It is sad to witness children going around calling other children names. The other day one of my students came into the classroom very upset because someone called him gay. I asked him if he knew what that word meant and he said no, I just know it is bad. I told him that word means "happy" and I asked him if he was happy today. He smiled and said he was. Come to find out the other child is in an upper grade and this event occurred on the bus. Even older children hear words repeated that they do not know what they mean.
Another situation that is causing me some discomfort is a child, in my school, who is getting questioned regularly about having two moms. She is not in my classroom, but I do see her frequently. So far, she seems to be handling the situation well. She just tells them that in her family there is no dad just her and her two moms. It is my hopes that her moms are talking to her and preparing her to be ready for the questions that are ahead. When she gets older there may be more questions about her situation.
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteChildren can be very cruel, but it is our responsibility as adults to make sure they are respect towards one another, I wish that parents could be teachers for a day and see the life of our children in the classroom environment. I think that it is good that this little girl can stand up to bullying and still fills confident in her own situation. I think her parents have done a great job with teaching this little lady what her family stands for and means, some hetero-family don't do that.
It is hard when students use calling "names" in appropriately. Don't get me wrong - name-calling is always in appropriate, but when they use a word like "gay" instead of calling someone a name like "dumb." It is important that we teach our children the different meanings of these words and how to use them. When the word "gay" means happy, homosexual, and dumb, children do not understand how hurtful it can be to call someone that.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad that children repeat what they hear others say, not even knowing the meaning of the words. Parent need to watch what they say around their children. Some parents find it funny when their child uses words such as "dumb", "gay", "ugly", etc. to describe others. This is cruel. Even if they do not know the meaning of a word, they generally know it is a bad word.
ReplyDeleteDear Amy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing two incidents. Children learn things from surrounding not only from family and teachers but also from peers and media. Sometimes they pick up a word from a peer or game that they even do not know what it meant and just felt that it was a bad word because of the tone, manner fo speaker. It is very important for teachers and parents to provide guidance.
Hello Amy,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that even older children hear words repeated that they do not know what they mean. I am glad that you explain to your student that "gay" means happy because in today's society people have took these words out of context to make it mean how they want it to. Where I use to work, I always would hear these homophobic terms used on a regularly basis. Sometimes I would ask them do you even know what that term mean that you just used? He/she would be like yes/no and I would say, then explain what it means. If they got it wrong, then I would say that is the wrong answer and tell them why you trying call someone that word go and look it up before you use it or I would just explain what it means. Thanks for sharing.
LaCasa Mosby