Skip to main content

Words


Gay
Fag
Queer
Homosexual

Nothing more than words. Words that made it on my board during second period today after hearing a student call something gay. I question how a homework assignment can be gay. I don’t believe they think homework is carefree or happy. A few years ago, fag was the word used to describe things they did not like. A few years before that, queer. I used the opportunity to talk about the origins of words.

Looking back on it, talking about the origins of the words listed above in the Bible Belt might not have been my best choice. However, I did it. The conversation focused not only on how the words have changed over the years, but also on the connotations that come along with them. My primary lesson, “It is not okay to name call – even in fun.” 

The students kept the focus on the word gay and all it implied. When a student asked me, “But Mrs. Victor, what do you think of two men being married?” I took some time to think before responding that it was not up to me to judge their behavior, but rather to treat them with kindness and love. I told them about a time in my life when I was judged and treated differently for having a baby but no husband. (Might this be against the Moral Code of Ethics for Teachers in North Carolina? Maybe, but after struggling with the situation myself for many years, I have found peace and know Sean is the reason my life is so wonderful today.)  


Yesterday, I showed a Tupac video in my 8th grade class. He talked about niggers and racism. Issues that have been brought up in the classroom well before I showed the video. One of the adults in the class spoke to the EC teacher about the inappropriateness of it. The EC teacher's response, “This is the real world. We need to meet kids where they are.” She gets it!!

In my other 7th grade class, the book we are reading (approved by the county) had the words damn and bitch in the portion we were reading aloud today. Words students use with each other without a second thought. Yet, when reading aloud in the classroom, it was uncomfortable for them. Another opportunity to discuss the power of words and how the story would change if the author had made different choices.

The power of words, whether they be words of kindness, hate, anger, love, or acceptance change our viewpoint. May students begin to see things from a different view.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Aging sucks.....or does it?

Upon first thought, watching a parent age sucks. Unnoticeable at first. A bit of a stoop, some creaking in the knees, whitening of the hair. The doctor’s visits begin, as do the pills One for high blood pressure, another to thin the blood, and a handful of vitamins to top it off. The signs are there, but it is easier to see him as he has always been. My father, a pillar of strength. Until my pillar was knocked off-kilter. A simple surgery and the mortality of my father looked me square in the eye when the drugs took hold of his brain. Amidst his fidgeting and confusion, I realized…AGING SUCKS! And then….enlightenment dawned upon me….AGING IS BEAUTIFUL Wrinkles tell of smiles while silver hair speaks a life of memories. Knees creaky after years of kneeling in prayer, offering up a lap, and climbing up the stairs for one more kiss goodnight. Almost forty-eight years of memories nestled in my heart. Memories of my father. Taking us to church each Sunday Building and fixing ...
2 comments
Read more

My Top 10 of 2010

At the stroke of midnight 2010, I was in New York City celebrating the year with a bunch of teachers from Uganda. I looked around me wondering how my life had gotten so good. My life was turning out quite different from the way I planned it 30 years before. Little did I know that 2010 was the year my life would begin anew. The year of reconnections. 10. The Unexpected From chickens to unemployment, private school to public school, house of four to a house of two, Sean moving back and a pimping Caddy, the unexpected continued throughout the year. It began with Stu Pecker Feathers, the chicken that wandered into our yard in the middle of the city of Pueblo. Stu found herself a place to roost and laid a dozen eggs before we said goodbye. As the school year ended, I found myself questioning if private school was where I wanted to be and Tony found himself out of a job. I found myself living in North Carolina with Patti, while Tony lived in New Hampshire with Sana. Surprisingly, Patti thriv...
2 comments
Read more

Fiery Passion

It is 10:44am on Wednesday morning. I sit here in a darkened classroom with no power. During the last 24 hours I have walked a student down to the office with a big knot on her head as the result of a fight; counseled the other half of the fight on different choices she could have made; been an object of a discussion between two teachers; backed my car into a ditch; and restrained a girl. Oh, yeah, and I taught about Civil Rights a bit also. My life continues to be an adventure! Fast forward nine hours. My day at school has come to a close giving me a few moments to sit and reflect on the adventure of the last day and a half. I continue to contemplate what could be done to teach the girls how to embrace the fiery passion they have within rather than to let it out through fighting. Let’s take a walk back through time….. In every other school I have taught in, teachers have a lunch break. This is not the case at BMS. Teachers eat with the students, albeit at a separate table. We...
Post a Comment
Read more