I don't allow the phrase

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Home : 2008 : March : 21

I don't allow the phrase
By mt

because I also wouldn't allow racial slurs or religious putdowns.

I teach sixth. My gifted kids are in the middle of preparing for a Socratic Seminar on hip hop culture and music--is it misogynistic and homophobic
or is it truly okay and adults are paranoid? We have viewed the well-received PBS video about it, and have read a lot about it, specifically a several-part expose CNN did on it. Then, they are instructed to garner their parents' opinions on the subject. So we talk about all sorts of stuff like homophobia and misogyny and what "ho" means (they're shocked). So at the end, they write

a well-formed and well-supported opinion on the topic, their first-ever real opinion about something that matters, and yes, "misogyny" and "homophobia" are vocabulary words for the unit.

Sixth graders are well aware of what "gay" means. Very well aware. So I play a little bit of "Ghetto Gospel" by Tupac, in which he duets with Elton John, and I tell the kids that even Tupac, their number one hero, wasn't a homophobe--Elton John is the gayest man who ever walked.

I do believe I address some of the ignorance they're beginning to show at this age, teach them something important, cause them to think, and possibly think before they open their mouths to insult a group of people.

I'm betting there are some teachers ready to faint right about now.