Two of my best teachers were gay men. I did have at least one lesbian teacher as well.
The lesbian teacher was fairly good, nothing special. She was let go from a convent, and was teaching at my prep school. We did not “know” she was a lesbian but now I have figured out that she was. As a kid, she was just a mannish lady who talked about football (ND) all the time. :)
My gay 5th grade teacher loved us kids. He put so much effort into our class. He did used to bust me for reading Nancy Drew books inside my school books, but other than that I really liked him, and so did the entire class. he made learning fun, and had fun with us. We had no idea that he was gay. He was single in his 40s and spoke with a soft lisp.
My gay high school teacher is still teaching. I adored him; he was one of the smartest people I’d ever met. Back then, he took some risks taking my girlfriend and I to plays and to dinners. He got us student tickets to serious plays downtown. He would have us meet him at his favorite restaurants (which were always in West Hollywood, so we definitely got what he was trying to hint to us). He did not pay for us.
He spoke to us with great respect, taught us so much about culture, and we ADORED him. Once, his friend (partner?) kind of outed him at the table by mentioning their little trip to Mexico. It was not a shock to us. We didn’t care he was gay. We thought the world of him. He took no advantage, and here he was going out with FEMALE students. If he did it to mask his sexuality, it sure didn’t seem like it. He laughed with us and found us at least somewhat good company.
There is a huge difference between "being who/what you are" and blatantly pushing the homoagenda and proselytizing.