Topic 7: Gender
What is one thing I plan to do as a teacher to create an inclusive classroom for gender-nonconforming youth?
The topic of gender identity is a tricky one with teens simply because they are at a stage where they are developing, understanding, and forging their own gender related identities, alongside their developing bodies, emotions, cognitions, and relationships.
Although the majority of teens fall into the traditional "male vs. female" gender binary, there are many students at the fringes who do not fit the norm (Whelan, 2006). These students, now termed "sexual minorit[ies]" are often targets in most public schools (Whelan, 2006). Terms and phrases that are thrown around in the typical boys locker room (like, "that test was so gay") often has negative impacts on these minority students, as the video below shows the first hand accounts of the harrassment these students endure.
One thing I can do to promote inclusion for these students is by encouraging the development of a school club centered around sexual minority student interests. For example, a teacher in my high school was the supervising teacher for the "Diversity Club," a club that promoted LGBTQ awareness and equality, even tho the teacher was not LGBTQ.
This gave many LGBTQ students in my school the confidence they needed to "come out". Having a teacher that shows interest in the well-being of sexual minority students can be a vital and necessary thing in a school.
Additional Resources
1. Article about reaching out to gay teens: http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ461618
2. Rolling Stones article about one town's war on gay teens: http://www.redwoods.edu/Departments/english/instructors/Holper/English150/One%20Towns%20War%20on%20Gay%20Teens.pdf
3. YouTube video about the U.S. Secretary of Education's committment to LGBT students: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_89u2Uoc5AY
4. YouTube video about "Anti-Gay day" in school: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IytiaRMEPrA
References
Whelan, D. L. (2006). Out and Ignored: Why Are so Many School Libraries Reluctant to Embrace Gay Teens?. School Library Journal, 52(1), 46.
LGBT High School students share their experiences - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAwJQYs7pKM