Do I set up a blog just for talking gender identity to antagonistic parents and feel somehow connected to them, or do I try to develop a website where parents of straight kids can go if they are “freaked out” to learn their little one has to go to school with a trans-gender kid, or has a friend raised by two mommies? The Website would be a bit more distant, but I know nothing about developing a website. Blah!
If I could develop a website here are some of the pages I would want:
• Basic definitions of gay, lesbian, homosexual, homophobic, transgender,
transsexual, etc.
• Statistical information regarding % of population who identify themselves
as GLTB, their high school drop out rate and suicide rate, etc.
• General information on the stages of coming out
• Information on bullying and how to stop it
The trick to talking to parents of the straight kids is to use resources not associated with “homo-friendly” publications. (PFLAG, etc.) In order for the audience to trust me I have to use information from sources like the American Pediatric Association, the American Psychology Association, etc. No easy task, but I am sure the research is out there and sufficient.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Gender issues at school
How to address gender issues at school has been on my mind a great deal the last few weeks. When I read or hear about kids being bullied or teased because of their gender identity, I feel great pain. Maybe because I have a gay son does the subject weigh on me so heavily. So I have decided to do something about it…What? I don’t quite know. I met with Emily in the CSU GLTB office today and discussed what I, as an educator, can do to help students feel safe. I thought it was interesting when I asked Emily, “If you could write a blog and talk directly to the parents of the “straight kids,” what would you want them to know,” and she replied, “that this education is not just for their kids.” All kids have a right to an education. Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, and Bisexual kids are more likely to drop out of school due to bullying. They have a higher suicide rate. Yet Emily thought the most important thing she could say was not about straight kids needing to accept her sexual identity, but how straight kids interrupt her education. So what can I do? I have a desire to address the parents of the “straight kids.” I want to give them information on gender issues. I don’t want to try and convert them, or convince these parents that GLTB is, or is not, moral. I would rather concentrate on the educational systems responsibilities to 1. make accommodations for students when necessary, 2. keep students safe from bullying, and 3. keep church and state separate (meaning…religious reasoning cannot be the only factor in making judgments.)
More on what I want to say next blog.
More on what I want to say next blog.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Guiding Miss Guided
ABC has a new sitcom entitled Miss Guided that demeans the teaching profession in the worst way. Educators are portrayed as “one semester ahead of the students,” socially awkward, and sexual predators. The school is portrayed as halls filled with sex and violence where students even “flunk remedial P.E.” The basis of the story is a terribly flawed guidance counselor returns to her high school to begin her career. She is overwhelmed by the immature feelings of her school days and is so introspective she cannot adequately guide the students. If you want to see the pilot episode and judge for yourself (hey, maybe I’m a tad too sensitive), log on to http://abc.go.com/, go to full episodes, find Miss Guided, and view “Homecoming.” Let me know what you think.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
We are the Champions
In an ideal world, a child’s champion is its own parents but that is not a reality for some. I have grown to understand that it only takes one person in a child’s life who shows love and encouragement to make a difference. I had one such person who changed my life forever. Grandma Baker was my seventh foster mother. I lived in her home for two years beginning when I was fourteen. By then I was already a pretty beaten down individual. I had been abused in every imaginable way, taken away from my mother when I was seven years old, and shuffled from one foster home to another. My self-esteem was nil, and school meant nothing to me except a place to be away from home. No one in my family had ever made it through high school; many were illiterate.
Grandma Baker accepted me for who I was, good and bad, and encouraged me at every step to better my life. With her trust and love I quit smoking, doing drugs, and drinking alcohol. She taught me to dress modestly, eat well, exercise and take care of my body. I began to choose better friends and spend my time in useful service. My mind opened up and school started making sense to me.
When I was sixteen I was forced to leave the Baker’s home because of the definition of a “temporary foster home.” The transition was extremely difficult, and though I retained the lessons I learned from Grandma Baker, the move was agonizing. It would have been so easy to slip back into some of my former habits, but I knew that I did not want my life to end up like my mother’s, so I plunged through the darkness and determined to make a better life. Grandma Baker, to my relief, kept in contact with me for the rest of her life.
At the age of eighteen, when the welfare money was no longer available to my new foster parents, I was escorted to the front door of my eighth foster home and was told I now had to make it on my own. College had never been discussed and was not an option. So much of my life to that point was spent on survival that I did not even know how to go about going to college. So, I did what many girls in that situation do; I got married eight months later and within five years I had four children.
However, my determination to make a loving home for my four boys led me to a life of total involvement in everything they pursued. I was the room mother at school, T-ball and basketball coach, den leader, merit badge counselor, BSA committee member, Day Camp Program Director, and eventually I earned my Boy Scout Woodbadge. In my efforts to be involved with my children’s lives I have run across children and adults who needed a champion in their lives, and I have been blessed to be in the right place at the right time to touch the lives of many.
