August Reflection
The article titled "Making Schools and Communities Welcoming to LGBT Youth" written by Annemarie Vaccaro, Gerri August, and Megan Kennedy discusses the discrimination and marginalization against members of the lesbian, gay, bi, and trans community. For this blog post I've decided to personally reflect on my experiences with this issue.
Firstly, I come from a "traditional" American family where my parents believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. They were raised this way by their parents, and I'm sure that they want the same for their own children. With that being said, my two siblings, both heterosexual and male, are similarly close-minded to the LGBT community. Growing up, I've heard "you're gay" or "that's gay" countless times from them, often directed towards me because I was (being the middle child) a bit different from them. Having these two brothers and also being surrounded by a group of friends who shared similar opinions influenced me to think this kind of way too. I believe this way of thinking stems from American history as well as the way men are portrayed in the media (connecting to our last reading!). Since men are often portrayed as mentally strong, muscular, and heterosexual in the media, many men feel as though they need to this 'tough guy' to fit in.
Next, as a student at Barrington High for four years I witnessed a lot of anti-bullying campaigns and progressive movements for the LGBT community. Barrington has always emphasized the consequences of bullying and works hard to create an accepting environment for all students. Specifically they have a strong LGBT club that meets after school once every week to support students who may be struggling with this issue. If you're interested in reading more about this club at Barrington, click here. Barringon also includes LGBT in spirit week where they host a day for people to show their pride for the community. I remember seeing some male students dressed in female clothes, as well as several flags being worn around the school. Looking back, I think these movements at Barrington High are positive. It's clear the administrators make an effort to ensure that all students feel accepted, which is part of their job.
Point to share: As a future educator I think it's important to be aware of these issues to ensure you don't hurt a students feelings. I support the LGBT community because I believe someone else's sexual & gender orientation is none of my business and people can do as they please.
I agree with your statement of understanding the importance of the LGBTQ community in regards to being a future educator. We have to understand how to respect and handle these students.
ReplyDeleteI like how you took your blog to a personal level by mentioning your high school. My high school took no action to educate about the LGBT community. I agree with you when you said that its the administrators job to make sure students feel accepted.
ReplyDeleteNick, I agree with your post, especially when you stated schools should be doing what makes all students feel welcome. As future educators, it is inevitable that students will identify as LGBT. Attending a public school is usually looked upon, but your post provides a strong example as to how important public schools really are.
ReplyDeleteNick, I think it is really cool that your high school was so open to the LGBTQ+ commmunity and had groups such as that one to make students feel more comfortable and be able to discuss what they are going through. High school is a time where students are very vulnerable and my high school never had such groups and the students didn't exactly make it an environment where someone would feel comfortable talking about it so I think it's really nice that other schools are doing that now. As a future educator, I understand how important it is for school to be an environment that students feel comfortable in.
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