I
believe that early childhood centers should avoid the inclusion of books that
represents gay or lesbian individuals and same-sex partnered families. I am not
a homophobia. I do not have personal feelings about an individual's sexual
preferences. I believe that children should learn about sexual preferences or
orientation at an early age from their parents, because at the level of early
childhood, explanations can confuse a child. Example, a child is taught in
their Sunday school class and at home about a family structure and they have
strong religious belief. The child is also taught in their childhood's center
gays and same-sex partner this leaves the child confused, because the child's
parent’s views are not the same as the educator's. How should a childhood
center explain to a child that has strong family beliefs about sexual
orientation that it is okay to have same-sex partners and be considered as family? Derman-Sparks & Edwards (2010) states
“Invisibility erases identity and experiences; visibility affirms reality. When
children see themselves and their families reflected in their early childhood
setting, they feel affirmed and that they belong. When children's identities
and families are invisible, the opposite happens” (p. 13). Therefore, as an
educator I must understand that it is important for me to respect the
relationship I made with my parents and present my reactions. I know that it is
imperative that I remain open-minded to finding solutions to having mutual
grounds between the parent's perspectives and myself.
If
someone explains to me that they do not want anyone who is homosexual or
transgender to be caring for, educating, and/or interacting with their child. I
would the person to thoroughly explain to me their opinion and view-points;
because sometimes a person can be ignorant to an issue because they assume and
do not have thorough knowledge of the facts. As a parent I understand that
every parent wants to protect their children from harm, so I too would be very skeptical
if my child's teacher is homosexual or a transgender. However, as long as the
teacher does not display themselves openly and expresses his/her view point
about homosexual and transgender I can accept the educator. Derman-Sparks &
Edwards (2010) states “young children struggle with many issues as they attempt
to understand what being a girl or boy means. The support they do or do not get
in their preschool years lays the foundation for the rest of their gender
identity formation (p. 91). I would explain to the parent/family that having a
homosexual or transgender teacher would not influence their child's sexual
orientation, because their child cannot be influence by someone else sexual
preferences. Jennings (2015) states” we
should be respecting every kid that comes into the school. We should be
treating them equally and give them equal opportunities to succeed. We should
be hiring teachers based on how well they teach, not based on their sexual
orientation.
References
Derman-Sparks, L. & Edwards, J. O. (2010) Anti-Bias Education for
Young Children and Ourselves. Leaning
About Gender Identity & Fairness. Director Publications and Education Initiatives.
Jennings, K (2015) Q & A with GLSEN Founder: LGBT Teachers Still
Face Barriers. Retrieved from
