A Misrepresented Community: The LGBQT Community

1. "Take me to Church" by Hozier
2.CNN Reaction to Leelah/Josh Alcorn's Death
3. Fox News Reaction to Leelah/Josh Alcorn's Death
4. Lesbian Stereotypes Addressed by a Lesbian

5. "Queer as Folk" British TV Show

Questions:

What message(s) (consistent or conflicting) are being sent about this cultural group through these artifacts? Illustrate how the artifacts convey the message(s).

I chose this minority group because I know that it's a current issue that I would like to understand better, and I know that the current social climate has a big impact on a lot of people. I'm also relatively unfamiliar with how the media portrays LBGQT; so as I was exploring media to see how this minority is portrayed I was a little startled. The overriding theme that I saw throughout media was the over-sexualization of this group of people. The LBGQT is portrayed as more sexual than they are anything else, even by members of the community itself; I'll demonstrate this point by referring the numbered evidences above.

"Take me to Church" by Hozier (1) is a popular song that talks about the struggles of being homosexual in a religious, bigoted world. In the music video, the homosexual couple is definitely portrayed as overly sexual. The video switches between two men making out on top of each other and a mob trashing the house of a gay person. They're level of intimacy was uncomfortable, regardless of the genders of the couple. The singer also refers to his church as allowing him to "worship in the bedroom" because his only heaven is with his partner, highlighting the sexuality of the relationship.

I also chose an article written by a Lesbian addressing stereotypes against her community (4), and though she countered some stereotypes (such as Lesbian attitudes towards heterosexuals and males), she just augmented the overly-sexualized image that I kept running into. She spent a lot of time talking about not only Lesbian sexual behavior, but in fact was touting it as better. Even when she wasn't talking about explicitly sexual topics, she was often talking about various issues of attraction related to sexuality.

The British TV "Queer as Folk" (5) also highlights the sexual part of being homosexual. The show focuses on the relationships and lives of 5 gay men in Britain. I tried to watch some of the TV show after I read about it, and the very first episode started off by saying "it's all about sex"while the five men are at a club. This first episode sets the premise of the show, and instead of trying to highlight loving relationships or struggles of homosexuality in society, the show said that "it's all about sex".

I also found it interesting to see how Fox News (3) (a very conservative news network) and CNN (2) (a very liberal network) reacted to the suicide of Leelah/Josh Alcorn, a 17-year-old boy that wanted to be a transgender. Leelah committed suicide because she thought that since she couldn't start her transgender transition until she was an adult due to her parents' restriction. She thought that without the change, her life wasn't worth living. Because of the way that Leelah viewed herself--she defined herself by her sexuality--she didn't think that she had anything left to live for. Fox News put out an article with a mere 105 words, 20 days after the suicide, giving a bare minimum of information. CNN, on the other hand, had a full newscast the within a few days of the suicide and a written article of 1667 words. The article emphasized how Leelah's conservative Christian parents caused her suicide through their repressive practices. The contrast between these two sources leads me to believe that part of the reason that the homosexual community is represented as so overly sexual is because conservatives are reticent to talk about the issue, and liberals are perhaps more open than they need to be.

How might this message(s) impact how a child from this cultural group is viewed and treated in the classroom? 

Because the LBGQT community is over-sexualized, children that consider themselves a part of this community can be viewed as a negative influence on their peers. If teachers and students imbibe this "single story", then not only will they treat homosexual children as if they are no more than their sexual desires, but the LBGQT children themselves will start to conform to the stereotype as way to understand themselves. These children can be ostracized, bullied, and taken advantage of sexually just because of the stereotype that they have, similar to how girls with the reputation of being scandalous are more likely to have their standard pushed by guys with expectations. So in the classroom, their relationships with their peers can be tainted and traumatic for their psyches. 
Why is it important for teachers to examine how cultural groups are represented in the media, curriculum and policy?

Teachers, in many ways, have a lot of influence over the culture of a nation. They also can influence the ability of children to succeed long term. By being aware of media, curriculum, and policy in regards to the gay community, teachers can appropriately react to the dynamics of the children in their classroom; they can channel and change more destructive behaviors/views. And by being more knowledgeable, teachers strengthen their ethos with their students, increasing their effectiveness in enacting change in their classroom. And as a teacher, I don't want to be prejudiced against my students; by really examining the issues, I'm more likely to be fair to everyone and provide the optimum solution.

