Talking Points 3 - Carlson

Premise

• gay
• straight
• homsexual
• lesbian
• teaching
• normalizing
• education
• speaking out
• sexual identity
• right vs. wrong
• community

Arguement

Carlson argues that it is imperitive that our society becomes more normalized and comfortable with gayness, and furthermore it is our educators responsibility to normalize gayness in our schools to give children an early understanding of the normality of gayness.

Evidence

"Since all normalizing communities maintain a center and margin in the face of oppositition and resistance from those being marginalized, analysis needs to proceed through anaccount of the specific techniques and apparatuses of power that have been employed in the school to keep gayness "in its place" as an invisible prescence."

"Throughout this century, one of the primary means of ensuring that gayness was an invisible presence in the school was through the dismissal of teachers who were found out to be homosexuals."

"One of the effects of this closeting of gay teachers may be an overzealous effort by gay teachers themselves to avoid any class discussion in which gayness may come up, since they presume that to be publucaly "out" at school would cost them their jobs."

Questions / Comments / Points to Share

I found this article intriguing and a rather easy read. I think that Carlson brings up some very interesting points. I had never considered that teachers are often times scared to speak on gayness, especialy if they are gay themselves, out of fear of keeping their jobs. I think Carlson is right, in that gayness is a part of our society and needs to become more normalized, starting with the education of children in schools.