Teachers who lie, homosexuality andr Catholic Schools?
WHEN they first moved in together, Mike* and his partner, who were both Catholic school teachers in Sydney , took some unusual steps to conceal their sexuality. ''We set up our house with two bedrooms so if any colleagues came over we could pretend we were just flatmates,'' he said. Mike now works in an independent school, where he is open with staff, though not students, about his sexuality. His partner, who still works in the Catholic system, is more guarded. ''He's not able to take a day off work if I am sick. He has to be very guarded as to who he reveals his lifestyle to.'' Fairfax Media spoke to several gay Catholic school teachers in NSW and Victoria about the effect of exemptions for religious organisations from anti-discrimination laws. All said they hid their sexuality to varying degrees for fear of how it would affect their careers. Another teacher, Rob*, described the situation as a ''don't ask, don't tell kind of