A discussion with a substitute teacher went from talking about separating classes into boys and girls to gays and how they are 'creepy'...

PLEASE SEE UPDATE AT END OF ARTICLE

Chloe, our 10-year-old came home from school crying. A substitute teacher started a discussion about having classes either all boys or all girls. Somehow the discussion veered to gays and lesbians and some kids had some comments. Very 10-year-old kid comments:

people will be freaked out

gays at the prom would be creepy

Poor Chloe was a wreck. She went to a teacher and told them about the four boys whose comments hurt her and offended her.

The boys then taunted Chloe about "getting them in trouble."

We knew this day would come. I guess we were hoping it would be later ... but it has raised its ugly head now.

The problem isn't that 10-year-olds think being gay is "creepy," it's that the substitute teacher did not address this and kept the conversation going.

Chloe couldn't take it anymore and stood up saying that her parents are lesbians.

 

As we spoke to Chloe about what happened, here's the silver lining. Several classmates and friends came to her defense, with love and support and were just as outraged as Chloe was. Chloe even said in frustration...

I'm so upset and I'm not even gay! How do you live your life?

It's a great question. It hasn't always been easy. But, as we pointed out, for every terrible story we have about how we may have been treated for living our life...there are even more stories of love and support. That's what we want our 10-year-old to walk away with in this situation.

She will face ignorance and fear and hurtful things throughout her life because of her parents ... but hopefully those times are few and far between. The real take away is that she is loved and supported. And that her family is just as loved for who they are.

**UPDATE**

I received a call from Chloe's teacher yesterday. He was so apologetic. Even though it was a substitute that lost control, as he pointed out, 'It's my class. I'm responsible.'

He felt so badly as he works so hard (he's a great teacher by the way) to make his class a safe inclusive environment for all the kids.

They had a class meeting and let the kids process and work it out. And they did - ending in a group hug.

I was so appreciative that the school took this situation seriously and stepped up to correct and learn from a bad situation.

 

More From Q97.9