Utah family supports school that outed gay son.

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PM
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15 Dec 2011, 10:41 pm

http://news.yahoo.com/utah-family-suppo ... 23202.html

I think this may not end well for the school faculty.

You, the reader, can draw your own conclusions.

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Last edited by PM on 15 Dec 2011, 10:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Fnord
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15 Dec 2011, 10:44 pm

The kid was only 14 years old. There is no law against "outing" a child to his or her parents.

The school did the right thing.

snapcap
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15 Dec 2011, 11:49 pm

Quote:

The parents decided it would be in their son's best interest to let the attention die down and that he has been keeping up with his schoolwork and talking to his friends through the computer. The boy will be back to school as normal after the holiday break.

"Any time there's potential for bullying to begin or harassment, it's absolutely the responsibility of the school to get right on it. It's not something we're going to tiptoe around. We'll do anything in our power to make sure students feel safe," Bromley said.
The teen's father said that the boy feels supported by his family, friends and school.

"The thing is we know he's 14 and he will grow into whatever he grows into," he said. "Our responsibility is to make sure he has a loving house he can come to and not be bullied or discriminated against. Whether we like the decision or not, we're his parents and we love him."

It's not like he's being punished, they are just trying to handle a sensitive situation the best they can. Did you even read the article?

If they just flat out said, "your son can't attend here because he is gay", that would be a pretty bad reaction and solution, but that's not what is going on.

PM
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15 Dec 2011, 11:55 pm

snapcap wrote:

Did you even read the article?

Yes. I just made the simple observation that it may not end well for the faculty as these situations tend to get political very quickly.

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John_Browning
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16 Dec 2011, 12:13 am

Quote:

The situation began last week when the teenager used a class assignment to reveal his sexuality to his classmates. The teacher asked him if it was okay to post his project with the others, and he said yes.

The kid came out on his own and there was a possible risk of harassment over it, and it really was best that his parents didn't learn about it through rumors. That would have most likely made that conversation to his parents a lot harder. A kids' sexuality is not the business of a school or district to address (even for voluntary therapy) unless their behavior is predatory or the school has to intervene to keep the peace. In this case, the latter applies.

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snapcap
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16 Dec 2011, 12:29 am

John_Browning wrote:

Quote:

The kid came out on his own and there was a possible risk of harassment over it, and it really was best that his parents didn't learn about it through rumors. That would have most likely made that conversation to his parents a lot harder. A kids' sexuality is not the business of a school or district to address (even for voluntary therapy) unless their behavior is predatory or the school has to intervene to keep the peace. In this case, the latter applies.

True, but he agreed to divulge it,

Quote:

Wish it wasn't an issue that automatically has to be handled like that.

People need to get over the fact that some people don't have the same sexual feelings as they do. The government reinforces the skepticism and hate by not acting stronger towards it.

PM wrote:

Quote:

Yes. I just made the simple observation that it may not end well for the faculty as these situations tend to get political very quickly.

Sorry for calling you out.

MarcusTulliusCicero
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16 Dec 2011, 8:36 am

They can't deal with one kid because of what he is. That's weak

visagrunt
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16 Dec 2011, 3:20 pm

Fnord wrote:

The kid was only 14 years old. There is no law against "outing" a child to his or her parents.

I disagree. A child has a right to privacy. I will certainly acknowledge that this right is more limited that the full rights enjoyed by an adult, but they exist, nonetheless.

Given that outing is a one-way street, with no possiblity of remediation, a decision to disclose a person's sexuality to a third party needs to be subject to more stringent policy constraints.

Quote:

The school did the right thing.

I agree, but not for the reasons you suggest.

I agree because,

Quote:

[The teen's father] said his son "took control" of his coming out and "was very proud and he made sure everybody knew."

It seems to me clear that the choice was his, and always his. The school administration approached this from the perspective of support him at arriving to a decision, and disclosing after he had given his express permission to do so.

The lesson here for those of us in the LGBT communities who are politically inclined is that there are educators who approach issues of their students' emerging sexuality with care, and respect. We should be applauding educators who act in this fashion--not leaping to assumptions of the worst.

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MarcusTulliusCicero
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16 Dec 2011, 3:48 pm

I guess you are right visagrunt.

John_Browning
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17 Dec 2011, 3:52 am

visagrunt wrote:

The lesson here for those of us in the LGBT communities who are politically inclined is that there are educators who approach issues of their students' emerging sexuality with care, and respect. We should be applauding educators who act in this fashion--not leaping to assumptions of the worst.

True. Evwen if the teacher or principal doesn't approve of homosexuality, helping them with how they go about coming out can save all concerned a lot of trouble later.

ruveyn
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17 Dec 2011, 4:02 am

PM wrote:

http://news.yahoo.com/utah-family-supports-school-outed-gay-son-154123202.html

I think this may not end well for the school faculty.

You, the reader, can draw your own conclusions.

It sounds like there is a right to privacy issue here. I am assuming that the student in question was not hitting on any of his fellow students. If he was, however, the school would have some basis for action.

ruveyn

Darialan
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20 Dec 2011, 9:12 pm

Good thing I read the article instead of posting based on the title. "Outing" I thought meant that they kicked him out. *headdesk* Anyways, I have to say the school was trying to help the boy. Parental support is probably necessary. If High School kids find out someone's gay, they bully them to no end. I was called a gay homo and all that based on what they perceived and I'm not even close to gay. So the school was really trying to support him as best they could. I see know problem here.

snapcap
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20 Dec 2011, 9:42 pm

Darialan wrote:

The title was misleading.

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