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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 4, 2002)
January 4 .2002 • ÿ a l a r i j 13 nTiïîTTTÏÏTRTïnews uring the six years Sima Teherani taught at Hidden Valley High School in southern Oregon, her classroom became a haven for the Lesbian parent determined to protect children “different" kids. W hen she was their age, “I guess I always rooted for the underdog.” in Portland middle schools by Jack Turteltaub Bom in San Francisco hut raised in Portland, make the sometimes difficult Teherani has accomplished a great deal since transition to middle school, the late 1980s. She moved to Ashland, where where “fitting in” and peer she finished her undergraduate degree in English at Southern Oregon State College. pressure become paramount concerns. Still in the devel She also married, became the mother of two opmental stage, the program daughters and worked as a teacher in Grants involves working with three Pass. She later completed a master’s degree at different middle schools in W estern O regon University, taking long the Portland Public Schools distance summer classes. district. It was during her stint as an educator that She says she is considering Teherani begin to develop a stronger sense of a number of ideas. O ne of herself and of the priorities that now have these involves having middle become so integral in her work. She says she school student mentors who usually could recognize the gay and lesbian would form relationships with youths who came to her classroom to hang out. third-graders to prepare them Like kids everywhere, they were trying to for the transition. escape the pervasive prejudice and the everyday She recognizes that this is hassles they encountered because they didn’t fit an unusual and ambitious pro into their peer group. She recognized these stu gram. She knows only a few dents often were ostracized simply because they schools and fewer districts were perceived as different. help kids in sexual minority O n a trip to Florida, Teherani met and fell in families combat peer preju love with a woman. She soon decided to quit dice and stereotypes about what constitutes a meetings at Love Makes a Family, a Portland- teaching, separate from her husband and move “normal” family. based group that helps sexual minority parents. hack to Portland, where she hoped to work on Teherani also has translated her passions into She later became a member of the board, her new identity and her new relationship. then served as president until last summer. Step intense volunteer work on a number of projects She also wanted to address her health issues. at Irvington Elementary, where her daughters are ping down from that post, she now works for the She had developed multiple sclerosis, and “it got enrolled. She just finished a term as co-president organization 30 hours a week through an worse each year.” of the school's PTA. AmeriCorps-funded position. Teherani worried about how her two young O ne project involves painting murals in Irv T eherani’s most recent project at Love daughters would feel about having a lesbian ington’s four main bathrooms through the vol Makes a Family will help elementary school kids mother. She and the children started attending M other K nows B est D Free Seminar for the GLBT Community Beyond Borden "The 2001 Tax Law: a Personal, Business Fairly Traded Handcraft and Organic Coffee and Estate Plannin 3 Preview o f the Benefits " Here’s What You’ll Find Out: ; V ». * An overview of the 2001 Tax Law— with emphasis on the unique benefits and challenges facing the GLBT Community • How to avoid the legal prejudices many individuals in the GLBT com m unity face • How to protect your partner s right to visit you in the hospital and ensure that family m em bers permit visitation Tuesday, January 29,h 6:30-8:30 p.m. 10700 SW Allen Blvd. Beaverton KENNEDY SCHOOL Thursday, January 31st 6:30-8:30 p.m. 5736 NE 33rd Portland D inner will be served a n d there’s plen ty o f free parking Portland free-lance writer, coach and psychologist JACK TURTELTAUB may be reached at turteltO^e-z net. W estover H eights C L I N I C W W W Offering general internal medicine and excelling in sexual health care OKU TUESDAY M M i Sewing lbe community for 17 yea ro 7780-B W Capitol Hwy. In Multnomah Village kywd iirtm tt* aih «rtmrç ima* 2330 NW Flanders •Suite 207 # IV hrxVtr iKKty tatmutawl I k . n i Motor ttv Far fr* Frinxm 503 226-6678 - • How to ensure your estate records will remain private and confidential, protecting both you and your partner \ GREENWOOD INN unteer recruitment of Portland artists who she hopes will work with the kids. She envisions the adults helping translate the students’ ideas into something uplifting and inspiring. Irvington’s new principal says Teherani has a reputation as a facilitator and an activist. Cyn thia MacLeod describes her as a “very supportive parent, eager and willing to help and get any thing accomplished in the school.” A nd Teherani’s advocacy doesn’t stop just with children who come from sexual minority families. Her concern extends to others in unconventional living situations: “grandparents raising children, adopted kids, children with physical and/or emotionally handicaps, children of biracial couples.” Some are sons or daughters who will grow up to become gay or trans. O thers have two daddies or a lesbian mother— like herself—at home. So how do her daughters understand and deal with their family situation these days? Teherani says that they are accepting but that it still can be hard because “sometimes the girls just want me to be living with a man.” Does that mean her children want her to change? “I think they want me to be happy. They know about me, and when I had a lover, they accepted having two mommies and a daddy.” But Teherani would like to see a world in which her girls could grow up knowing it is OK to be different. 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