While improving myself and growing in many ways I never deemed possible, I had a yearning to go to college. I attempted to go to college when my boys got a little older, but then my husband left me after fifteen years of marriage, and I was forced to go to work full time and shelve my dreams. Being a single mom of teenaged sons for six years was the most difficult thing I have ever endured in my life. And then in the middle of my single-mom years Grandma Baker passed away, but I was blessed with the sweet opportunity to dress her body for burial. It was one final gesture of love to a woman who meant so much to me. With courage and determination I held my little family together and we persevered. College began to feel like something I wanted, but could never have.
Later, as my boys began leaving the nest and were pursuing paths other than college, I would hear myself telling them that nothing should get in their way of a college education. Nothing! Even if it meant taking out student loans, and living penuriously for four years, a college degree was worth it in the end. Then I had one of those aha! moments. Why did this counsel apply only to them? Maybe it was time that I practiced what I preached. So, with the love and support of my current husband, I quit work and plunged in. Quite a brave feat considering that it meant cutting our income in half! Now two years later I have completed my A.A. degree at Front Range Community College, and am off to run with the big dogs at CSU!
My motivation for attending college has shifted significantly in the past two years. Being an example to my children was primary in the beginning, but now I have fallen in love with learning. I have earned A’s in every class I’ve taken because I absolutely love every subject I have been exposed to, and I can’t get enough. I feel that my brain has had a great awakening. The best part is that now three of my boys are in college, and the other earned his EMT. We truly have broken a long family line of illiteracy and abuse. I hope with an English Education degree I can help battle illiteracy in a broader arena.
How wonderful and amazing to me that this little foster girl, from Brighton, Colorado, could accomplish so much, with so few resources, just because one person had the caring and compassion to encourage her. The desire that drives me to succeed is to be a champion in someone else’s life and give back what Grandma Baker gave to me so many years ago.
Grandma Baker accepted me for who I was, good and bad, and encouraged me at every step to better my life. With her trust and love I quit smoking, doing drugs, and drinking alcohol. She taught me to dress modestly, eat well, exercise and take care of my body. I began to choose better friends and spend my time in useful service. My mind opened up and school started making sense to me.
When I was sixteen I was forced to leave the Baker’s home because of the definition of a “temporary foster home.” The transition was extremely difficult, and though I retained the lessons I learned from Grandma Baker, the move was agonizing. It would have been so easy to slip back into some of my former habits, but I knew that I did not want my life to end up like my mother’s, so I plunged through the darkness and determined to make a better life. Grandma Baker, to my relief, kept in contact with me for the rest of her life.
At the age of eighteen, when the welfare money was no longer available to my new foster parents, I was escorted to the front door of my eighth foster home and was told I now had to make it on my own. College had never been discussed and was not an option. So much of my life to that point was spent on survival that I did not even know how to go about going to college. So, I did what many girls in that situation do; I got married eight months later and within five years I had four children.
However, my determination to make a loving home for my four boys led me to a life of total involvement in everything they pursued. I was the room mother at school, T-ball and basketball coach, den leader, merit badge counselor, BSA committee member, Day Camp Program Director, and eventually I earned my Boy Scout Woodbadge. In my efforts to be involved with my children’s lives I have run across children and adults who needed a champion in their lives, and I have been blessed to be in the right place at the right time to touch the lives of many.
While improving myself and growing in many ways I never deemed possible, I had a yearning to go to college. I attempted to go to college when my boys got a little older, but then my husband left me after fifteen years of marriage, and I was forced to go to work full time and shelve my dreams. Being a single mom of teenaged sons for six years was the most difficult thing I have ever endured in my life. And then in the middle of my single-mom years Grandma Baker passed away, but I was blessed with the sweet opportunity to dress her body for burial. It was one final gesture of love to a woman who meant so much to me. With courage and determination I held my little family together and we persevered. College began to feel like something I wanted, but could never have.
Later, as my boys began leaving the nest and were pursuing paths other than college, I would hear myself telling them that nothing should get in their way of a college education. Nothing! Even if it meant taking out student loans, and living penuriously for four years, a college degree was worth it in the end. Then I had one of those aha! moments. Why did this counsel apply only to them? Maybe it was time that I practiced what I preached. So, with the love and support of my current husband, I quit work and plunged in. Quite a brave feat considering that it meant cutting our income in half! Now two years later I have completed my A.A. degree at Front Range Community College, and am off to run with the big dogs at CSU!
