Case Study: Mr. Hooks

Mr. Hooks is a well-respected high school Social Studies teacher in a medium-sized city in the U.S. Midwest. He prides himself on teaching his mostly European American students about cultural and social diversity, and he has initiated a “no bullying” campaign in his school and classrooms, specifically targeting homophobia. He is aware of the gay slurs scribbled on bathroom walls and heard in classrooms and hallways. Many of the spoken comments are articulated by male athletes at the school, including the football and soccer players. Mr. Hooks has decided to infuse this no bullying campaign into his own World History curriculum and trace homosexuality throughout history. When one of his new students, a young man named Acklee who just immigrated