Core Values And The Identity-Supportive Classroom Summary

[The Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) organization at my high school, which meets twice per month, generated a list of concerns that they shared with school administration. The focus was specifically about gender identity, the lack of support from school staff, and the daily scrutiny they face as a result of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Through collaboration with my colleagues it was evident that there had been an increase in teacher and student referrals surrounding gender identity. The feedback from GSA clearly identified that as a school we are not meeting the needs of our LGBT students and those struggling with sexual orientation. Members of the GSA clearly feel that teachers ignore negative comments like “gay” and “faggot” when they hear them in class, that teachers may not clearly understand gender neutral language, and that our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) students do not feel safe and protected in school. Students needed support advocating for their right to use a restroom, correct pronoun, etc., requiring district, community, parent, and colleague

In the documentary, Noah, an 18 year old male to female transgender, many people in school ask question about her gender over and over again. Because of the harassment, many tend to drop out from school. “Harassment and bullying lead almost one-third of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning) students to drop out of high school” (T Salazar). For most of them dropping out from school means working at a lower wage. Or even worse they became homeless. Some people argue that we should create a separate school of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students. However critics say that it means of “segregation or shielding the youth from the real world.” Giving a class about LGBT people in schools might be the solution, since students then will be aware of it. Education about LGBT people teaches not only students, but also the whole generation. Therefore, schools should be the primary targets to teach the society about LGBT

School psychologists must help create and foster an environment that educates administrators, teachers, and non LGBT students. Many lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender youth do not feel safe in school. Sexual minority students may suffer harassment (verbal and/or physical) from teachers and peers. As a result, they may experience more absences than heterosexual students. In addition, LGBT youth may turn to drugs and alcohol as a means of coping with the stressful school environment (Patterson 2013, p.192). Many will contemplate or even commit suicide.

Education is an important factor in life in order to thrive, but LGBT students face harassment in school due to their identity. According to a Human Rights report conducted in 2001, two million American students in the LGBT

After reading week 13’s article by Coiser (2009) I agreed with the teachers who were served that said they would intervene if a queer student felt a problem was arising at school. The sad thing is that Coiser (2009) states that students from queer families do not feel confident that their teachers would intervene if a problem arises. This made me think back to my previous comment about how I am unaware of the queer families at

Supported by my high school principle, I researched the topic, created and presented a multimedia workshop to the Roslyn School District faculty discussing positive interventions for LGBTQ youth facing discrimination. The purpose of the training was to increase awareness of LGBTQ youth, to identify language that supports inclusion, and to offer interventions that address bias and discrimination in school settings.

In “We must celebrate gender and sexual diversity in our schools” published in The Conversation, February 16 2016, Lucy Nicholas argues that the current commentary on the LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex) community against schools and the SSC (Safe Schools Coalition) is extremely out of touch. Many of youths already understand their sexuality, whether it be heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual.

The LGBT community has always been a topic that many do not recognize go through serious issues such as suicide. Being a middle schooler or high schooler can be very stressful especially when you feel you’re an outcast because of your sexual orientation. That is why implementing programs or even activities can provide individuals with the information they need to be more aware of what type of people are around them. This could also help LGBT students feel more comfortable interacting.

GSA groups have been around since the 1980’s and according to the Gay-Straight Alliance Network there are currently over 4,000 school based groups throughout the United States (Currie, Mayberry, and Chenneville, 2012; Tommey, Ryan, Diaz, and Russell, 2011). GSA groups came out of the Gay Rights Movement during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Adolescents identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) or align within the context of this spectrum have been victims of bullying, discrimination, prejudice, persecution, and hate within the school system. For one decade, between 1999 and 2009, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in the United States asking students to describe their high school milieu. According to the findings, 61% of LGBT students feel unsafe, 72% report hearing degrading comments, 85% are verbally harassed, and 40% are physically harassed (Fetner, Elafros, Bortolin, and Drechsler, 2012). The statistics for minority high school students including Latinos and African Americans had slightly elevated rates in both verbal and physical harassment. It was not until the realization that LGBT adolescents, like other adolescents, spend the majority of their time within the confines of the American public education system and suffer, did acknowledgement of creating a safe space for LGBT students develop (Toomey et. al, 2011).

Inequities facing the LGBTQ community will take a long time to resolve. However, by implementing an inclusive health curriculum and giving knowledge to students about the LGBTQ community, we can combat bias and discrimination in schools. In schools, students are given foundational knowledge that will be useful to them in the future.

Emily: I chose to attend the LGBTQ Education Conference in Seattle, WA. This conference was primarily directed towards educators and administrational support staff within academic settings, and was hosted by the SAFE Schools organization of Washington State. The objective that SAFE Schools sought in this conference was to introduce educators and school support staff to the history of the LGBTQ community, as well as to offer a tool box of skills that they can pull from to create the safest learning environment possible for students who align with a LGBTQ orientation (Safe Schools, n.d.). During the conference, a panel of educators discussed current issues their schools are facing, and how they

Homophobia is a historic institution that has impacted the experience of many educators over the years. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans* (hereinafter referred to as queer and trans*) educators, administrators, students, and staff have always been a part of shaping America's schools; however, they have often learned creative strategies for remaining in the closet in order to protect themselves from “ostracism, parental outrage, punishment, and even dismissal” (Blount, 2005, p. 1). Riling against social shifts of (non-)acceptance, there have been documented cases dating back to the mid-1800s where educators have written letters to same-gender partners expressing their sexual and emotional desires. Blount (2005) specifically mentions that Addie

Sexual orientation and gender identity are two things that members of the LGBTQ community often fear opening up about. They fear that they will be rejected or harmed because of who they are, and it is important that we make all aspects of our society a safe place for every human being, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. As School-based risk and protective factors for gender diverse and sexual minority children and youth: Improving school climate explained, “64% of students feel unsafe at school because of sexual orientation prejudice, and 44% feel unsafe at school because of gender expression” (American Psychological Association). Therefore, schools in America should be making a conscious effort to make their buildings a safe, comfortable place for members of the LGBTQ community. Schools can do several things to promote the

I believe teachers innately assume a corrective role in their interaction with students who exhibit gay or lesbian tendencies. Teachers are so accustomed to assuming roles and wearing various hats when dealing with their students. Teachers spend countless hours helping students learn to problem solve. Gay and lesbian tendencies are view as a problem especially in the elementary school years when students are at their purest and are naïve about the world and its expectations of them. In a teacher’s eyes boys should be playful, rough, and tough. Girls should be cute, prissy, and giggly. When teachers encounter children who are outside of their assumed roles they automatically try to correct them by saying things: “little girls/boys shouldn’t behave that way or little boys/girls shouldn’t walk like that or wear their clothes like that.” Teachers unconsciously and some consciously, devote a great deal of time trying to correct those undesired tendencies, which often leads to embarrassment or berating of the student(s). How teachers interact with these students is an area that needs to be explored.

Many students may feel hesitant to speak out against anti-gay slurs out of fear of being persecuted themselves. In the U.K. a series of surveys commissioned by Stonewall reported that as many as 93 percent of young gay, lesbian and bisexual people who are ‘‘out’’ at school suffer verbal abuse (Thurlow, 2001). It is evident that it is not a coincidence the LGBTQ youth face the most harassment of any minority at school.