No Voice in the Classroom

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

I have been asked to post today’s poem by a young gay reader who writes, “… if I had been taught in school that being gay was not the sin my parents sincerely believe it is, I would not be the psychological mess I am now…”  I, too was a psychological mess once for much the same reason, and it took me years to become reconciled with my sexuality; I would not wish that on my worst enemy.

This was in response to a poem I posted on both blogs in July - 'When all's Said and Done' - pointing to the fact that many people across the country are objecting to legislation due next year making the teaching of LGBT issues compulsory in schools. I also received several emails upholding parental and religious views that that this is not a matter for schools, although most imply that they agree it is a matter of education.

Where better to educate than in a school, where teachers are impartial (by the very nature of their professional training) while children have to be among the least bigoted people on the planet?

At home or in a Place of Worship, these same children will be given a biased account of LGBT issues, which may or may not stay with them for the rest of their lives, unless they discover a sexuality other than that which they have been tagged since birth; never a choice, but one of many aspects that contribute to the human condition....whatever our socio-cultural-religious environment.

I posted the post/ poem below on my gay-interest blog in 2013. Sadly, it remains relevant, if not more so, six years later.

………………………………………………

I read recently that homophobic bullying is on the increase among young people. I see no end to it, especially in a multicultural society, until parents face up to the fact that there are gay people out there and a child of theirs might even be one of them.

Here in the UK we have gay-friendly legislation, but relatively few parents will entertain the prospect of any classroom discussion about gay issues. Until they get real about the world we live in, gay people worldwide will be deprived of a voice in the classroom where perhaps it most needs to be heard;  our children and young people deserve better than that. Education is a broad church and students need to be taught how life IS, not how various socio-cultural-religious groups would like it to be.

As a teenager, I agonised about being gay because I had been taught at home and church that it was unnatural and a sin. I would not wish that on any young person. If I had learned that there are gay people from all walks of life around the world, it would have made a huge difference and I would not have spent what should have been among the best years of my life feeling  confused, ashamed, angry ... and scared of family and peers discovering my sexual identity. Anyone objecting to homosexuality being included in any school curriculum should feel ashamed of themselves for failing to give their children a more complete view of life as it is.

NO VOICE IN THE CLASSROOM

We were fighting for real
when suddenly he kissed me
passionately on the mouth
and I lashed out confusedly
at my impotent alter ego

My body thrilled to his kiss
(so unexpected though it was)
but my mind flatly rejected it
for I had been taught only this,
that gay is ugly, dirty, sinful

My fist crashed into the face
I so longed to cup in my hands
and be spirited (safely) away
into corners of time and space
free of judgemental inhibitions

In a smoky mist, I saw him flee,
unable to call him back, my feet
(like my tongue) stuck fast…
his kiss continuing to engulf me
in the sheer ferocity of  its heat

That night I felt the two of us
making love with such intensity
there was no room for shame
as I braved giant waves of reality,
surfing desires denied for years

The next day I waylaid him,
stumbled over a tearful apology
as gently, warily, he drew me
into his arms, joy in our sexuality
letting all conscience go free

It was a time of stereotypes
feeding off society’s prejudices
so we never dared go public,
any world for schoolboy lovers
kept waiting on its education

Copyright R. N. Taber 2013

New Kids on the Block

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

A slightly different version of today’s poem was published in various anthologies and poetry magazines (1997-2001) before appearing in my first major collection.

I have made numerous revisions to various poems over the years, some minor others major. While most revisions appear on the blogs, I hope (eventually) to publish revised editions of each collection in e-format.

Now, at first glance, nothing seems to have changed much in 20+ years, especially in the sense that a significant proportion of children and young people seem to be having as raw a deal as ever. (Oh, but haven't I said that before once, twice, maybe even a thousand times?) We must encourage our young people to believe in themselves and trust their own judgement a learning curve some young people miss out on altogether ... and whose fault is that ... partly their own, yes, but society needs must accept its fair share of the blame also, and society is you-me-us.

Could it be perhaps that if we all try harder to keep our own little piece of the world clean, safe, and a good place to be, all the other pieces may yet come together in a more bearable, worthwhile  whole…for everyone? 

So many people, rather than act on what their inner self is telling them, prefer to take their cue from the Scarlett O'Hara character in Margaret Mitchell's epic novel, Gone With the Wind. The heroine is always telling herself, 'I'll think about that tomorrow.' It is a common human tragedy that, for some of us tomorrow, never comes...

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK 

Gone shopping,

kids left running wild,

trolley rage mums

all smiles (dad’s at the pub);

dog mess everywhere,

kids busy shooting pool

at late-night venues

when not hanging out

on street corners

On the pavement,

collide with some kid

on a bike (my fault

of course, forgot to look);

knives out

in the playground,

acid in the park,

kids chasing death

for a lark

Cops in their stride

(‘Come on, let’s get even.’);

kids on a joyride

to Heaven, street siren

screaming, ‘Amen’;

Mum’s off her trolley,

Dad’s on the booze,

angel on the sideboard,

yesterday’s news …

Copyright R. N. Taber 1997; 2015

[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears in Love and Human Remains by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2001.]