I am an elementary education major. I am also gay. How would parents feel about a gay/lesbian person teaching their kids in elementary school? I would also like to hear from gay/lesbian elementary teachers about how they deal with parents. Is it better to teach in a large city?
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Name : Bill23265, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, City : Ft Dodge, State : IA Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, I would have no problem with it. I would be much more interested in whether the person was a good teacher. I feel that kids are unlikely to be that bothered about a teacher's sexual orientation, and unless it affects your ability to teach, it's none of my business, any more than my sexual preferences are any of your business. Also, as teaching (especially for younger children) seems to be a predominantly female profession, I would be happy for my kids to have a positive male role model.
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Name : Margo, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 27, City : Manchester, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : lawyer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Boy is this question going to spark controversy. Speaking for myself, Bill, I wouldn't have a problem with it. I don't have children yet but I do have enough sense to know that just because someone is gay, it doen't make them a pedophile.
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Name : Whitney, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 25, City : Tunica, State : MS Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, I do not have children, but I hope to one day. I would have no problem if my children's teacher was homosexual, or bisexual or heterosexual, as long as they were a good teacher. Honestly, I hate that this is even an issue. It bothers me that some people assume that a homoesexual orientation is somehow immoral. It isn't. It is a characteristic of who you are. Best wishes! Peace, Kim
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Name : Kim26371, Gender : F, Age : 23, City : Tuscaloosa, State : AL Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, As a mom of 3 kids under the age of 11, I would say that sexual orientation is the least of my concerns when it comes to my kids teachers. My 3-year-old daughter has a male preschool teacher. The kids love him and enjoy learning from him. It honestly never occurred to me to care if he was gay. My son (age 10) has never had a male teacher, but I always thought it would be good for him to have that sort of role model.
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Name : Deb, City : Columbus, State : OH Country : United States, I am the father of two young sons. If you are a good teacher with the ability to control the classroom and make the students want to learn, I do not care about who you sleep with or lust after. Just as I would suspect that a heterosexual female teacher is interested in teaching my children and not molesting them, I would extend to you the same courtesy.
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Name : Earl25531, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Methodist, Age : 34, City : Shelbyville, State : KY Country : United States, Occupation : librarian, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Different parents feel different ways. Some people will change their thoughts based on the age of the children you are working with. When it comes time to find a job, look into progressive areas, my experience is that they tend to be more accepting.
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Name : Travis24876, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 33, City : Rockford, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : Educational Administration, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I personally would have no problem with it. And would be totally ok. I think you're going to find people who won't of course. But everyone's always going to have enemies. People will probably think you'll influence their child. But I don't agree at all, and if I really got started this would never end. Narrowminded people tick-me-off!
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Name : Lesley22873, Age : 13, City : N/A, State : NA Country : United States, As a teacher, you are a model in many more areas than in what you teach. In fact, people who remember their elementary years will remember a person who was mean spirited or loving, more than they will remember arithmetic, reading etc. Having said that, you are going to model your gay lifestyle consciously or unconsciously. That is where parents have a problem with a gay teacher teaching their children. There is evidence and documented cases where gays have become straight, which means that being gay is not set in stone. Therefore, children may be influenced into becoming gay. That is why some parents have a problem with gay elementary teachers.
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Name : professor, City : Edmonton, State : NA Country : Canada, I am the mother of 5 children, ranging from pre-school to high school. It makes no difference to me who a person loves, as long as the educational needs of my kids are being met. I would hope that parents would be intelligent enough to know that that is what matters.
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Name : Meredith B., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : New Thought Movement, Age : 33, City : Vancouver, State : WA Country : United States, Occupation : small business owner, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Although I am one of 'those Christians' who thinks homosexual acts are wrong, I would not have a problem with a gay elementary school teacher. I would expect any teacher in elementary school to keep his or her sex life out of the classroom, and would be equally appalled if a straight teacher gave many detail about sex to pre-teens. Parents need to be the ones who teach their children about sex. Also, I wouldn't want my children (if I ever have any) to grow up with misconceptions about gay people. I wouldn't want to raise somebody who turns out like the guy who always waves around a 'God hates fags' sign. A message that gay people are often only different in terms of their sexual orientation doesn't bother me. Stereotypes don't benefit anyone, whether they believe homosexual sex acts are a sin or not.
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Name : Matt, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 25, City : Oxford, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I would not have a problem with my child being taought by a gay lesbian teacher. I, myself was taught by a wonderful lesbian teacher. Even though I was too young to realize it at the time, when I was old enough to realize it it made me respect her more as an individual and really look at how great and wonderful a person she is without caring about her sexual preference. I think that this gives more diversity to our future and will show them to be more open minded. It is sad that not everyone can embrace diversity and individualty but as long as you are a good teacher I do not see any reason why you shouldn't be given the oppurtunity to teach
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Name : Meg21926, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : no religion, Age : 16, City : Houston, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : student, Social class : Middle class, Bill- I would not be oppsosed to my future children having a homosexual teacher. I would only feel this way if the teacher gave no more attention to their sexuality than a heterosexual teacher. I'm not saying that I wouldn't want my child's education to be tainted by a homosexual. But I am saying that I don't think it should be an issue, just like it shouldn't be an issue when the school hires you. As to your question about teaching in a larger city, I do think that people in small towns tend to be more set in their ways and they might not take a liking to a homosexual in their town, much less teaching at their school. Just to cover my a$$, I'm not saying that all people from small towns are bigots. But in smaller towns it might be a big issue where as in a larger city, it wouldn't get as much attention or be as big of an issue.
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Name : Mike20443, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 19, City : Maple Grove, State : MN Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, Don't make it an issue. Be a teacher. I don't want to know if your gay, green, democrat, republician.
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Name : Bob-Alb, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 52, City : St. Pete, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : telecommunication, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I started studying ballet when I was 8 years old, and have always had openly homosexual teachers, all men, from that point until now, when the gay teachers are my colleagues rather then my superiors. I think that this has profoundly shaped my view of homosexuality, and I would encourage people like you to be as open as possible about who they are. Easy for me to say, since I'm straight, but I think it would be really hard for people to continue to hate and ostracize (sp?) if they knew and respected people who were gay. It makes the issue personal and far less easy to hide from behind a wall of prejudice.
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Name : Peter Merz, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 32, City : Pittsburgh, State : PA Country : United States, Occupation : Ballet Teacher, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
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