No Outsiders

Within the "Speaking the unspeakable in forbidden places: addressing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality in the primary school" reading, there is so much going on at one time, but all of the information from all the different authors seems to blend perfectly to explain the project. The No Outsiders project seems to have made a huge impact on the lives of not only the students, but also the staff that are helping to run the project.

Two summers ago, I worked at a residential Girl Scout Camp where we had many staff from a group called "Camp America". The people from this group were from different countries, but the majority of them were from the UK. One of the girls that was in this program became a close friend of mine and she told me all about the No Outsiders project. The way that she explained it was that it was to create a safer and more comfortable environment for those who were a part of the LGBT community along with their families and friends. According to my friend Beth, although the project was effective in most schools, there were some schools that had awful backlashes from the project and some parents didn't want their kids to go to school because they didn't feel comfortable with the curriculum. Although the project seems to have a good impact on the majority of the schools and the children seem to take very nicely to the idea that being part of the LGBT community is okay, the small group of people that aren't okay with it are going to become the demise of the project.

In my personal opinion, I think the No Outsiders project is a wonderful thing because it brings to life the fact that everyone has a different orientation and no matter what that is, you should judge them for it. I also really appreciate the fact that one of the writers brought up the fact that schools have become "desexualized" and that students are beginning to think that their teachers are basically inhuman, that they don't have lives outside of being their teachers. I really enjoyed reading about this and I hope that they create a similar project for the students in the USA but within all grades so that the students never forget the importance.

Why Can't She Remember That?

When I was reading Meier's article "Why Can't She Remember That?", I found many insightful pieces of information within it. 

One of the quotes that I took from Meier's writing to talk about was on page 243, "Each of these preschoolers, socialized in very different linguistic and cultural communities, demonstrates the ability to use language in powerful ways to negotiate relationships with other people and to accomplish his or her social purposes." To me, this quote shows that just because a child is raised or socialized into a certain culture, doesn't mean that they have to be set to just that specific culture. Children are like sponges, they just absorb all the information that you throw at them. Even though some of them don't respond as quickly as the standard warrants, it doesn't mean that the child isn't learning. 

The second quote that I found rather interesting was on page 245. "They call out. They talk to the children sitting next to them. They raise their hands to answer questions and then make comments, which may only be tangentially related to the question that was asked or to the book." When I read this, I found it hard to believe that a teacher was surprised that a preschooler was calling out and goofing around. Every teacher I have ever spoken to has said that there is at least one child who acts out, no matter what age the kids are.  Although yes, most students learn that calling out and talking out of turn is wrong, there are still kids who feel that what they have to say is very important and can’t wait. In most circumstances, I can understand why a teacher would become frustrated with students constantly calling out and misbehaving but the kids are at such a young age that they don’t know any better.

Although there were many meaningful and informative quotes in Meier’s writings, these were the two that stood out the most to me.