Ostensibly, nonfiction - Essay Example

Non-Fiction and ivity In the article “Gay Marine's Husband Surprised at Respect Shown by Naval Academy,” the Neil Steinberg shows his subjectivity through framing of the story. The nonfiction article is about Mark Ketterson's experiences after his partner John Fliszar died; Steinberg begins by talking about a heart attack that Fliszar suffered four years before his death, showing the reader his own empathy for the couple and foreshadowing his approval of the Naval Academy's respectful, unprejudiced treatment of them.

Indeed, further down the article, Steinberg uses an informal tone and understatement to share with the reader his beliefs on homosexuality, and his contempt for those who think that Fliszar's and Ketterson's marriage was morally wrong. The “Navy communications specialists” who have not yet suggested an alternative to DADT are specifically ridiculed. Steinberg emanates a feeling of frustration with this failure, rather than a simple statement of the facts, meaning that people of a similar belief will laud this article whereas people of different belief will condemn it.

(See Appendix for the article.) As a teacher using a strict curriculum, it is sometimes difficult to reconcile personal beliefs with teaching materials. I have found my personal beliefs challenged as a teacher both by the administration, the curriculum and even the students – once, a fifth-grade boy came to my lesson wearing red lipstick. As the person in charge, I had to defend that particular student's choice to the rest of the children, and not allow them to tease him for it. It was not a situation I ever imagined myself in but I am proud of how I handled it.

I foresee that my subjectivity on food and eating issues could impact my teaching, although I (obviously!) think that this would be a good thing for my students. I believe that food is not inherently moral, and that labelling certain foods “good” or “bad” is a destructive way of viewing an enjoyable activity which is absolutely necessary to life. My opinion is that fat and health are not as directly related as we are lead to believe; that both fat and thin people can be healthy or unhealthy.

This subjectivity should, hopefully, rarely affect my curriculum, although it is almost unavoidable that eating disorders will affect my students. One time it was brought to a head when I had to use the word 'diet,' and a storyline based on denying oneself food, to third-grade students. I asked the students what 'diet' meant, and when they responded with predictable answers such as “exercise,” “thin” and “healthy”, I told them that the word only referred to what you ate, and that it was often used to mean 'not eating certain foods'.

I emphasized, briefly, that there are associations between 'diet' and the definitions they had suggested, but they are not the same thing. I then continued with the class as specified in the curriculum. Subjectivity can be a problem when teaching, and there are some other issues which I would not allow to cloud my judgment in a classroom, particularly sexual and reproductive issues. But at the same time I think it is worthwhile to expose students to different beliefs from a young age. I hope to use my subjectivity to equip my students with the tools they need to create their own subjectivities, rather than to persuade them to my way of thinking.

Works Cited Steinberg, Nick. (2011, March 1). Gay Marine's Husband Surprised at Respect Shown by Naval Academy. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved from http://www.suntimes.com/3526027-417/ketterson-academy-naval-usna-fliszar.html Appendix Gay Marine's Husband Surprised by Respect Shown by Naval Academy by Neil Steinberg John Fliszar had a heart attack in 2006 and was rushed to Illinois Masonic Medical Center. “When I was in the emergency room with him, he asked me to promise him, if he died, to make sure his ashes were interred in the Naval Academy,” said Mark Ketterson.

“He loved that place. He very much wanted to be there.” Fliszar, a Marine aviator who served two tours in Vietnam, survived that heart attack. But last July the Albany Park resident suffered another one that killed him at age 61. … I tried to find someone who could speak for the Navy as a whole, but with whatever era replaces “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’’ still in its infancy, well, let’s say that Navy communications specialists are not jostling each other for the chance to address this subject.

… (The rest of the article is available at http://www.suntimes.com/3526027-417/ketterson-academy-naval-usna-fliszar.html)