Let me say this flat out -- the decision of Chance Nalley to invite his seventh grade students to his commitment ceremony with his same-sex partner was wrong. What's more, I'll go so far as to call it unprofessional.

A self-proclaimed bisexual male teacher in New York has invited his seventh-grade students and their parents to witness his commitment ceremony to another man.

The New York Times reports 32-year-old Chance Nalley gave slips of paper to his entire seventh-grade class at Columbia Secondary School, inviting them to the upcoming ceremony to be held at St. Paul's Chapel on the campus of Columbia University on April 4. Nalley teaches math, science, and engineering at the school -- "whose mission statement includes a commitment to diversity," notes the Times. Nalley reportedly obtained his principal's support before coming out to his students in the fall of 2007, when the school opened.

It isn't the sexuality issue that I object to -- it is the question of the appropriate degree of separation that should exist between teacher and student. I've taught with any number of gay teachers over the year -- indeed, my best friend is one of them -- and I've been supportive of every one of them in their decision to be public or private about their sexuality. One of them was intensely private about his personal life, to the point that students knew nothing of his life outside of school. Another kept a framed photo of herself and her partner on her desk, and was honest about her orientation when asked by students. Others have fallen somewhere in the middle, depending with their own comfort level.

No, my concern is with issuing the invitation of the students to attend such an intimate event. Such an entanglement of the personal and professional strikes me as the blurring of the separation that needs to be maintained between teacher and student. I realize, of course, that there are times when such boundaries can and should be crossed -- after all, if a student is a neighbor or a friend of one's own child, this is unavoidable. But that isn't the case here.

I'm going to presume that Nalley was not seeking to make a political statement with the invitation, which is something I'd consider much worse. But even assuming the best of intentions, I still feel that the decision was the wrong one. On the other hand, showing pictures or even inviting his partner to meet the class would be just fine in my book -- just as it would with any straight couple.

Posted by: Greg at 03:01 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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