Queering Our Schools

Talking Points

“How do we create classrooms and schools where each child, parent, and staff member’s unique, beautiful self is appreciated and nurtured?”

Something I’ve noticed in my classrooms is that my students seem to be fairly accepting of other classmates and students in the school who are LGBTQ+, but the same acceptance isn’t always afforded to teachers.  There is a long term sub in our school who is an openly trans woman and I’ve overheard some very disrespectful conversations regarding her that I’ve had to shut down.  I’ve not had to make similar corrections regarding trans and non-binary students.

“Despite the recent advances in LGBTQ rights, most schools aren’t safe for queer students.”

This is critical and follows the ideal of Maslow before Bloom, where students' needs need to be met before learning can be effectively implemented.  Safety is one of the lowest tiers of Maslow’s hierarchy, meaning it is one of the most important needs to be met.  If our LGBTQ+ students are not able to feel safe, they will not be able to effectively learn.  As we saw in the case studies from last session, trans students and staff were being made to feel less safe by their school administrators who attempted to put a spotlight on their personal gender identities when they wished to be who they were in their school communities.

“As the movement has developed past its early “gay liberation” beginnings, it has become more complex; teachers who felt comfortable talking about lesbians and gay men need to wrap their hearts and minds around transgender issues and challenges to the socially constructed gender binary.”

While it is true that there are more categories to be recognized in the LGBTQ+ community than just those identifying as gay, I don’t see how it greatly complicates the situation.  No one is asking the general population to know anyones preferred pronouns without prior information, we are just being asked to be considerate.  If you make a wrong assumption about someone, accept the correction and use the individual's preferred pronouns now that you have been made aware of it.  As Johnson noted in Privilege, Power, and Difference, and Armstrong and Wildman discussed in “Colorblindness is the New Racism,” ignoring the issue and taking offense when your own privilege is challenged does not lead to progress or equity, it reinforces the inequities that exist in society rather than extending privilege to all.

Argument Statement:

Despite progress, the acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals in society in general, and in the education system specifically, has a long way to go to provide safe places for all queer students.