Canadian School Investigates Gay Teacher Who Displayed Photo of Spouse

First, the Evesham School District in New Jersey said third graders (usually eight years old) are too young to hear children’s books featuring same-sex couples. Now, one family in Winnipeg, Canada, wants to transfer their twelve-year-old seventh grader to another school because the boy’s teacher has placed a photo of his same-sex spouse on his (the teacher’s) desk, “and is answering students’ questions about his personal life,” according to a source cited by Winnipeg Free Press. They add “The family says age 12 is too young for such classroom discussions.”

Here’s what the division and teachers’ union say:

There are no policies or guidelines on what personal items a teacher can place on his or her desk, such as photos of spouses and children, or how much teachers can or should talk about their personal lives. . . .

Winnipeg Teachers Association president Dave Najduch said teachers individually decide how much they want to tell their students, or how little. . . . “Some teachers share a lot of personal information with students, and they choose to. Some will share nothing, and they decline to comment,” Najduch said.

Some teachers see discussing their families as part of developing a bond with their students, he said. Curious students might ask their teachers if they’re married, if they have children, or where they live.

Najduch said he’s displayed photos of his wife and kids in his classrooms.

The administration says it is investigating how much the teacher is discussing with his students. Based on this article, however, it seems to be generally supportive of diversity and has even promoted anti-homophobia education within the division.

What irks me is the media again ignores the point that discussing same-sex families in the classroom is not just a matter of some adult with supposedly nefarious intent foisting knowledge of “homosexuality” on innocent children. The 2000 U.S. Census showed that 96 percent of all U.S. counties have at least one same-sex couple with children under 18 (not to mention all the children of LGBT single parents). I don’t have regional statistics for Canada (though there are some general figures here), but I have to imagine they are similar. These children will likely mention their two moms or their two dads to classmates in the course of normal conversations, not to mention “what I did on my summer vacation” essays. Investigate a teacher for showing a photo of his partner and perhaps explaining who he is, and you’re only one step away from investigating a child for bringing in a photo of his two dads. What message would that send to the child?

School officials, despite their seeming support for equality, are still looking into the situation, not quite willing to drop the idea that to talk about a same-sex partner inevitably means talking about sex. What boggles the mind even more is that this is Canada we’re speaking about here, where same-sex marriage is as legal as owning a pair of hockey skates. Still the old mindsets linger.

A cautionary tale—which can be added to those from Evesham, New Jersey and Lexington, Massachusetts—for those who think winning legal rights means our struggle has ended.

(Thanks, To Form a More Perfect Union.)