On Sat, 15 Aug 2009 21:38:29 +0200, andrel wrote:

> I understand your point. I was actually thinking more about how to act
> if a student asks. 

Go from something specific (about the teacher) to something generic 
(about people), or, depending on the age group, tell them that that's 
something they should talk to their parents about.

> At a certain age (4-8?) they will bluntly do so and I
> can imagine that later on they may too. I can also imagine that it comes
>   by in passing.

Sure, but the mark of a good teacher is that they know when it's 
appropriate to express an opinion about something and when it's not.  
Schools are there for two reasons:  To teach kids how to think, and to 
transfer factual information to them.  Well, and a third would be to 
foster social development, too, by giving them an environment to interact 
in.

> Starting middle of September I'll be teaching digital technology in the
> first year of the University of Applied Science in Amsterdam. I'll be
> watching myself on this point. That course incidentally is for a part
> about the 7400 series, the course our mascot didn't take ;)
> 
> I do know what kind of relation most of my coworkers have, I know many
> of the spouses and we do have a fine selection of gays. For some I know
> a bit of their medical history and in one case I was even present during
> an ECG test of a coworker (her boyfriend couldn't come and she wanted
> someone to go with her. I was a likely victim because we had a good
> relation and I know a bit about ECGs). Perhaps things are a little
> different in the Netherlands/science (choose your own most important
> factor).

It is perhaps different both in the Netherlands and in that field; there 
is a huge cultural aspect as well, so what applies in the US may not 
apply (and probably doesn't) in the Netherlands.  From a vocation 
standpoint, people in a scientific vocation I think tend to be more 
socially liberal, so within the confines of that field, sure, it might be 
more "open" because there's generally a greater level of acceptance.  But 
when talking about school-age children, we're talking about an entirely 
different set of circumstances.

Jim

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