Jewaira's Boudoir

I was taken aback by a tiny article that appeared in the Kuwait Times (May 24th, 2008 p.3) and I found the original article referred to in Al-Watan:

Gays: Study blames female teachers

KUWAIT: A specialized team has finalized a study of homosexuality in Kuwait. The study was submitted to the Ministry of Education because it linked homosexuality with the fact that the Ministry of Education employed female teachers in primary schools. According to the study the “gay phenomenon” had rapidly increased after the “feminizing of the teaching staff in primary schools.”

The study warned the Ministry against employing female teachers because it said that male pupils are being affected by the behaviour of their female teachers and they are imitating these teachers. The study went further and suggested that the Ministry revert to the old system where by male teachers the male pupils and female teachers teach female pupils.

Added to this, the study found that the problem was compounded by the fact that parents did not show as much interest in their kids, reported Al-Watan. It pointed out that many families depend on maids to raise their kids rather than parents.

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I have not seen this study but it appears to me to be faulty:

1) I have been in primary schools where all the staff was female and I saw some pretty tough women

2) Female teachers are stricter and more demanding than male teachers and better teachers overall (my own impressions)

3) There is a shortage of Kuwaiti male teachers at the middle school and high school levels. How is the Ministry of Education going to provide male Kuwaiti elementary teachers?

4) Don’t tell me that is an excuse to import more expatriate teachers; don’t get me wrong but the quality of teaching and teachers in male schools in intermediate and secondary government schools leaves MUCH to be desired (again from experience) whether by expatriate (burned out) or local Kuwaiti teachers (very lax)

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Now this study is assuming that homosexuality is an acquired trait and that in my opinion is debatable.

However, lets assume that a boy develops “gay” attributes because of his surroundings and lack of a proper role model:

1) Where is the father??? Is he around much? Is he a proper role model for a responsible macho male? Or is he always off with his buddies or sitting around in various cafes?

2) If the father is not around much, then the boy is being brought up by the mother – a female (and hopefully the child is not being brought up by the maid – another female who is from a totally different culture)

I would like to know more about how this study was carried out. Did they have accurate figures of how rampant homosexuality was before female teachers were introduced into primary school? How did they gather information and determine who was the homosexual in the sample studies?

There was talk before that females were to teach in primary schools as a solution to employment logistics: there were too many female teachers graduates and not enough male graduates. In addition, it was maintained that female teachers would be better at developing a children’s learning skills in a more nurturing environment.

I fervently hope that those responsible in the Ministry of Education do not base any impulsive decisions on the results of this questionable study.