Gender and Sexual Identity

The first topic I chose to depict is the topic of early childhood centers avoiding books dealing with gay and lesbian relationships, and in my opinion, they should not avoid including them. The families, today, are diverse and some of the children come from those types of families. We want to practice inclusion. It is up to the people who visit the center to introduce their children to the topic. The information is there, but not everyone may want to view it. I think that including these types of books makes the topic easier to discuss and also it makes those that come from those types of families not feel like an outsider. It is important, as an educator, to intervene when these topics come into play. In the video a teacher was observing her students play and one girl became upset at the mentioning that she cannot have two mommies (Laureate, n.d). These are sensitive and unavoidable topics.

The second topic I chose is how would I respond to a family member that said they do not want someone who is perceived to be gay teaching their child. I would simply say that the sexual orientation of a person or the perceived look has nothing to do with their child's education. Educators are there simply to educate. We are not here to encourage and talk about our personal lives, we have a job to do. Gay or straight, the delivery of quality education is what is important.

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Start seeing diversity: Sexual orientation [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu