In our curriculum and in our schools, homophobia, transphobia and heteronormativity reign supreme. Topics such as homosexuality, gender dysphoria or anything related to sexuality or gender go undiscussed. Schools have been slammed for this in recent years and change has been requested. The question is: how do we promote and create change?
One of the first things we can do is discuss these topics with students. By creating an open and safe environment for all students, change will be able to occur. Advocating for change in your schools is also a major way to evoke change. This not only will make school safer and more welcoming for students, but also shows students they are supported.
Another step that goes beyond simply teachers is the curriculum. In topics regarding relationships, sexual health and safety and families only heterosexual relationships are mentioned. By including resources, literature and websites that discuss different forms of families and relationships, students are more included. This creates safety for students who may be homosexual, have two parents of the same gender, or who are just curious in general.
Small things in your classroom can make the biggest difference. Having signs of support, correcting your language and incorporating different perspectives into the class can change so much. These small actions can make students more comfortable and know they are accepted in the classroom. Once these small things are added, bigger change can begin to occur.
I like your solution to discuss. Would you let this discussion be teacher or student led? I appreciate that you acknowledge that small things matter.
Discussions with the class to normalize these identities are a great first step! Taking the time to make sure you are properly educated is a key part in this as well, how would you approach this? Making sure you have diverse materials are very important!
Hey Laina! Great blog post, I can tell this is a topic you are passionate about and will make sure it does not go untaught in your future classroom. I really like the part about you mentioning how the curriculum also needs to include sufficient resources. I believe that students might be too uncomfortable or shy to ask questions face to face but they deserve resources so that they can do research on their own and better their understanding at their own pace and privacy. Do you have any informative resources in mind that you would use?
Hey Laina, I completely agree that we need an updated curriculum when it comes to gender and sexual identities. What would you consider including to re-vamp this curriculum? I agree that having open discussions will help in creating safe, open conversations with our students.