Monday, September 28, 2015

The Lord's Peace

Drop Thy still dews of quietness
Till all our strivings cease
Take from our souls the strain and stress, 
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace


-Hymn by John Greenleaf Whittier

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Addressing Gender Diversity as a Teacher

Firstly, I'd like to welcome myself back to blogging on the world wide web...I wonder how long this thread will last!

So, I'm studying Education in University at the moment and one of the topics we're covering is gender diversity. I honestly haven't been doing much thinking on this at all...and at the moment, I'm rather at odds with what we're encouraged to do.

Gender equality is a hot topic these days...it has been for some time. I learnt a new acronym today. GLBTIQ stands for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer. There's even an Australian representing body - The Australian GLBTIQ Multicultural Council. I think their logo is kinda cute with Australia being represented as a world...But I digress. 

AGMC Inc

So, how am I to respond to this move of accepting gender differences as a Christian who aims to be an educator of children? For example, if I had a boy in my class who wanted to change his sex to female, how am I to respond to this? Being a Christian, I know that this goes against what God has made, male and female. However, the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians has a commitment to ensure that education is free from discrimination based on "gender" and "sexual orientation". Additionally, all states and territories prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

I don't know what sort of decisions I"ll have to make in the future, but I do know that I have the power to shape and change young children's lives. I hope I can do this in a God-glorifying way, even when legislation and society are against me.