Dead tired after a long day of teaching high school 11th and 12th grade ESL to international students (mostly Latino and Haitian) and a gruelling workout at the gym, I found myself watching Oprah accidentally after enjoying the Travel Channel with Samantha Brown.
To my utter shock I was speechless when I saw the episode covering sexual bullying and the suicide of two young boys in middle school following being continually called gay by cruel kids.
The era in which we live being so sexually oriented via the media, music, and movies has had a harmful effect on our nation’s youth. What just a decade or two ago was unheard of is no commonplace in schools. As an ESL teacher working my first year here in Florida’s public schools, I have quickly discovered some cultural sexual slurs that Latino and Haitian young men typically use on one another.
Latino young men often playfully call one another “monicon” and Haitian young men “massisi” (both which mean gay or faggot). Thankfully most young men don’t take this sort of thing seriously. However when middle school students and boy in particular are in their formative years and entering puberty, their masculinity is very fragile and developing.
Therefore I can understand the deep hurt and pain caused by sexual bullying and sexual slurs at school, which cause cruel embarrassement publicly to these boys.
Undoubtedly after seeing Oprah’s show tonight, I will be having a conversation with my classes tomorrow. Certainly young women are not exempt as I have heard of fights among ladies breaking out in high schools and sexual slurs and bullying there as well.
With the “No Child Left Behind” national initiative the focus has become so academic focused many guidance counselors have not been given ample time to address such issues, but they need to be addressed thoroughly and immediately in all of our schools.
Certainly this issue must be addressed fully and I intend to write a book about it. Incidentally, I just released my new book today “Empowering & Liberating Women”.
www.PaulFDavis.com – worldwide speaker and life-changing author of 18 books
Invite Paul to speak in your city! – RevivingNations@yahoo.com
