I am not looking forward to my Employment Law class today. Today we are discussing employment discrimination toward homosexuals and transgender individuals. Now, I have no problem with this issue either personally or professionally. I think it is something that needs to be discussed. The students need to see how the law impacts all individuals, particularly in a business setting. It is no different than discussing racial or gender discrimination. But many of my students either do not have the maturity to discuss this issue in an open manner, or they have strong opinions or disgust toward homsexuals. I am afraid that it is going to turn into a discussion about why homosexuality is wrong or gross.
I think I might start the lecture in the same way my Constitutional Law professor started his lecture about Roe v. Wade. He said “I don’t care if you are pro choice or pro life. We are not here to discuss whether abortion is right or wrong. We are here to discuss this particular case in the context of constitutional law. So check your ego and your opinions at the door!” From that point, we discussed the case without any rhetoric from anyone.
I am hoping this approach will work. Wish me luck.
About Me
- Seeking Solace
- I am a college professor who is fumbling through the chaos of academia, rheumatoid arthritis, working on my PhD and just being a 40 something woman. I used to be a lawyer, which made me a snarky little person. I have a wonderful Husband and a German Shepherd named Junior. They help keep me sane.
Paws to Consider
My Sister's Keeper
3 comments:
Good luck! I also live in a region in which the generic reaction to homosexuality (and to leftist politics, and to questioning "our" President) is thinly-veiled panic, masquerading as disgust. My stance has been to model the behavior I wanted from students: not even to address the fact that this might be "ethically wrong", but rather to hold in my head and to exude the attitude of "we are here to study history and culture. These behaviors are part of our topic; hence, we will address them in a professional fashion." I don't state this position--I try to exude it.
My experience is that, very often, undergraduates (particularly those from small-town/small-horizon backgrounds) look for cues: signals that tell them how to behave. All of them will have encountered these behaviors: MTV and CNN reach everywhere. In my own experience, how *I* react (or don't) has more impact on their behavior than anything else.
Good luck with your class. I'm glad that the most "controversial" thing I teach about is global climate change!
Take care.
Good luck and I look forward to the recap. I'm also glad that the most controversial thing I teach is p-values vs. effect size.
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