Several photos of Temasek Junior College (TJC) General Paper (GP) notes about homosexuality have caused some uneasiness online.

The pictures, originally posted on HardwareZone forum, shows notes on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issue under the topic of ‘Discrimination’.

The notes discussed discrimination of the LGBT community in Singapore, particularly the criminalization of gay sex under Section 377A. It also highlighted issues surrounding the community in relation to religious opposition, as well as social norms that enforces ‘heteronormativity’.

A netizen said that the GP notes teaches that homosexuality is normal and a human right and felt that “(this) particular teacher has abused the trust that the school and parents has placed on him/her.”

Let's keep calm

However, a private GP tutor Kevin Seah noted in his blog post that “nothing in the photograph condones or promotes homosexuality.”

On the section that focuses on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Seah wrote that “the notes do not say that homosexuality should be accepted, they only observe that discrimination (unfair or unequal treatment) on the basis of sexual orientation violates the codes found in the UDHR”.

In other words, the teacher is not asking the students to agree that homosexuality should be accepted. The teacher leaves the student to decide for himself or herself whether or not homosexuals should be discriminated against.

Seah also observed that ‘teachers in Singapore, by and large, understand the sensitive nature of these topics, and teach our students so that they can satisfy the requirements of the syllabus.”

Photo from Temasek Junior College Facebook.

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