SCHOOL FOR THOUGHT

What’s more important - teaching spelling or combating homophobia?

The mayor may have stayed away from Toronto's Gay Pride Parade yesterday, but it wasn't for lack of trying on the part of the Toronto District School Board. As this link shows, the Tedious Board had a contingent in the parade, which they encouraged students and staff members to participate in, and they also worked hard to "increase their awareness of this important event and its history". To that end, the board provided posters and other resources to promote activities, programs, and discussions about gay pride in general and the parade in particular.

Whether or not you agree it's a good idea to take young children to a parade that features obscene displays of sexual behaviour and gyrating leather-bound genitals, there are two other issues to consider here. The first issue is the dubious merit of teaching controversial or sensitive material without parental consent. I've blogged on this before, and I don't think there are very many situations where it's right or just for the state to over-ride parents' wishes in this way.

The second issue has to do with the question of whether this in-your-face approach to forming kids' attitudes if the most effective approach. While I do agree that people's sexual orientation and gender identity should be accepted, I don't think that centering out the issue - Class, today we will be talking about homosexuals: homosexuals are GOOD - is the best way to lead children in the right direction. To me, this approach underlines and emphasizes differences that really aren't important. If teachers treat differences among their students - religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, family wealth, etc. - as unimportant, then the students are less likely to even notice them. To a seven-year-old, after all, the fact that a classmate has blue eyes is unlikely to become an issue unless someone points it out.

And, apart from anything else, there is a spelling/grammar mistake in the Tedious Board link. Can you find it?