Be Honest or Be Employed?

Be Honest or Be Employed?

     There are 3.3 million elementary and secondary school teachers in America. There are 8 million people who identity as LGBT. It is estimated that there is at least one LGBT teacher in each of the 98 thousand plus public schools in America. Being LGBT has not been proven to make you a better or worst teacher than a straight one. But why is it openly LGBT teachers are being prosecuted and pushed back in the closet by school administration. LGBT or Straight, Black or White, Male or Female, teachers should be judged for their ability to change lives and cultivate the minds of our future.
     As a junior in high school, I have come across many teachers through out the years both good and bad. One teacher in particular inspired me to become a high school teacher. She saved me from my darkest days by showing me how to overcome frivolous school drama. Now, just 5 years away from having my dream job, my dream has become obscured by some recent headlines in the media. "Gay Teacher Fired For Obtaining Same-Sex Marriage License", "Gay Teacher Canned for Pregnancy" and "Openly Gay Teacher Forced to Resign", just to name a few. When a teacher is open about their family it makes them become real people in the eyes of their students. They have a crazy cousin everyone avoids at gathering just like you, their young child gets in trouble for biting another student just like your little brother, their weekend was crazy too because of holiday shopping, these teacher 'story times' are what helps build a healthy teacher-student respect. I plan to be completely honest with my future students about my family, which I hope includes a wife and children. Before seeing the recent headlines I never thought I would have to go back in the closet just to live my dream and keep my job. 
     Many people in way higher positions than I, disagree. A North Carolinian mother of three, argued her years of Christian belief based parenting would be threatened by openly gay teachers in her sons' lives. She felt so strongly about this topic she then took it to the principal of her sons' school. As a result of her and others alike actions, a snowball of teacher resignation letters and unexplained terminations followed. Quality teachers were fired for being honest, just because a teacher is LGBT doesn't mean they are trying to teacher there students to accept the LGBT community or convince them to reconsider their sexual orientation. 
     The more than 98 thousand estimated LGBT teachers should be free to build healthy and honest teacher-student relationships without fear of being pushed back into the closet or terminated. The ability to make a positive difference in someone's life doesn't become hindered by one's sexual orientation. 

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