Jumaat, 4 Ogos 2017
5 Ways Same-Sex Parents Can Prepare Their Kids For School
From: NewNowNext
4
FILLING IN THE BLANKS
School & Classroom Forms
About a third of the teachers said their forms for gathering student information use “mother” and “father.” Several indicated “parent” or “guardian” was used; the remainder weren’t sure.
This is an easy one. If the forms say “mother” and “father,” request that they be changed. Firstly, it’s just more efficient and aids in clearer communication. And while this might not seem to directly affect students, it does help reinforce the idea of same-sex parents as equals — both equally important, and fully equal to hetero parents.
“This was addressed recently at our school. In English our forms said ‘parents’ and/or ‘guardians.’ However, the Spanish forms referred to parents as ‘padres’ which means parents, but also technically dads or fathers. The Spanish forms have since been changed to ‘guardianes‘ (guardians). —Gil, pre-k – 8th grade phys. ed. & health teacher, Illinois
“Our forms are currently set up as ‘mother’ & ‘father.’ To get the county forms changed is beyond my pay grade, as they say. It would have to be done at the district level.” —Eric
“To get the forms changed, send a letter to the administrator responsible for student information, and copy the superintendent. If it’s not resolved, contact members of the local school board. If that doesn’t work, file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights at the US Department of Education.” —Scott
“I believe our forms say ‘parent/guardian,’ but honestly I’ve never thought to look. Now you’ve piqued my curiosity, and I’ll be keeping my eye on it.” —Nancy, high school ESL teacher, New York
Anything that can be done to change the way people think about or see your family is beneficial — there are no small steps towards progress.
Khamis, 3 Ogos 2017
5 Ways Same-Sex Parents Can Prepare Their Kids For School
From: NewNowNext
3
HAPPY HOLIDAYS?
Celebrating Mother’s Day in School
Many classrooms celebrate Mother’s Day through various activities, stories and crafts. As with any discussion about family, this can cause unnecessary stress for kids without mothers, and negatively reinforce differences from their classmates.
Ask the teacher what the specific activities will be, and what accommodations (if any) are offered to children with two mothers or no mother, depending on your family. Ideally, the alternative should be as seamless and unobtrusive as possible. Some teachers may already take such measures, whether it’s making something for both moms; or in the case of kids of two fathers, allowing them to create something for one or both dads, or perhaps Grandma or other female family member.
In any case, this shouldn’t require extra effort on the part of the child, or for their activity or craft to be significantly different.
My son’s kindergarten teacher told him he could do something different during their week-long (!) Mother’s Day celebration — yet only offered crafts and worksheets pre-printed with “mother” on them. I won’t go into details, but suffice it to say I’ll be asking his 1st grade teacher to make sure any Mother’s Day activities won’t leave him feeling excluded or pressured to conform.
“Teachers need to be thinking critically about Mother’s Day, and not just in regard to same-sex parents. The idea that mom or dad is even in the house and will be celebrated isn’t the case for many kids. I find that holidays are often a point of departure for talking about valuing everyone’s family & traditions. Instead of making a craft, we talk about the different ways people around the world celebrate.” —John, kindergarten-2nd grade teacher, Texas
“Our school doesn’t do anything for Mother’s Day for this very reason. Making Mother’s or Father’s Day presents isn’t a necessary part of curriculum, and it shouldn’t be. However, sometimes we write notes or invitations to parents. We leave them open-ended (not specifying it has to be “To Mommy & Daddy”) to accommodate any kind of family.” —Lisa
The same principles described above can also be applied to Father’s Day, though most schools are out for summer by the time dads get their day.
Rabu, 2 Ogos 2017
5 Ways Same-Sex Parents Can Prepare Their Kids For School
From: NewNowNext
2
ONCE UPON A TIME
Story Books & School Libraries
As the number of same-sex parents has increased, so has the number of books that feature characters or story lines their kids can relate to. Yet while most two dad or two mom families have these books in their home, very few schools or classrooms do.
Ask your child’s teacher if there are any books in the library or class that represent families like yours. If not, find out what the process is to have them included — and be prepared to suggest some titles. For a simpler, short-term solution, lend a book or two to your child’s classroom — and then offer to come read it. This puts a real face to a concept new to most kids, and you might even get to field a few questions from inquisitive, young listeners.
“In my classroom, we have And Tango Makes Three. I also use Oliver Button Is a Sissy to talk about bullying. I have the kids say hurtful things to an Oliver paper doll; and for each harmful word, I tear it a bit. Then they apologize in an attempt to make Oliver feel better.With each apology, I cover a tear with tape. When we’re done, I say, “See, Oliver is as good as new, right?” They notice the tears are still there, just covered. It’s a powerful lesson on how deeply bullying affects others.” —Eric, 1st & 2nd grade teacher, Maryland
“We have books with same-sex characters/parents, as well as books about trans issues. All students have the right to feel welcome and safe in our school. We have a moral obligation to insure such.” —Scott, elementary-school principal, Minnesota
These encouraging comments aside, more than half of the teachers I spoke with don’t have any LGBTQ-inclusive books in their classroom; however, all were open to the idea.
Langgan:
Ulasan (Atom)
