Homophobia in schools?

Question

Should a person with extreme homophobia be allowed to serve on a school governing body or is he/she merely claiming the right of self-expression?

Supremethirdeye_ I don't understand where you are coming from? Who has me brainwashed? I was merely interested to know how others felt. I have my own views, which were not expressed in my question. I felt it posed an interesting dilemma as the homophobic views were expressed as a response to the schools intention to introduce a project to try to combat homophobic bullying.

Answer 1

The person should be allowed to serve on the school governing body, on the clear understanding that prejudiced views cannot be aired at meeetings, or to other members.
If they can't abide by that rule then they should cease their position.

Answer 2

Well, I actually graduated about a week ago so I'm not sure if this counts or not. But that's really the reason I didn't come out in the first place, the 'friends' I had (yeah, notice the quotation marks, lol) would sit there and go on and on about how disgusting it was that there were a couple of girls boarding there, who had showers and stuff together. Like, I mean on and on lol. There didn't seem to be much homophobia towards gay men, strangely enough, we even had some gay couples. But when it came to lesbians, a lot of the girls at my school thought it was disgusting. Most people, though, didn't care either way. My school was quite religious, so we didn't get taught anything about the community or homophobia at all, but they did work to stop discrimination of any kind, including gay slurs and stuff.

Answer 3

The fact that someone on the governing body is homophobic is not a problem. I am sure that there will others who have some hidden views as well. It would be a problem if the person was expressing their views in order to influence the rest of the body. I doubt that they would get away with this.

Stand up for us aims to help schools challenge and respond to homophobia in the context of developing an inclusive, safer and more successful school environment for all. The document sets out a practical approach for schools to quickly assess the scale of homophobic bullying they face. It also offers practical steps schools can take to create an environment where everyone can feel welcome and valued and where specific instances of bullying are identified, how they can be challenged and dealt with effectively. The resource can be applied equally to early-years settings, primary, secondary and special schools, off-site units and pupil referral units.


I found this on Governor Net. If you have any concerns about someone then give your local education authority a call. They will be very happy to help.

Answer 4

No I don't think that kind of person should be on a student governing body. This is a new day in age. People need to let go of homophobia. Somebody on a governing school body with that kind of prejudice will deny equal opportunity to other classmates. Self-expression, give me a break. Self expression is like, "I don’t smoke" so I will wear a shirt that says "Tobacco Kills". But that does not mean that if I see a person smoking I make fun of them or deny them opportunity for an athletic event. Homosexual people are people just like me and you and the last thing we all need is somebody in a position of power denying opportunity to someone for prejudice reasons.

Answer 5

Yes but a school encompasses a large group of people regardless of sexuality and to allow someone homophobic onto a school governing body would not be fair on the queer students. Surely the governing body is meant to be objective and should try and help potentially vunerable students.

Answer 6

No. That person cannot be on one end of the spectrum if they are going to be involved in school government and to represent the student body. They are required to have an open mind and get on board with diversity.

Answer 7

Unfortunately, the school do not have the right to remove this person from the govering body unless he/she is voted off by the rest of the body. I would be inclined to speak to someone else within the body about your concerns, they may be grateful for knowledge of this persons prejudices as it could influence his/her decisions that may be made within the position that he/she holds.

Answer 8

Personal views are allowed, as long as they do not conflict with the law of the land, Any person who acts as a school governor should not be allowed to show any discrimination whether colour, sexuality or creed.

This person who openly shows discrimination, should resign as they can not be objective.

Answer 9

Self expression is not allowed any more.


Seriously, sexual orientation is perceived with such importance - which is ridiculous. If a persons outlook prevents them from doing an effective job then they should not be doing it.

Answer 10

I don't think so. Schools have enough of a problem with the closed minds of all those teachers. Seriously, no, just as you wouldn't expect a member of the bnp to teach multiculturalism.