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In her book Interrupting Hate: Homophobia in Schools and What Literacy Can Do About It, Mollie V. Blackburn makes many compelling statements regarding the treatment of LGBTQQ students in schools. She also explains many ways that teachers and community members can help these students and young people to combat the mistreatment and discrimination that they face. She provides examples and suggestions for teacher use when having LGBTQQ students in classes, as well as different ways that teachers can make sure that these students are treated fairly. I feel that Blackburn did a successful job at presenting, explaining, and defending her statement that LGBTQQ students are mistreated in schools, and at providing suggestions for how to aide the cause …show more content…
She described that LGBTQQ youth need both student and teacher allies at school in order to truly combat the homophobia that they may be facing. In order to be an ally, one cannot simply say “I don’t mind if someone is gay or lesbian,” but they have to actively combat the instances of homophobia as they see them. This goes for both students and teachers alike, according to Blackburn. For instance, if a teacher hears an epithet being said to a student and does not step in, they are not being an ally and are actually aiding in the homophobia, which may or may not be the intent. A teacher,(as well as students but a teacher has the most responsibility in the classroom) has to step in and confront the student who is doing the bullying in order for the message to be sent that, that behavior is unacceptable and deemed punishable. Teacher allies also have to provide examples of LGBTQQ literature in the classroom, or expose all students to LGBTQQ topics either by letting them choose their own books and include LGBTQQ books in the choices, or by requiring the entire class to read LGBTQQ books. I felt a good point was made in that allowing the students to choose books and including LGBTQQ books might cause problems because students may be afraid to choose those books for fear of being labeled or bullied, so that option would have to be carefully considered. By including information on how …show more content…
It helped me to understand that school can truly be a toxic and damaging place to these students who do not feel welcomed by their peers or even their teachers and administration. I have always considered myself to be a very open-minded, non-judgmental person, who has always supported gay and civil rights, but this book made me realize that it is not only being supportive of these issues that matters; it’s acting on that support that matters even more. Without action, support does not mean as much. I feel that this a topic that should be a requirement for every teacher today to receive training about. It is an issue that is prevalent and that we are seeing reports about on the news all to frequently- young children or teens committing suicide because of bullying. Teachers have to be aware and trained on how to deal with this topic so that these students do not feel so unwelcome in schools. While students play a major role in the bullying of LGBTQQ youth, students model the behavior that the teachers exhibit, so it begins with teachers showing the students the correct behaviors. If a teacher sees an instance of bullying in the school, they need to put an end to it- immediately. Not doing so is adding to the
Sabrina Rubin Erdely’s “School of Hate” is about a young girls experience growing up in a deeply conservative American state. Brittany Geldert has to endure the bullying that is unleashed upon her. No matter how traumatic the experience, it is ignored by the teachers. They betray Brittany by turning the other way on these issues. The wrong religious mindset appears to take paramount no matter how scandalous the ¨Bullying on LGBT¨ issues is in a modern day America. This is a great injustice to the people who have to endure this.
The ethos plays into her pathos as well: she has witnessed trigger warnings being used in her classes and in syllabi. She is involved in many safe space groups, and has seen teachers and administrators offer and spearhead many safe spaces on campus—even Dean Ellison, the author of the letter in question, is listed as a “safe space ally” on the website of the LGBTQ+ organization on campus
Once tolerance and acceptance is established and taught, bullying and harassment in secondary schools will significantly drop. Aside from the ineffectiveness of bullying programs, “Targets of bullying behaviors are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, and loss of self-esteem” (Domino, 2013). Not only are schools being ineffective with their programs, the students are facing the effects of this. “Research has advocated that individuals must work together to effectively reduce bullying practices within schools” (Jones and Augustine, 2015). By creating a kindness program, students will be taught to work together to solve problems, and, in the end, create a better society.
