Thursday, January 13, 2011
Chapter Eleven Reflection
I thought this chapter was very interesting, and it reminded me when I was in junior high school. One of my best friends from grade school, realized that she was a lesbian. It was really hard for her to open up about it and tell her friends, especially since adolescents can be very judgmental. She was nervous that she would be teased and would lose friends. When she finally told our group of friends, we already had an idea and were not surprised. We didn't ask many questions right away, and we respected her for who she was regardless of sexual orientation. I don't know if my friends and I were an exception to the rule of adolescents being judgmental, or they way I was raised not to judge someone off that their sexual orientation, but I hope behaviors similar to this one is happening more often, rather than the teasing and the bullying.
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It's wonderful to hear that you were so accepting of your friend, but what can we, as educators, do if peers or family members are not as accepting? Harassment and bullying is a growing issue for LGBT youth. Some students may be very religious and view anything other than heterosexuality as morally reprehensible. In these cases, it is very difficult to teach acceptance, because in either situation a student may be alienated.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you posting this. I'm going through a similar situation right now with one of my friends and it is very hard to not look at them differently. I know it is important to not change your outlook on that person. However, it is very hard, and easy to see how problems can rise from situations like that.
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