August

Safe Spaces Making Schools and Communities Welcoming to LBGT Youth

Annemarie Vaccaro, Gerri August, and Megan S. Kennedy

"Classrooms lay the foundations for an inclusive and safe society; a just community where common interests and individual differences coexist. To the extent that teachers, school administrators, and college professors create an atmosphere in which difference is not only tolerated but expected, explored, and embraced, students will be more likely to develop perspectives that result in respectful behaviors. Without the deliberate creation of an inclusive atmosphere, however, what happens inside classroom walls reproduces the prejudices that exist outside these walls; straightness and gender conformity are assumed; LGBT identity is deviant."
- This quote it saying that classrooms should be welcoming and accepting to all students. The classrooms should be accepting of everyone's sexual orientation. The school administrators, college professors, teachers should work together to try and make their school and classrooms healthy and accepting of all students no matter what their sexual orientation is. If students were taught in the classroom that difference is not only tolerated but expected, explored and embraced, maybe they could use that knowledge outside of the classroom. This quote is relevant to the text because it's talking about classrooms and their impact on the students.

"One LGBT student reported that her college instructor compared homosexuality to be bestiality"

- I was disgusted when I read this. I don't understand how people can be so cruel. Like I get that some people may not agree with others sexual orientation or people may not like but to say something like that is so disgusting. Other peoples sexual orientation has nothing to do with everyone else so I don't get why it bothers some people. Clearly, this professor wasn't education on sexual orientation. If you don't agree or like it then you should keep those comments to yourself. It's sad that people have no regard for others feelings.

“Sexual orientation topics are entirely absent from nearly half our elementary teacher education programs in the United States. It is therefore unsurprising that LGBT people are largely absent from elementary curricula or classroom discussions.”

- This quote is relevant to the text because the article is talking about teachers,  lessons and their impact on students. I believe that sexual orientation should be taught in elementary school, this way students will become familiar with the LGBT community and will form the concept that sexual orientation or being transgender does not define you as a person. LGBT people should not be absent from elementary curricula or classroom discussions. They should be apart of everything just like everyone else. It's also good to learn about sexual orientation at a young age so they will understand growing up and be accepting of those who are LGBT.

Point to share: How do others feel about this topic? Do you think teachers should teach elementary school students about sexual orientation? Why or Why not?

Link to reading:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-JcBFAuLc-0SVJiRmNrcllrRlU/view