by Dennis Carlson
1. “Public schools play an important role in helping build new democratic, multicultural communities.”
Kids spend a great deal of time in schools; therefore the school, administrators and teachers (weather they know it or not) hold a lot of influence on the kids they work with, both academically and personally. Due to this fact, schools hold a lot of responsibility building tomorrows future and constructing future upcoming communities.
2. “Silence = Death”.
This quote signifies the importance there is in visibility. People being silenced consequently result in people becoming invisible to society; becoming invisible to society discontinues a person’s existence in society. We must create a society in which people are not scared or forced into silencing themselves or others.
3. “A democratic multicultural education must become a dialogue in which all “voices” are heard and all “truths” are understood as partial and positioned.”
Education wise, everyone should hold a voice in order to form a true community. No matter the position on an issue, a persons voice holds importance and we must let their voices be represented and validated weather we are in agreement or not, thus learning from each other’s personal stories and continuing to grow as people.
Many people today think that people that being out as gay is okay, weather it is in school, work or public, but that is just not the case at all. Yes we made some progress but we as a country and as people continuously treat people who are gay as though they were second-class citizens, through laws and prejudicial actions. In fact some of the things that went on 50 years ago are still going on today. Bullying, harassment and hate crimes against people who are gay happen single everyday. We might not physically see it but if we continue to blind ourselves we are letting our kids, our neighbors, our friends, our family members and the principals that this country was founded on down.
“Diversity must not just being tolerated but celebrated” (Carlson). As teachers we should celebrate all of our students differences as well as teach our students to be proud of whom they are as well as the value of a diverse community. To maximize learning in a classroom, every student must feel safe, to be themselves. Schools can no longer continue to avoid or ignore this issue.
I wonder how much power administrator’s hold over this issue. What would happen if you, as a teacher, attempted to include gay history or pride day into your class curriculum or lesson plan but your administration did not back you up? Would you face consequences? Would you be forced or scared into silence?
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