1. Five images (you can take them or they can come from the Internet [provide proper credit]). These images should reflect, in some way, what you imagine your classroom will look like once you are a teacher. Please annotate your images by providing a description of the image and how it relates to your future classroom.

The students will sit in groups. (http://www2.mcsdk12.org/kam21/the%20classroom/desks.JPG)

There will be inspirational posters on the walls. (http://aboveaverage.me/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/motivational-posters-3/0079-believe_1920x1200.jpg?8d7c13)

There will be a box where students can submit comments, questions, and concerns. (http://www.challahcrumbs.com/images/questionBox.jpg)

There will be lab equipment. (http://images.clipartpanda.com/chemistry-lab-equipment-clipart-pgi0045.jpg)

There will be a bookshelf with books that students can check out if they want to learn more about science. (
http://www.teamamericaprops.com/TeamAmerica/TeamAmerica_GarysBookshelf.jpg)

2. Imagine the surrounding in your classroom. What does the room look like? What resources are available for students? How are the resources used during the lesson?

The room is decorated with inspirational posters as well as science ones. It looks organized, and desks are organized into groups. There is lab equipment stored throughout the room, and there is an overhead projector hanging from the ceiling that is connected to my computer. I also have a bookshelf filled with books that students can read for fun as well as for extra credit. I also have an anonymous concerns and complaints box next to the box where students can turn in assignments.

During the lesson, there are labs. I also want to have a small motivational thought at the beginning of class so that students know that I care about their well-being beyond how they do academically; so whether I use a quote on the wall or just write one on the board, I'll use inspirational thoughts. Students can turn in slips of paper into the concern box after class as well as check out books.

3. Describe the students in your classroom. What are their backgrounds? What are their interests? What are they doing during the lesson?

My students are typical. They are varied in ability, background, culture, interests, and interest level as far as my class is concerned. Honestly, my image of my classroom looks like the classrooms that I went  to high school in. Students are more concerned with socializing than the lesson. A lot of them don't speak English, and they don't necessarily value education. On the other hand, there are students that try really hard to pay attention despite the chaos. They are also interested in TV shows, gossip, and sports. They hate being patronized by teachers, and if you do speak condescendingly, your class turns against you and you can't get anything done. So during the lesson, I hope to incorporate a lot of their interests so that they will feel more inclined to pay attention. For instance, as a physics teacher, I want to take a popular film and apply it to all of the units that we go through.  I also think that it would be good to let them use their phones constructively. So when we're racing cars to learning about different physics concepts, they can record it and then upload them into programs like logger pro. 

4. Describe you classroom policies. What are you classroom rules? What is your discipline plan? What are your homework policies?

Besides enforcing school wide rules, the main rule in the classroom will be based on respect. So interrupting, teasing, and ignoring people will be against the rules. The main thing though is fostering an environment that facilitates respect. Disciplinary action will probably be something that I discuss with the class at the beginning of the year, and the consequences are decided on as a class.  I find that when people participate in creating something, they are more likely to uphold it in the future. Since learning is the primary objective, they can always do alternative versions of homework assignments to improve homework grades (the alternative versions will probably come from different textbooks than the ones that the students use) or come in for an oral discussion about the subject matter. Students can work together on homework assignments, but they have to show their own work. Homework can be turned in late through the end of the unit for partial credit.

5. Describe a typical lesson you will teach in your classroom. What will you teach? What is the topic? Why did you choose this topic? How will you teach it? What is the main thing you want students to learn during this lesson?

My lesson plans will follow a three day pattern, I think. The first day will be about concepts, the second day with math and problems behind the concepts, and the third day will focus on labs dealing with teh concepts. So if it is about gravity, the first day we will talk about constant acceleration. The second day we will do problems about dropping balls from buildings and calculating speed and such. The third day, we will do a lab dropping balls. The topics will be physics topics since that is what I will teach. I teach it mostly through discussion and hands on activities where students investigate the laws of physics themselves. The main thing that I want my students to learn during this lesson is that acceleration is constant while velocity increases as things fall.

6. Imagine your work as a teacher during this lesson. What are you doing during the lesson?

I am walking around helping with labs and leading discussions.

7. Imagine your students again, what are they doing during the lesson?

They are discussing the topic with me as well as with each other. They are drawing pictures and dropping balls.

8. Imagine how you will assess your students' learning and achievement. How will you know they have learned?

I will know that they have learned when I can introduce new situations to them, and then can conceptually tell me what will happen.