EFL Materials on Omar Currie by Naves
Teacher Omar Currie read "King and King" to his third graders after he found out one of his students had been bullied and called names like 'girl' and 'gay'. Mr Currie stood up for his student being bullied.
You may read the story in the Huffington Post and News & Observer and watch the interview on Mid Point available on YouTube. See links below
Online interactive glossaries of the key terms by Navés available on Quizlet at https://quizlet.com/84876683/ and https://quizlet.com/84881598/
There is a TED-Ed lesson available at http://ed.ted.com/on/6GH7JHAw
There are six clozes available made with Hot Potatoes. Three gramar-based reading comprehension clozes based on the articles published in Huffignton Post and News & Oberver, a content-based Reading comprehesion cloze and two Fill-in-the blank quizzes on the key vocabulary for each of the readings (TeacherOmarCurrieLGBT_Bullying-N2015.docx)
N2015 CONTENT CLOZE ON TEACHER OMAR CURRIE AND HIS WAY OF ADDRESSING LGBTIQ BULLYING AT PRIMARY SCHOOL BASED ON AN ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE WASHINGTON POST
North Carolina Teacher Omar Currie Reads His Class Gay Fable After Third-Grader Is Bullied.
TASK 1. GET FAMILIAR WITH THE KEY TERMS ON QUIZLET at https://quizlet.com/84939247
TASK 2. USING YOUR BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE AND PREVIOUS EXPERIENCES RECONSTRUCT THIS ARTICLE ABOUT MR. CURRIE, AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER WHO ADDRESSED BULLYING BY READING AN LGBTIQ FABLE TO HIS CLASS.
FILL-IN-THE BLANKS WITH ONE OF THE DICHOTOMIES PROVIDED IN THE SQUARE BRACKETS
North Carolina Teacher Omar Currie Reads His Class Gay Fable After Third-Grader Is Bullied
A North Carolina teacher is drawing [mostly criticism / both praise and criticism] (1)________________________________ for the way he handled a bullying situation with one of his students.
Omar Currie, 25, teaches third grade at Efland-Cheeks Elementary School in Efland, North Carolina. Three weeks ago, Currie overheard some of his students calling one of their male classmates "gay" and "a woman." [Instead of sending / He decided to send] (2)_____________________ the bullies to the principal's office, [intead of takid a different approach / Currie took a different approach] (3)____________________: He read his class King & King, [a children's / an adults'] (4)________________ by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland that features a same-sex romance.
Currie, who identifies as [gay / straight] (5)__________, told The Huffington Post that he wanted to have [an honest / an indoctrinating] (6)__________________ conversation with his students -- whom he affectionately refers to as his "kids" -- on how to treat people who may seem different.
"There was a group of [boys / girls] (7)_______ that had been referring to the child as a girl or a woman, saying ‘OK, woman,' or 'OK, girl,’" Currie told HuffPost. He stepped in and addressed the issue, he said, but then it happened again. "This particular child who was being bullied [was /wasn't] (8)_________ very, very upset."
The following day, Currie read his class King & King, a picture book whose main character, a [prince / princess] (9)________, must find a suitor to marry. After meeting with a succession of [princes / princesses] (10)__________________ and feeling no spark, the prince eventually falls in love with another [prince / princess] (11)___________. The two wed, becoming kings together, and the book ends with the two kings kissing.
"One student said that it made them [at ease / uncomfortable] (12)________________, saying, ‘Well, [I've seen many / I've never seen two] (13)____________________ men marry each other,’" Currie told HuffPost. "I said: 'Well, it’s [normal / abnormal] (14)______________ to feel uncomfortable when you feel something new, but what is the moral? The moral is to treat people well, [no matter who they are / except if they are different] (15)_____________________.'"
Currie's decision was not [controversial / without controversy] (16)______________________. At least three parents filed formal complaints against the [teacher / book's author] (17)________________, leading to a meeting at the school last Friday to determine whether the book would be banned. About 200 people showed up to the meeting, with the majority of community members [supporting / questioning] (18)__________________ Currie's decision.
"The experience was very overwhelming in terms of the amount of support I received," he said.
However, a number of parents said they were [pleased / dismayed] (19)______________ to find out that Currie had read King & King to his students.
"[You're] infiltrating young minds, indoctrinating children into a gay agenda and actively promoting [heterosexuality / homosexuality] (20)___________________ to steer our children in that direction," parent Lisa Baptist said at Friday's meeting, according to WRAL.
"The comments that were most difficult were the ones from parents and community members saying that my kids [can / can't] (21)_________ handle this conversation," Currie told HuffPost. "These people are [appreciating / underestimating] (22)____________ my kids. I [know / don't know] (23)___________ what they’re capable of, how intelligent they are and how passionate they are. To say my kids couldn’t have a conversation about bullying was very [disgusting / rewarding] (24)________________ to me, quite honestly."
Currie said he [knows / does not know] (25)_____________ all too well the pains of being bullied at school. He said the classroom should be [a safe / an unsafe] (26)_________ environment for all children.
"Every single day in middle school I was called a faggot," he said. "I was called that in front of teachers [but most of them / and no one] (27)___________________ ever stopped to address the problem. It gave me an understanding that it must be fixed [immediately when it happens / later but never when it happens] (28)____________________."
The school board committee ultimately determined that the book [would not be banned / should be banned] (29)________________________, but that in the future, teachers must inform parents about [every book / most books] (30)_______________ they plan to read for their class. Currie said he [agrees / disagrees] (31)_______________ with the latter decision, but appreciates the love and support he has received.
"Three weeks ago, after I read the book, it was a very lonely experience, because I felt like I was standing by myself," he said. "On Friday, it [was / wasn't] (32)_________ just me standing up for what was right, it was all of us. That [was / wasn't] (33) __________ powerful."
TASK 3. CHECK YOUR ANSWERS
TASK 4. DISCUSS YOUR CHOICES
KEY: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/18/omar-currie-gay-fable_n_7306388.html
Handout available from https://sites.google.com/a/xtec.cat/sib-idiomes/videos/teachers/omar-currie
SOURCES:
http://www.newsmaxtv.com/live/show/midpoint/archive/?ooid=s4dXhhdTp1wR7Vknl8hgK9yN9EmI1Nig
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/18/omar-currie-gay-fable_n_7306388.HTML
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/community/chapel-hill-news/article21135498.HTML