I wish I attended a high school that was inclusive.
The foundation of my high school is centered around equality but, in all honesty, the majority of classes that the students are enrolled in seem to be premised off of the exclusion of others. While that statement may seem extremely blunt, these situations, unfortunately, aren’t just seen in my high school. In a study conducted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), secondary school teachers and students agreed that “although the overall landscape for secondary schools in the U.S. is gradually improving in regards to school safety and climate, the current educational environment for many students remains troublesome.”
There are a lot of problematic issues that expand into a broader and more prevalent situation that many teenagers in middle school and high school face, but aren’t really brought into the light.
Something that I’ve experienced in a multitude of my classes is that many teachers tend to insert their identity into every unit that is taught. My AP Psychology teacher has mastered this technique: we could be learning about the physiological impacts of emotion and within a few seconds, the topic will maneuver towards the star football player in our class and how he plans to ask his girlfriend to winter formal. Even better, any discussion about relationships or love is automatically characterized by what a ‘guy’ should do and what a ‘girl’ should do. This agenda typically falls around the norms of a straight, white male, and before you think I’m being heterophobic (which I equate to be similar to reverse racism – nonexistent), I do find myself constantly falling on two sides of the spectrum — should teachers correct their language/ideas, or should they talk about what they know best?
The answer should be both. Yes, while you cannot talk about the queer community as if you are a part of it, a teacher should also aim at the inclusion of all genders and sexualities, ESPECIALLY if the topics in class apply not only to straight people but to everyone.
The Huffington Post has documented a few ways to be more inclusive in the classroom, and all teachers should start experimenting with this advice. First and foremost, don’t assume your students are all straight! This should be an obvious one, notably for a class structured around the fluidity of society, but also for all teachers that will end up bringing discussions of gender into the classroom.
The most imperative tip I can give is to simply ask questions in a non-derogatory fashion. Stop dismissing these issues as “I don’t get it” scenarios and start understanding what you don’t know. Stop assuming that just because you don’t know/understand something, no one else understands it either. And, above that, accept the fact that while you may not ever know what it means to be ‘queer,’ that’s not an excuse to be exclusive and discriminative.
These are issues that affect everyone, not just those that identify as queer.
Photo: InSapphoWeTrust/Flickr
