Assignment A: Safe Spaces

Quotes for Discussion

"When the official curriculum stigmatizes or, worse yet, vilifies LGBT people, bullies feel like moral champions, like guardians of the American way." Standing up against bullies that stigmatize LGBT individuals can be incredibly difficult in a middle school (and, I am sure, all schools). I find myself having internal battles each day when I hear students use a slur for LGBT people, due it being so often and widespread.

"If applied across all disciplines and grade levels, integration and interpretation of LGBT experiences and contributions can transform our classrooms into safe spaces." When starting teaching this year, I was actually surprised to see that one of our projects in our curriculum revolves around the story of a trans student. I am interested to see how many teachers are choosing to teach this unit as a form of integration, or how many do not due to its topics.

"Teachers cannot legislate friendships or alliances; they cannot single-handedly change minds or hearts." As a queer educator, I have had past experiences where I have had to make decisions regarding disclosing my sexuality to people that I cared about. This creates a strange dichotomy in myself, as my past experiences make me unwilling or hesitant to disclose this information to others due to how they have reacted. On the other hand, I understand the great importance of being a role model for students in the closet.

Argument Statement

Newman argues that language and communication can be used as a tool to either erase LGBT youth experiences, or as a tool to integrate those experiences into 'mainstream' society.

Comments

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Collins Compositions

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