Jamie Nabozny is gay. Today the fact causes him few, if any, difficulties in life, however, throughout middle and high school Nabozny was both physically and verbally harassed; he was beaten, kicked, urinated on, called hurtful terms and abused to the point of hospitalization. However, the worst part of this innocent victim’s abuse was the role that his administration played, or rather refused to play; no action was taken to protect Nabozny despite the fact that school officials knew what was going on and had been repeatedly confronted about his abuse. In time the abuse Nabozny suffered led to doleful moods, severe depression, attempts of suicide, endeavors to run away from home, and other drastic consequences. Eventually, this young vigilante decided to fight back in order to prevent others from experiencing what he had gone through. Nabozny took legal action and, with the help of Lambda Legal Law firm, sued his former school officials for their failure to do their job of keeping him safe in school, eventually winning nearly a million dollars in a monetary settlement. Jamie Nabozny’s case has inspired the response of countless others and forced schools to take responsibility for their actions in bullying cases, because of this role model’s singular determination and readiness to stand up for himself, he has affected and inspired millions. Proving, once and for all, that one person can make a difference.
This article highlights the ways our school and district are failing these students. We proclaim to be an inclusive “place”, but truth be told we are only comfortable if you conform to our definition of “normal”. The article suggests that, at the elementary level, we can include literature that features different family structures as an introduction to acceptance of differences. Last year, our library had a picture book, And Tango Makes Three, about two male penguins that were in a relationship and wanted to start a family like the other penguin couples. The minute the “content” was brought to our librarian’s attention, the book magically disappeared from the shelf. The issue was brought up before a faculty meeting, and the majority of the faculty agreed with the book being pulled from the shelf. The sad part is that we do have a couple of children within the school who have a family structure that resembles the characters in the book. I was lucky to grow up in a household that did not discriminate based on color, religion, socioeconomics, gender, or sexual orientation, but I learned quickly that my views are not similar to those of my peers. Here in South Mississippi, we are “behind the times” and not aligned with the rest of the nation when it comes to meeting the needs of LGBT students. How do we even attempt to close that gap when so many of the teachers and administrators do not agree with or believe in the “life style and choices of” LGBT
Almost immediately we are faced with the conflict of everyday life for Brittany, and as she enters the main setting of the story and a place that should be a safe environment she is immediately besieged. The author, using simple diction, describes another morning at school for Brittany where we see how her classmates attack her verbally with derogatory terms such as “Dyke” and “Whore”(Erdly 253). Because of this and other more physical bullying we see a safe setting become a source of anxiety and fear, and instead of combating the problem the school district does nothing. In clearly understandable writing Erdely deciphers the situation and relates to us how the school district passed a regulation effectively stating that staff “shall remain neutral on matters regarding sexual orientation” (Erdely 264). Effectively preventing children in need of guidance and role models from reaching out. The author uses an easily relatable setting, common vernacular, a clear point of view and familiar events to highlight the issues in this essay. Those issues detail the conflict that LGBTQ children face from people that don’t empathize with them, and understand that just because of who they are doesn’t mean that they aren’t still children in
Approximately 300 million people live in the United States, and of the 300 million people, nine million people have identified themselves as homosexual. This number could be even higher since not every individual has identified themselves as homosexual. At least nine million people are subject to prejudice, hatred, or discrimination because of stereotypes society has placed on them. Stereotyping has led to discrimination, hatred, and prejudice of homosexuals. This extreme and irrational aversion toward homosexuality or homosexuals is called homophobia and is a major social problem.
