In order for students to be academically engaged, they have to feel an emotional connection to school. If they aren’t able to fully be who they are, how can they ever feel an emotional connection to their school? The following are some ways you can help:
- Acknowledge that LGBTQ students exist in your school. There are times that leaders tell me they don’t have any gay kids in their schools. I have told them that I’m not great with statistics, but it’s statistically impossible to not have gay kids in your school.
- Create Policies to protect them from being bullied. However, policies are not as good as the paper they are written on if leaders and teachers do not enforce them.
- Provide Inclusive curriculum, books, and novels. I lost my dad when I was in 5th grade. My teachers never read books that were set in a one-parent household. I often felt like I was on the outside looking in. Many LGBTQ students feel the same way. Unfortunately, many librarians are asked to secretly ban books so they never make it to the shelves in a library.
- Offer Images such as safe-space stickers so all students know they have a refuge to go to. Safe-space stickers are not just for LGBTQ students. They offer a beacon of light for any student who doesn’t feel safe.
- Use terms like LGBT or LGBTQ so they actually feel as though you care—language is everything. I understand it’s a bit of an alphabet soup sometimes, so focus on one that all adults can use.
If we say All Means All, shouldn’t we mean it?
This is a great message Peter and some really useful points to reflect upon. It is interesting to think of it alongside Joanna Morehead’s discussion of boys and masculinity in schools. It makes me think that not only do we have to be mindful of the students we have in the classroom, but also the citizens we have a role in creating.