"Gayness, Multicultural Education, and Community" by Dennis Carlson

Carlson argues that public schools in a democratic society need to have teachers educate students to have tolerance for homosexuals as they do for heterosexuals, and this is a fundamental step in accepting race, gender, and sexual preferences. In other words, educate on the issues rather than silence them.

Passage of interest

• While public schools have long been viewed by progressive educators as embryonic communities that should engage young people in building a democratic community of mutual support and respect, gay people have for the most part been made absent, invisible, and silent within this community and at the same time represented as the deviant and pathological "Other". (233)

To me this clearly states there is a definite silence and lack of knowlege towards gay students in the system, and that homosexuals are being seen as totally morally wrong.....

• Public schools in particular have often promoted such "normalizing" conceptualizations of community that are based on defining a cultural center or "norm" and positioning class, gender, race, and sexual Others at the margins." (234)

The arguement here is that the teachers are forced to educate an impossible image of the "norm" to students. What happens if a child is not considered to be "normal"??? Do we let them drop by the wayside and forget about it?? For instance, what if that child were to be homosexual and then this way of teaching makes him feel like he doesn't belong and uncapable of being like everyone else....I've seen it too many times growing up....kids slip through the cracks just barely getting through their daily lives....

• "These abuses get tolerated because gay teachers and students operate in an environment where they feel afraid to stand up for themselves, and because any discussion of gay people continues to be absent in the curriculum so that homophobia is not interrogated" (239).

This case in point shows that this type of homophobia is somewhat accepted because gay teachers and students are fearfull to protect themselves. I was not brought up to make fun at anyone or tease anyone because of race, gender, color, or sexual orientation....It is morally and humanlly wrong....we are all human, we all have a heart, we all breath the same air....its important to remember that we all have feelings too....

Comments/questions

At times I found myself re-reading this article over and over....it was more intense than the other articles we have read. I did however like the fact that Carlson uses specific examples of ignorance toward homosexuals...like pop culture...here homosexuality is on the whole "invisible". I do agree with Carlson when he states that all sexual preferences should be equally accepted and by the same token, not one particular preference should be classified more "normal" than the other.