Should teachers high school teachers have the option to teach LGBT safe sex and history within the cirriculum?

Question

I'm a high schooler now and in my nine years of school, the only things I know about my queer community I've learned from books I get on my own. Every year since sixth grade, due to something the Department of education put up we have to learn about HIV and AIDS because NYC has one of the highest diagnosis rates. However last year, in eight grade, I asked a teacher how LESBIANS can prevent getting HIV/AIDS. She told me that she wasn't allowed by our principal to teach that. When I spoke to the principal she said the DOE wouldn't let her.

I was and still am optimistic, this year that maybe in one of the classes we'd learn something about safe lesbian sex or about the Queer contribution in one of our classes, but it looks like the closest we'll come is having a GSA and my LA teacher letting me teach a few lessons on Oscar Wilde.

Should teachers high school teachers have the option to teach LGBT safe sex and history within the curriculum?

Small typo at the top, make that ten years of schooling, I didn't count kindergarden...

Oh kindergarden, how I miss thee, kissing another girl without people staring... good times, good times.

Answer 1

Maddie, Maddie Maddie....you and Kindergarten...
The DOE should have had safe sex curriculum in place ten years ago, after the HIV/AIDS epidemic began in the 80's. It's become a fact of life -- that and the drug resistant strains of syphilis and gonorrhea, never mind what else is out there. all of this should be taught and warned against in the public schools.
LGBT history should be taught and our community's contributions to Society made Public. It's about bloody time that it was all brought out and laid on the carpet -- so to speak. The government will bare our shame but they won't laud our contributions.
Good luck, Dearest. remember we love you.

Answer 2

I don't think that teaching LGBT safe sex should be optional, it should be compulsory. Here in the UK we have one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in Western Europe. The incidence of STIs in people under the age of 25 is sky rocketing. If we had a decent sex education programme then both of these issues would be addressed.

That young people are contracting STI's other than HIV is an indicator that they are having unsafe sex - exactly the same transmission route as HIV. They need to be taught not only about contraception, but how to avoid catching and transmitting STIs. This should include both heterosexual and homosexual sex acts - there is no point in talking about straightforward penis-vagina sex when there are people in the audience who will not be having that kind of sex (and even most heterosexuals are quite a bit more sexually adventurous than that).

I think it's unlikely to happen any time soon here in the UK because the moment anyone even mentions it we get the right wing press and god botherers screaming that the lefties are trying to convert their kids to homosexuality. It seems these caring people would rather young people derailed their lives with unplanned pregnancies or caught fatal diseases than educate them on how these can be avoided.

Answer 3

Good question, difficult answer. IMO, I think that it should be taught about safe sex amongst individuals, but not just of one sexual orientation, because when you think about it all, that would almost be the same as saying "Is it okay if teachers teach students about heterosexual encounters and nothing else". I mean yes, it should, but It might be a while before the that issue gets addressed by the state and by the u.s. dept. of education. Besides, if anything, I know that they do have what you're looking for at colleges around the country, but that's not until later. If you really want this to happen though, maybe you can write a letter to your local government and U.S. DOE and let them know of your concerns. Hope this helps you out.

Answer 4

(Bi female here) Teachers should teach history, math, english, civics, etc etc. They should teach health in phys ed too. However to actually teach a type of sexuality would probably be wrong. For one thing if the teacher was totally against gays/lesbians they could teach it in a bias manner to make it sound evil. On the flip side if the teach was gay then it would maybe go the other way. High school kids are bright enough to already know about sex and it's various aspects and choices. Teachers should teach safe sexual practices and leave the choice to the student.

Answer 5

They should be allowed to at least inform them about safe sex practices. By denying it they are inesence saying that if you are not straight then you don't deserve to know how to prevent the spread of Hiv, Hepatitus or Syphilis or any other disease that can be spread sexually. They are as much as saying that they want LGBT to contract one or more of those diseases. It is a form if discrimination and, to be perfectly honest there should be some civil rights statue that can be invoked to get the DOE to do it's blasted job and get the curriculum mandated.

Answer 6

I don't think they should teach on sex safe, but I do think teachers should teach about the history of gays and lesbians. I am a freshman in college and this year i took a political science class..civil rights and civil liberties. Our professor put a big emphasis on the history of gays and lesbians, we learned about the arguments for and against gay marriages, reasons behind the Stone wall riot, (in NY...lol), and mostly we learned about why gays and lesbians should be a protected class, (ENDA and stuff like that) It was an awesome class, I truly learned a lot!

Answer 7

of course they should be allowed, but hell, there are so many more important things to worry about with our school system right now. i mean, the lacking performance, the lack of teachers, president bush.
now, even if those issues were resolved, we would still be in no position to allow that. i am a gay guy and i have to stay 'closeted' b/c if i come out, i will not be allowed to volunteer at my mom's elementary school classroom, even though the students love it when i came AND the parents love it when i come.
IT MAKES NO SENSE!

Answer 8

Luckily, for my school the curriculum is going to change in 2 years so we learn about those things.

Answer 9

Our society is not to that place yet.

Teachers DO NOT GET THE CHOICE. Their district or state chooses the curriculum.

You are very young and will understand this when you are older. Take a good sex education class to keep yourself safe.

Answer 10

i wish they were allowed to teach that. i just can't process that fact that our president is threatening to take funding away from sex education programs if they don't teach his faith based pro-abstinance agenda.

I really think teachers need to be able to teach contraception, teach about STD prevention and treatmen as well as educated people on how gay and lesbians can protect themselves.