SINGAPORE — A quick nod at a rainbow drawn on the classroom whiteboard, or walking into class with a rainbow tote bag the day after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced at the National Day Rally on Aug 21, 2022 that Section 377A of the Penal Code would be repealed. These were the ways one teacher let his students know...
While teachers welcomed the new legal clarity, they told ST the rules about being openly gay at their school workplaces are far from clear.SINGAPORE — A quick nod at a rainbow drawn on the classroom whiteboard, or walking into class with a rainbow tote bag the day after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced at the National Day Rally on Aug 21, 2022 that Section 377A of the Penal Code would be repealed.
While Andrew has not come out in class to his students, aged 13 to 16 years old, he says that students are able to join the dots through small acts like these and some have given him Teachers' Day cards thanking him for making the classroom a safe space for them. Masagos said that in schools, all students learn and practise values such as mutual understanding, respect and empathy for everyone.
"All you need is one student to tell one parent, and it could snowball," he said, even though, he noted, he is mindful of what he imparts to students. "I know that it will really be great to let students see that this is a gay teacher, he's just like any other teacher. I would love that, but I feel like the stakes are too high," said Darren, 33.
Former teacher John , 30, decided to come out to his 17- to 18-year-old students during a humanities class, as he wanted to be more open with them. "Not only did I realise that the students didn't care, but they were very happy to hear that their teacher was gay. For LGBT students, they finally had someone," he added.
"My heterosexual colleagues can openly share about their partners and children when talking with their colleagues and students, while all I feel comfortable talking about at work is my parents, nieces and nephews," added James. "Just like how we pay attention to at-risk students who come from challenging home environments or students who have socio-emotional needs, we should also acknowledge the existence of our LGBT students and the struggles that they face," added James.
Doris Wong, 58, who has a child in Secondary 4, said: "What they do with their private lives is their own business."
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