TBS Strawberry Creek Classroom: What is Normal?

Important Classroom Discussion: Today we had a class meeting about the phrase, "That's so gay." This expression has been overheard on two different occasions by adults listening to casual conversations among Strawberry students. We wrote the expression on the board and the kids led a discussion about it. The students identified it as a "slang" expression, and pondered the question, "Why do people find it offensive?" This led to writing the possible intended meanings underneath it, like a fill in the blank.
"That's so _______ (stupid, dumb, weird . . .)."

The students identified that the intended meaning was to point out a difference in someone else in a negative way, which led to vibrant conversation about what it means to be "normal." One student suggested that the word "normal" should not even be a word used when talking about people. Many students made the point that differences are what make people interesting.

After a rich discussion the students were asked, "Where do we go from here?" Their suggestions were focused on advocacy, making posters and presenting to the school at an assembly etc. We are now busy planning what that will look like. One student pointed out that someone using that expression probably does not know what it really means, and that another thing we can do is just not say things we don't understand.

Teacher comments: During the discussion, we as teachers interjected at key moments. Along with clarifying that the expression is considered offensive, and not acceptable at TBS it was also pointed out to the kids that they will hear expressions like this in the future, and it is how they deal with it that matters. Also discussed was the term "gay." We explained that as kids grow into teenagers and go through puberty (and before this too) the awareness of identity (being heterosexual, gay, lesbian or bisexual - explained as being interested in both women and men for relationships) develops, and is not something random. We acknowledged that not everyone understands this at their age, and that it is not something they are expected to, but it is important to be aware of the impact of using a word, like "gay" that describes real people, in a negative context. In the discussion a student mentioned the term "transgender," but it did not specifically become part of today's conversation due to the direction of the discussion. Nor did the recent hate crime against a former TBS student come up (in the news), so we did not discuss the incident.

Please be in touch if you have any questions.

Other notes:

Found: A pair of glasses in a case appeared after the Dress Rehearsal. It is just next to our door.

Upcoming Events:

December 12: Field trip to Duxbury Reef

December 19, 8:30-10:00 am: Ocean and Kelp Forest classroom event. Family members invited to the "opening" of our Kelp Forest installation. Both Cerrito and Strawberry will be open for visiting the ocean related displays.