Nick Clegg: This 9-year-old girl is a model for us all on gay rights
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has praised a 9-year-old girl who gave a heartfelt letter to her teacher, after he revealed he was gay during a lesson on homophobic bullying.
The girl wrote: “Even though you’re gay, I will always treat you the same way as I do now. I still think about you the same way as I used to.
“You’re a great teacher and these are just some of the word’s (sic) that I would describe you as: great, amazing, fantastic, brilliant, awesome and brave.”
During a Q&A session on Facebook, PinkNews asked the Liberal Democrat leader: “We wondered what you thought about this and in general the idea of teachers feeling comfortable to come out as gay to older primary school pupils. How important is it to have strong LGBT role models in schools to combat the blight of homophobic bullying?”
Mr Clegg replied: “I think the letter from that wonderful 9 year old says it all – compassion, affection and respect all rolled into one. A model for us adults!”
Read the letter below:
The teacher previously told PinkNews: “The little girl who wrote it gave it to me at the start of the day with all the other slips about dinner money, school trips and doctors appointments.
“Reading it brought tears to my eyes and it took me a little while to compose myself. When I thanked her she just shrugged and repeated something one of the boys in the class had said during the lesson, ‘It’s just your life’. Then she went back to her maths.
“I’ve had a lot of letters and cards over the years, but this one I know I’ll keep forever.”
