Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Group Discussion about Boy Meets Boy

Today my group and I had a discussion about the book, Boy Meets Boy. Our discussion was very productive and I feel that everyone was able to express their feelings about the book. Everyone raised many intriguing questions for their paper. One thing that we talked about in regards to this book was that it may portray inaccurate portrayals of the gay lifestyle. Even though this book seemed to be set in a 'perfect' community, it isn't realistic. If a child is reading this book, it gives them the impression that all societies feel similar to the gay lifestyle, when it reality they don't. We felt that if this book was taught in a classroom, then it needs to be addressed by the teacher this type of lifestyle and that it isn't accepted as much as it is in this book. It is only fair for the children to be aware that this doesn't happen everywhere.
We also brought up the idea of actually teaching this book in our classrooms. I feel that this book wouldn't be necessary for elementary school. It might be reasonable for 6th grade, but nothing lower. It would be more necessary for middle/high school. The teacher would also have to use his/her discretion as to whether or not to even use it in their classroom. There could be a lot of unwanted feedback from administration/parents/community.
The discussion that we had was very informative because I was interested in seeing how everyone else felt about the book. I am still indifferent on how I feel about the book, but it was nice to hear other people's viewpoints on it.

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