The action project that I decided to do was organizing a survey about homophobic bullying for the students of David Suzuki Secondary School (DSSS). The survey included questions such as, how do you feel about homosexuality? What would you do if your best friend is gay? And many more that circulate around the topic of homophobia. The survey was done well with over 90% of people stating that homosexuality does not bother them and it should not be their business anyways. After the survey was conducted I took pictures of various students holding up a ‘Love Wins’ sign to show everybody who is of the LGBTQ community that DSSS is for the most part a safe and loving community with people who accept everybody. One of the biggest strengths of the action project was the fact that the questions in the survey were …show more content…
One weakness of the action project is another social media could have been created to display the topic and gather more attention towards it. An Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook account could have been created to share the thoughts of the individuals of DSSS and to advertise pictures and videos online. It would have got more attention as a lot of teenagers currently do have more than one social media and use it frequently. Another weakness was that the participation of the people who took the survey were almost only grade 12 students and did not include those of the other grades. This was a major weakness as most of the population of grade 12s are mature and do accept and welcome everyone. This could have been avoided as the survey could have been advertised around the school and lunch periods more. Another way the Action Project could have been improved on was to make a documentary that broadcasted everything an LGBTQ person goes through every day in their life. It could have ranged from the difficultly of choosing which washroom to use to coming out to their
[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
Ethical concerns, such as making sure to get parental consent of the minor participants and making sure students were aware of voluntary participation, were addressed and helped to meet ethical guidelines as outlined in ACA (2014) ethical standards. The researchers addressed a cultural strategy by including a question about students’ sexual orientation instead of just their gender identification (Hinduja & Patchin, 2013). This could help the gay, lesbian, bisexual, or questioning students feel that they are being heard because they are represented in the data. Also, the researchers wanted to obtain a sample representative of the diverse population and utilized random sampling and a large
Not for an evanescent second should a single child/teen be judged,bullied,or ignored due to their sexallity or gender idenification. In every school the students should never feel unsafe, if they do it means that they won’t focus and they might not even show up. LGBT youth should be treated the same as their peers, to do so is to show acceptance and safety. This school year the Smithville High school created a new club appropriately titled “The Gay Straight Alliance”. Showing students that Smithville High School is an open minded and accepting place even though it might not always seem like it. Clubs such as this are allowing for all types of students to join forces and better their experience. It’s clubs and movements like this that should be spread across the nation as it will better the country and show those around the world that they can be wholeheartedly free. Although there are schools showing support it is still an issue in public settings such as stores. The biggest “issue” is bathrooms, should transgender people use the bathroom of their biological gender or the one they identify by? It’s honestly stupid of people to try arguing about a person's right to use a public porcelain bowl that holds water. The bathrooms in stores are public property not private, therefore, if a male to female or female to male trans human being wants to use the bathroom of their choice the they
My goal since beginning high school has been to create a safer school environment for LGBTQ students. Although the climate has become much more tolerant, bullying and discrimination are still rampant in the hallways, the classrooms and the Facebook statuses of students at my school.
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.
Many social workers have had minimal training and preparation in servicing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Questioning (LGBTQ) clients. It is not uncommon or unlikely that even the most seasoned practitioner will display some form of negative bias or utilize misinformation with assisting these clients. Because the Universe and the norms are steadily changing and evolving we as social workers must do the same to better assist our clients especially our oppressed populations. This research paper will provide an in depth look at the LGBTQ community, in particular the adolescent victimization of LGBTQ students in a school setting. Research suggests that youth who identify as LGBTQ are at greater risk of suicidal thoughts, suicidal attempts,
Most LGBT youth become happy with who they are which gives them room to thrive during their adolescent years. Attending a school that has a safe and comfortable environment for every student is especially important. Positive environments can help all youth achieve good grades and maintain good mental and physical health. However, some youths are more likely than their straight peers to experience bad health and life outcomes. Experiences with violence, compared to other students, come easy to LGBT individuals that can cause increased risks for unfortunate circumstances.‘Violence’ includes behaviors such as teasing, harassment, and physical assault. It is important that students at risk have access to resources and support to deal with any questions or challenges they may have or face as they mature. Surveyed LGBT students reported 10% were threatened or injured, 34% were bullied, and 28% were bullied electronically.
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).
To expect greatness in any field of life, it all starts from a place of quality education and that's what America has constantly strived for. School is the place where everyone is given equal opportunity to learn and shape himself or herself into contributing members of society. At the same time each individual’s academic success defines what it means to have a good life. Unfortunately, schools face lots of problems trying to do the right thing. Among major challenges that schools face, bullying has a strong attribution to the poor academic experience among student victims. Today, students still risk being bullied everyday. This paper studies bullying in secondary school with
For my award, I decided on the topic of the LGBTQ+ community, and specifically helping students who are in the community. This topic has, I believe, become even more important with recent current events. Despite whatever alternative facts that may be presented, members of the community, especially the young ones, are scared and worried for their future and what may happen to their rights. I am planning a number of things to help out, the most important being the panel that will take place in May. For this event, I will be inviting the eighth graders from North’s sending districts. I tried to directly help out at CTMS, but was ultimately turned away. I may also be helping to start up a group for LGBTQ+ students outside of school, with the help of a former
Bully: One who is habitually cruel to smaller or weaker people (The American Heritage Dictionary 2007). An aggressive person who intimidates or mistreats weaker people, (Encarta dictionary, 2012).
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
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.
Hoover, J.H., Oliver, R.L., and Thomson, K.A (1993). Perceived victimzation by school bullies: New research and future direction