Gender/Sexuality within classrooms is something many schools struggle with and find it difficult to support students who are trans, non-binary, and those who have different sexualities.
We see this because many students still use slurs and harmful language to others who are different from what they view as normal, as well as many of the students who identify outside of heteronormative views feel unsafe attending school (this heavily affects LGBTQ+ Indigenous students the most). Obviously, this isn’t okay and will never be okay as it’s not a choice for the students but who they are. Looking at the survey, towards the end of the pdf there were recommendations for how we could improve and help speak out against oppression. The one I thought most important was providing support, as within school systems it’s very easy for students (specifically trans students) to not be getting what they need to thrive within schools. Another recommendation I found important was that we recognize the importance of compounding oppression. I find these two to be important as many teachers think it’s “not their problem” and that they already have enough to do without worrying about LGBTQ+, which is why it continues to be exceptionally hard to bring down harmful behavior. We as educators need to show our students that their actions are not okay, and we do that by calling students/teachers/administration out for. LGBTQ+ needs to be normalized in an appropriate way within schools as having no education about LGBTQ+ further solidifies the underlying curriculum in which there is little/no representation making students pick up that it’s not important
Hi Kari!
I can remember the many harmful slurs that my classmates used in high school and though some people spoke up about how wrong it was to use the words that they were, it continued to happen. It was because of the way the students spoke that I think many of the people in my school who did classify themselves as members of the LGBTQ+, never felt safe to come out in high school. I too think that teachers believe that they should not have to deal with addressing LGBTQ+ matters, and it is because of this, and the fact that educators are not doing anything about the discrimination, that it continues to take place in schools. It is our job as future educators to discuss sexuality, gender, and what it means to be part of the LGBTQ+ as doing so will help resolve the negative views that so many people have towards its members. Awesome post!
Jessica