Adding on to what rapidrat said, it is not something you can teach tolerance for, all it will do is make gays in the class feel uncomfortable and less likely to come out.

Rapidrat wrote:

QUOTE:
Complicated, I'm not sure you can teach tolerance, it's a matter of person and upbringing I'd say - if they could, then I think they should at least try and that's keeping it in all it's seriousness

You can teach tolerance (just as you can teach intolerance). We don't naturally divide and exclude based on gender, race, etc., so a matter of person is out. We are brought up to hate, like you said, but school can intervene. It's not beyond the realm of possibility.

I think that the topics should be included in other courses such as: English, history, gov/econ, and psychology, but I doubt that there would be enough support / information to create entire classes over the topics.

i think that schools should teach a tolerance for glbt students
but not go as far as to rub it into everyones faces. thats when people start to get fed up. there should be a tolerance as the bullying often gets to much for most people!
so yeh i think they shud teach it, but not overdo it like RE!

I went back to my old highschool yesterday and they are handing out detentions to anybody using the word gay in a derogatory manner...apparently we had a lot of gay teachers...I think tolerance should be taught in schools in citizenship or PSHE...although i do prefer acceptance to tolerance...tolerance has connotations of burden and you peeps are right you cant teach acceptance or tolerance but schools can promote it, studies have shown that homophobis declines with education...discrimination is born of ignorance...so teaching acceptance of of gay people will have some impact even if not much...and also schools should start dispelling myths through things like sex education...in a lot of britain and places further west than europe sex ed is shite people in the last year of my high school last year still thought AIDs could only be caught through anal sex...which naturally created a bias against gay people in their heads...and schools should phase out the use of the word homosexual...cos its just vile...it doesnt even sound nice...and it has too many connections to Sigmund "paedophile" Freud.

its tough but, yes tolerence should be taught, but then you have to ask yourselfs, well should we start removing word from dictionarys and books and such? like fag or queer? tolerence should be taught but words and expressions should never be repressed. the thing is, words dont have any meaning what so ever unless you give them meaning. if anyone has read 1984 by george orwell you would know what i mean, but ya i though i would throw my 2cents worth.<br /><br />Post edited by: shadii89, at: 2007/05/04 22:37

this is a very tough topic but i think its a good idea because we obviously arent going anywhere. The world needs to get more comfortable with gays because hate crimes are too high. For example, in history class many do not mention alexander the great as being bi.

andylhs wrote:

QUOTE:
Should it be a manditory curriculum for school to teach tolerance for homosexuals? Should they teach gay history and point out all the famous people in history who, though closeted. were gay? Should they teach hate crimes cases. like Matthew Shepard and Gwen Araujo.

Short answer: no. ONE, because it fucks up truth. Example: Alexander the Great was NOT gay. The fact that he took Hephaestion up the duff is not VERY relevant history. Apart from sleeping with the most powerful man in the world, Hephaestion did... fuck all, come to think. There is not enough TIME to teach that shit to kids, when there is plenty of other more interesting things for kids to learn.

Face it, the only reason queer history might be interesting to us is because we are queer. No one else is that interested.

well, artiste, what about tolerence, what is your view about teaching tolerence?

CAN you teach tolerance? Or it is something you have to develop for yourself? You can have a school culture that promotes tolerance and doesn't accept intolerance, but I don't think it's something you can put in a classroom.