My motivation for attending college has shifted significantly in the past two years. Being an example to my children was primary in the beginning, but now I have fallen in love with learning. I have earned A’s in every class I’ve taken because I absolutely love every subject I have been exposed to, and I can’t get enough. I feel that my brain has had a great awakening. The best part is that now three of my boys are in college, and the other earned his EMT. We truly have broken a long family line of illiteracy and abuse. I hope with an English Education degree I can help battle illiteracy in a broader arena.
How wonderful and amazing to me that this little foster girl, from Brighton, Colorado, could accomplish so much, with so few resources, just because one person had the caring and compassion to encourage her. The desire that drives me to succeed is to be a champion in someone else’s life and give back what Grandma Baker gave to me so many years ago.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Digging Deeper
Twice this past week I was asked if teaching English is what I REALLY want to do. Marcia Linley, my practicum teacher, said I should reconsider my plans of teaching middle school. “Elementary school is so much easier,” she explained. Then she went on to say she is moving up to the high school level next year. She is worn out from all the demands put on her, and wants to teach students who care. After that first questioning of my sanity and motives, I began worrying about both! What is my real motivation for teaching middle school English? Then last Friday my Upper Level Comp teacher asked me if I really understood what I was getting into by teaching English? “Can’t you be interested in teaching Social Studies or P.E?” Her question was sincere. She explained that she is tired…worn out, and English is the toughest subject to teach, especially in light of all the emphasis for improvement on CSAP scores. “Are you ready and willing to have a career that totally consumes your life?” Ahhhhhhhh! I don’t know!!!
Here are the straight and truthful facts as I know them:
1. I am attending college because I know with a degree in SOMETHING, I will get a better job at doing ANYTHING!
2. I chose teaching as a career because it best matches my daughter’s schedule, and I am always a mother first!
3. I was working toward a degree in Elementary education, but the closer I got to transferring to UNC the sicker I felt. I changed my plans to teach secondary, and as a result feel better about the direction I am heading.
4. I choose English as an Emphasis because I enjoyed the Literature and Writing classes in college more than the other disciplines. I have received straight A’s throughout my college career, so I can perform well no matter what the subject. If I have to concentrate my education in one area, then I want it to be in an area I enjoy.
5. I am NOT passionate about English! I do not read and write in my spare time. I don’t compose original prose or poetry. I read when a good book comes highly recommended, but I am not always in the middle of a book.
6. I am concerned that I have not had enough background knowledge, content, and practice to be a good English teacher. Although with every passing semester, I feel more and more prepared.
7. I AM passionate about literacy. I believe all children should have the opportunity to become literate….not just sound out words, but to question, categorize, relate, analyze, and connect information.
8. I am interested in helping middle school students learn that they can be learners. I want each student to feel the need to continually feed their brains.
So, is teaching English what I really want to do? I still don’t know, and frankly, the question is freaking me out! Right now I want to pursue my degree in a field I really enjoy, and maybe the answer will become clearer as I progress and get more experience.
Here are the straight and truthful facts as I know them:
1. I am attending college because I know with a degree in SOMETHING, I will get a better job at doing ANYTHING!
2. I chose teaching as a career because it best matches my daughter’s schedule, and I am always a mother first!
3. I was working toward a degree in Elementary education, but the closer I got to transferring to UNC the sicker I felt. I changed my plans to teach secondary, and as a result feel better about the direction I am heading.
4. I choose English as an Emphasis because I enjoyed the Literature and Writing classes in college more than the other disciplines. I have received straight A’s throughout my college career, so I can perform well no matter what the subject. If I have to concentrate my education in one area, then I want it to be in an area I enjoy.
5. I am NOT passionate about English! I do not read and write in my spare time. I don’t compose original prose or poetry. I read when a good book comes highly recommended, but I am not always in the middle of a book.
6. I am concerned that I have not had enough background knowledge, content, and practice to be a good English teacher. Although with every passing semester, I feel more and more prepared.
7. I AM passionate about literacy. I believe all children should have the opportunity to become literate….not just sound out words, but to question, categorize, relate, analyze, and connect information.
8. I am interested in helping middle school students learn that they can be learners. I want each student to feel the need to continually feed their brains.
So, is teaching English what I really want to do? I still don’t know, and frankly, the question is freaking me out! Right now I want to pursue my degree in a field I really enjoy, and maybe the answer will become clearer as I progress and get more experience.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Free Stuff for Teachers
In practicum this week, I learned of a "free" video put out by Miramax that is supposed to spark middle school kids' interest in Shakespeare. Entitled "Shakespeare in the Classroon," this 45 minute video was filmed at the same time as "Shakespeare in Love," and stars all the same actors: Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Affleck, Judi Dench, etc. The 9th graders in the English class I was observing responded well to the video, so it got me to thinking...what other free resources are there out there for English teachers? I would love to start building up my "trunk of tricks" for my future classroom. Please share!
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