Talking Points #3 Carlson

Carlson argues that within the school system there is a schism between 'normal students', and GLBT students. He argues that it is the responsibility of the school and it's faculty to play a role in eliminating this schism and supporting the GLBT students.

• "These abuses get tolerated because gay teachers and students operate in an environment where they feel afraid to stand up for themselves, and because any discussion of gay people continues to be absent in the curriculum so that homophobia is not interrogated"

Gay teachers and students are a minority, they are outnumbered by a lot. This makes it hard to stand up for themselves. Hopefully in the future, as more and more people come out, this will begin to change. Also, it is the responsibility of non-gay students and teachers to stand up for those that are being discriminated against.

• "For the most part the institutions that make up the gay community are not open to adolescents, so that most gay youth continue to stay unattached and even unaware of the potential community of support"

Although there is a lot of progress being made in terms of support for adults, there needs to be more support for children and teenagers. This is where the school system can help. Teachers and faculty need to make it clear to students that they have a system of support. This is important for pre-service teachers to consider.

• "...a democratic multicultural education must become a dialogue in which all "voices" are heard and all "truths" are understood as partial and positioned"

This comment expresses Carlson's belief that we need to get rid of the idea of having one, shared belief. He thinks that we need to acknowledge the fact that everyone has a different view and different opinions. Rather than ignore that, we need to embrace it. This being done, we need to focus on "building relationships based on caring and equity". Personally, I strongly agree with this statement.


I enjoyed reading this article, although it was a little slow in the middle. My only criticism would be that some of his sources, quotes, research, etc. seemed to be a little old and outdated. Much of them are from the early 90's, or later. I think that there has been a significant amount of positive change and progress made on this issue since then. That being said, I completely agree with his ideas and hopes for the future. There is still alot of progress to be made.
Carlson's 'normal community' is very similar, if not the same as Delpit's 'culture of power'. Regardless of what type of discrimination or oppression or mistreatment you are learnign about, you will always find this common denominator, wether you refer to it as a culture of power or normal community, it is always there. It has been there since white people arrived in North America and began their long history of oppression, that continues still. There has been alot of progress, considering slavery, women's rights, etc. On a positive note, I believe that we are lucky to live in a demographic region where we advocate more progress. There are still areas of this country (south, mid-west), where the morals and values of people seem to be stuck in the past. For a multitude of reasons (religion, ignorance), many of these people are unwilling to adopt many of the new ideas and beliefs that we have.