No one should have to be judged by what they want to be whether it is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or hetero-sexual we are all the same no matter what we feel on the inside. All most all schools say a girl cannot play a boy sport because they will get hurt; girls should be able to play whatever sport they want to know matter what the outcome may be. Also, every school has the rule no sexual relationship between teacher and students because they follow the rule of boundaries between teacher and student. Do you agree that students and teachers should not be able to date each other? Do you all agree that people should be allowed to date whoever they want? Do you hate feminism or do you agree with feminism? If we let these issues go with kids will continue to stay in the closet, never becoming who they truly are meant to be, and a teacher will hurt a
Kolbert, Crothers, Bundick, Wells, Buzgon, Berbary and Senko (2015) explore bullying of LBGTQ youth from teachers' perspectives. It is acknowledged that bullying is a concern for many children and teens, but as an LBGTQ youth, the odds increase dramatically. It is crucial to get educators' perspectives according to Kolbert et al. (2015) because school environments are shaped by adults. A multitude of LBGTQ students report bullying to educators and do not see action, which creates a fear of confiding. A shocking fact in the article is how uncomfortable most teachers are dealing with LBGTQ based bullying, due to the fear of losing their jobs or reactions of the parents. Teachers also feel unequipped to deal with LBGTQ subjects and lack training. This article will provide evidence for LBGTQ bullying in school systems within the theme of LBGTQ youth being viewed as other. It examines how teachers see conflict and how students feel approaching authority with
Gay rights are a common topic in today 's news. All over the world people with these sexualities are having them taken away. The reason for all this is mostly due to the fact that people aren’t used to people having different sexualities. Children grow up very close-minded to the idea of people loving the same gender. If we can open the minds of the young then we can help stop this problem and help the poorly treated obtain the rights they deserve. The best way to do this, I believe, is starting with Children.
The movie “It’s Elementary” does a great job showing the positivity reaction kids have to presenting LGBT issues in the school system. The documentary showed that all age groups can benefit from these lessons. For example, a heterosexual, 8th grade social studies teacher felt it was very important to teach his students to be respectful and not afraid of their sexuality. This teacher started his lesson by asking students to share stereotypes. He then related these stereotypes to LGBT issues. One student shared with the class that he uses slurs “out of ignorance”. This
Homosexual adolescents learn from an early age that “survival depends on self-concealment (Sullivan, 2008).” Sullivan illustrates the internal struggle of the homosexual adolescent with a powerful statement, stating “...that which would give him the most meaning is most likely to destroy him in the eyes of others; that the condition of his friendships is the subjugation of himself (Sullivan, 2008).” The use of the word destroy is a haunting acknowledgement to the bullying that occurs throughout our schools and social media sites. The notion that homosexual adolescents don’t simply keep his or her sexual orientation private, but suppress this aspect of his or her being is detrimental to developing a strong sense of self. Sullivan’s description of the experience of growing up as someone “profoundly different in emotional and psychological makeup” reiterates how challenging it is for...
(Main Point) Students should not be bullied or harassed for any reason including their characteristics, appearance, or sexual orientation. (Evidence) People do not have control over these aspects, so they should not be harassed for them. People need to understand that everyone is unique, including the oppressors, and they
Baker, Jean M. How Homophobia Hurts Children: Nurturing Diversity at Home, at School, and in the Community. New York: Harrington Park, 2002. Print.
On the afternoon of April 9, 2010 I found myself in a meeting with Kerri Evans, the assistant principal of Pleasant Ridge Middle School, and my son Nicholas. I was there because my son had become a victim of verbal abuse. It was shocking to learn that bullying has become such an epidemic in our school system. “Nearly 1 in 3 students is involved in bullying” (Hertzog, 2010). In a perfect world there would be no bullying. Kids wouldn’t get shoved into lockers, and they wouldn’t be beat up in the hallway. Students wouldn’t talk about another student behind their back because of their shape, size, race, or religion. In a perfect world this wouldn’t happen, but at that moment in our imperfect world it was happening to my son. The question is, why does it happen and what can we do to stop it? “According to a 2009 federal survey of school crime and safety, 32 percent of middle and high school students said they'd been victimized during the academic year, compared with 14 percent in 2001” (Tyre, 2010). Bullying was making its way into my home and affecting my life. It was then that I realized that bullying was a problem that needed to stop. Bullying in schools is escalating and becoming a bigger and bigger issue, and we must take action to eliminate it.