Should the curriculum address controversial issues?

Over the past eight years of my teaching experience, I have attended numerous trainings and professional development meetings that intended to encourage teachers to confront, acknowledge, and overcome many types of bias, in attempts to urge teachers to better able meet the needs of their diverse learners.  Every one of these bias in education trainings explained that teachers as well as potential teachers may work with children/families with differences in areas such as gender, sex, race, ethnic and/or cultural background, socio-economic status, disabilities, academic levels, and special needs, concentrated on providing teachers with the opportunity to distinguish anti-bias views based on these differences, and prepared teachers to effectively educate learners with anti-bias curriculums.  However, I feel that these trainings and professional development meetings overlooked an extremely crucial aspect of an anti-bias curriculum.  What about “teaching children to respect all people and to accept them for who they are regardless of” sexual orientation?  Even though some may think that this isn’t quite an issue in the school system, it is an issue with not only students, but also teachers.

As a teacher, mainly of early elementary students, I have witnessed students being bullied based on their own sexual orientation.  The terms “gay” and “fag” seem to be the bullies’ choice words  that I here most often at school.  As a young student, I remember saying “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me” to my childhood bullies.   But as an adult, I have realized how untrue this statement can be when it comes to name calling.  This type of harassment is detrimental on so many levels, especially to young Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender students.  According to evidence and statistics from the Department of Health, young GLBT individuals are greatly effected, in terms of mental health, lifestyle, and victimization, by the social outcasting due to their sexual orientation.

Mental health

In comparison with their heterosexual counterparts, young LGB people are:

•                    four times more likely to suffer major depression;

•                    three times more likely to be assessed with generalized anxiety disorder.

Young gay and bisexual men are:

•                    seven times more likely to have attempted suicide;

•                    three times more likely to have suicidal intent.

Healthy lifestyles

In comparison with heterosexual young women, lesbian and bisexual girls are:

•                    almost 10 times more likely to smoke at least weekly;

•                    twice as likely to have consumed alcohol in the past month.

Young gay and bisexual men:

•                    may be more likely to use recreational drugs.

Violence and victimization

• LGB young people are at increased risk of verbal and physical abuse.

In addition to bullies harassing students based on their sexual orientation, the bullies also harass students based on their parents’ sexual orientation.  According to research, “The children raised by gay and lesbian parents experienced unusually high levels of extreme social ostracism and overt hostility from other children and parents, which probably accounted for the former's lower levels of interaction and social integration with peers.”  Within the last couple of years, I have worked with students with families that consist or two mothers.  (I haven’t had any students with two fathers, yet.)  Again, I do realize that this topic may be a controversial issue to some people, but it is reality and becoming more and more prevalent in schools.  By overlooking, ignoring, and disregarding the reality that differences in sexual orientation exist, we are sending a message to the future generations. Eisner wrote, “schools teach much more and much less than they intend to teach.  Although what is taught is explicit and public, a great deal is not.”  Even though overlooking, ignoring, and disregarding the reality that differences in sexual orientation exist may not be a purposeful intention, it still leaves a message with our students.  Should teachers simply stand by the sidelines while sexual orientation based harassment consume our schools just because it is a controversial issue?  Personally, I have quite a simple response: no!  “The more you know, the more you grow.”  Is there a better place than in school to receive a bias-free, fact-based education?

This issue just isn’t about the bullies and the students being bullied.  This leads me to ask, what are the school systems doing to prevent this type of harassment?  According to Eric Eckholm, “Many educators and right advocates say that official prohibition and taunts are most effective when combined with frank discussions, from kindergarten on, about diverse families and sexuality.”  Yet, the antis-bias curriculums that I have been exposed to neglect to cover this topic. Personally, I feel that incorporating an anti-bias curriculum, which includes all types of bias including bias of sexual orientation, teaches an important life skill, respect even if this topic is controversial!