in the sports branch of schools, but generally, it’s just them and Priests who are the most prevalent at raping children.

By: Danny

Danny — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:34:44 +0000

I am gay and openly so. I am also religious. I am a pagan, with a deep sense and relation to the Divine. It’s through this, that I decided to be a teacher – and I will be once I am through Uni. I am 18. I am intelligent. And I know what I am doing.

I would rather have been taught by a gay teacher who knows what he or she was doing, than a straight one that didn’t. But maybe that is just me. I will FIGHT that stereotype!!! xD x

By: SilverRRCloud

SilverRRCloud — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:11:50 +0000

Frankly, gay, bi or straight, I would not want to work in any profession that would automatically assume the right to judge on what’s happening in my bedroom. But that’s me… I admire all the selfless guys who go out to teach and help the others.

By: theotherone

theotherone — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:13:10 +0000

good point Jo, Trannies don’t exist as far as Stonewall goes.

By: Jo

Jo — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:24:55 +0000

@ theotherone – it looks like a stonewall type report hence T would have been excluded

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:14:54 +0000

Presumably, they are mostly RCs.

By: George

George — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:28:13 +0000

To point 17 – Well the kids on the buses (the ones on public buses rather than school buses I should add) in my home city actually thank the bus driver as they step off it. Point is, there will be large differences from area to area. I’m talking about the city of Aberdeen by the way, and in the city, not out in the rural areas.

By: Brenton

Brenton — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 23:32:40 +0000

No wonder! Who would want to put themselves at ‘risk’ by dedicating their working lives to young homophobes and their moronic parents. I have never recovered from my schoolyard experiences or the complete ignorance and stupidity of the teaching profession. I thankfully have a child free workplace and life. Gays that want to adopt should just stick to pets!

By: RobN

RobN — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:15:22 +0000

Samantha Parkes: Well maybe you are right, but I don’t need tabloids to tell me. Just get on any bus round my way around 4pm and experience it for yourself.

By: Ray

Ray — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:16:44 +0000

I guess it is better to have straight porn stars doing the teaching.

By: Robert, ex-pat Brit

Robert, ex-pat Brit — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:48:20 +0000

Its basically all traceable to the home environment. Nobody is born homophobic just as nobody is born religious. Homophobia is learned behaviour as is religion a learned belief system, begetting one generation to the next. Its also bad education and the lack of social studies in school curricula. It should be mandatory in state schools and homophobic teachers need an intense course in sensitivity training. Doing nothing about it only exacerbates the problem.

By: Samantha Parkes

Samantha Parkes — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:08:12 +0000

RobN – I went to the kind of school you are talking about, and the majority of people who went there were very respectful and well raised. Unfortunately, people like you focus on a loud minority of teenagers and think we are all the same. Well we are certainly not! The youth of today is given a very bad name by the kind of teenagers you are describing, but the reality is, no matter how newspapers like The Sun and The Daily Mail want to portray young people, it just is not true!

By: George

George — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:28:51 +0000

The large majority of teenagers are just as decent as decent adults. Its the closed-mindedness and arrogance of some adults where the problem stems from, not the teenagers.

By: RobN

RobN — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:37:50 +0000

I’m deterred from teaching because I wouldn’t be allowed to slap the unruly little wankers around. What kids need today is some discipline, but the softly-softly bleeding heart liberalism of all these lefty socialists has put pay to that, and the few private and grammar schools that still instill a modicum of discipline have always had the highest output of University people. Unfortunately if Labour have their way, they will wipe them out as well and we will be left with a crowd of foul-mouthed, aggressive little yobs.

By: Ben Lumley

Ben Lumley — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:32:25 +0000

Think that it’s really sad to the education system is loosing some potential great because of the views of a minority.

Very Sad

By: Blondie

Blondie — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:28:51 +0000

“33 per cent of LGB staff reported negativity about their sexual orientation from colleagues. Eighteen per cent said that students were negative about their sexual orientation.” that is the sickening thing of it all, it’s not even some kids who aint learnt the lesson of respect to your common man yet, it’s some God aweful homophobic teachers. Are there no rules or regulations in place to stop this, what kind of school is allowing such disgusting teachers, there’s a third of them, imagine how they would treat actual students rather than colleagues.

By: theotherone

theotherone — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:34:06 +0000

thank fvck I’d be fine as aparently Trannies have a good time in employment (since they’re not included in this survey.)

By: Dionysian

Dionysian — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:14:16 +0000

I am openly bisexual and teach a class of 6th form girls in evening classes in my spare time as a volunteer. I don’t think any of them care to be honest. I talk about my partner in fairly non- gender specific ways, but they have seen photos of the two of us together and he will (hopefully) be coming along to their end of year awards ceremony.

When I began teaching I tried to keep my sexuality private, but was accidentally ‘outed’ by a colleague and the fact nobody batted an eyelid was a shock to me.

One advantage of this was when a pupil in one of the classes took me to one side during a break to ask advice on coming out. Being open myself meant they felt I could be approached on the subject without the fear of ridicule or prejudice they may have experienced with their mainstream tutors or their peers.

I do think that the fact they are 6th form and not lower school helps a lot in their acceptance, and also that they only attend the evening classes because they want to, rather than under duress. I can see how junior mainstream school teachers may face discrimination as it is an easy target for students to ‘rebel’ against.

By: Psephos

Psephos — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:21:35 +0000

All schools should be required to have a policy, publically available, to explain how they will deal with any homophobic bullying or harrassment, either of pupils or staff (if they don’t already).

This should be a bare minimum.