Getting Ready for Benjamin

Rita M. Kissen is associate professor of teacher education and women's studies at the University of Southern Maine. She is the author of The Last Closet: The Real Lives of Lesbian and Gay Teachers.

• Part 1 Surveying the LandscapeChapter 2 The Challenges of Gay Topics in Teacher Education: Politics, Content, and PedagogyChapter 3 "But No One in the Class is Gay": Countering Invisibility and Creating Allies in Teacher Education ProgramsChapter 4 What do we do in Physical EducationChapter 5 "Pedophiles and Deviants": Exploring Issues of Sexuality, Masculinity and Normalization in the Lives of Male Teacher CandidatesChapter 6 Homophobia in the Schools: Student Teachers' Perceptions and Preparation to RespondChapter 7 Education by Association: The Shortcomings of Discourses of Privacy and Civility in Anti-Homophobia EducationChapter 8 The Gay Ghetto in the Geography of Education TextbooksPart 9 "Add LGBT And STIR": Multiculturalism and Sexual DiversityChapter 10 "Talking about Inclusion like it's for Everyone": Sexual Diversity and the Inclusive Schooling MovementChapter 11 Re-visioning Multiculturalism in Teacher Education: Isn't it Queer?Chapter 12 Queer Developments in Teacher Education: Addressing Sexual Diversity , Homophobia and HeterosexismChapter 13 Getting to the Heart of Teaching for DiversityPart 14 Telling Our StoriesChapter 15 How My Teacher Preparation Program FailedChapter 16 Visibility, Invisibility, and "The Thickness of Non-Diversity": What I learned from KarenChapter 17 Heteronormativity and Common-sense in Science (teacher) EducationChapter 18 "I was Afraid He Would Label Me Gay If I Stood Up For Gays" The Experience of Lesbian and Gay Elementary Education Credential Candidates at a Rural State UniversityChapter 19 Teacher Educators and the Multicultural Closet: The Impact of Gay and Lesbian Content on an Undergraduate Teacher Education SeminarChapter 20 Can of Worms: A Queer TA in Teacher EdChapter 21 I'm Every Woman: Multiple Identities as Part of the Diversity CurriculumChapter 22 Campus Dyke Meets Teacher Education: A Marriage Made In Social Justice HeavenPart 23 Afterword

This groundbreaking collection, written by preeminent educational scholars, theorists, and practitioners, will forever redefine how current and future generations of teachers, school administrators, and pre-service teacher educators view issues of sexual and gender diversity in overall teacher training programs and classroom pedagogy. It will help to end the often-deadening silence by setting a higher standard for the promotion of truly democratic schooling within a larger diverse society. Getting Ready for Benjamin will go a long way in helping our schools welcome not only Benjamin, but also Sally and Khyati, Carla and Kalman, Nehal, Dachia, Courtney, Bob, and Kenji, as well as all their many peers.