A Student Leads the Way

I have been thinking of two men.  The first is a former student who gave a presentation to our school this past week as a member of the Get Real organization that encourages tolerance, understanding and fairness to all.

I was moved by the presentation of our former student.   He spoke of how a Catholic teacher really saved his life by making a stand against homophobia and gay slurs in his classroom.  The young man was in grade 11 at the time and he told us, "I really didn't hear what the teacher said for the rest of the class.  I only heard that he said it was Ok to be gay and that I deserved to be respected."  This is the power and responsibility that teachers have. With a few words we can damage a life or we can save it.  We can rectify an injustice. We can make things better.

But when the former student spoke to the staff at our monthly meeting, later in the day, I began to think of another man, a former colleague.  He and I worked together for over twenty years. He met his partner around the same time I met Christine.  They have been together as long as we have and it wasn't until his retirement party that he felt comfortable enough to include his partner in the social life of our school.  His partner never attended a staff function; he never came to a graduation, a theater production, a game. His partner never felt included enough to chaperone a dance, to come to a staff sponsored Jays game or to attend the Christmas party.  He never spoke of his partner, about their weekends or their vacations.  He lived far away from the school and our small town so that his secret and our shame, would never be addressed.

When I heard the student's story, I was moved but I was angered as well. The very teachers who are asked to work to create inclusive environments, classrooms free of bullying and prejudice are themselves victims of both.  I have worked with many gay teachers over my career and all of them have been forced to live double lives.

We live in strange times. So many barriers have come down yet we live in a time when a Catholic teacher can still be fired for loving someone.  It is bizarre that Kathleen Wynne, the Premier of our province and a former Minister of Education, could, if she could get past the prejudice hiring practices of Catholic boards, be fired for her marriage.

This is an injustice and the only way it can be resolved is if Catholic teachers demand justice.