Lesbian and Gay Issues in the English Classroom

This book aims to examine aspects of sexuality as they pertain to contemporary English teaching. It begins by examing how it is that sexuality has found its way onto the educational agenda, concentrating particularly on the impact of Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 and the advent of health education relating to HIV and AIDS. The book then looks at how lesbian and gay students currently fare in our schools before turning to the amenability of the subject English as a means of integrating issues of sexuality into the curriculum. This is then developed by an examination of how each level of the education system could best deal with the issue, paying particular note to the proposals for the National Curriculum and taking in the role of both Media Studies and Drama. There then follow two schemes of work, one relating to Timothy Ireland's "Who Lies Inside" and the other to "Annie on my Mind" by Nancy Garden. Each consists of a six week unit suitable for GCSE course work based around the novel, making use of a range of additional materials. The final section examines the role of the individual teacher dealing with the issue in isolation, a department acting on their own and the place of whole school policies. There is then a discussion of the rights and responsibilities of lesbian and gay teachers and the usefulness of positive images. The appendix to the book consists of an annotated list of novels, plays and poems which might be of use in raising the issue.