Breaking the Silence: Educators

Duty to LGBTQ Students 1

Breaking the Silence: Educators Duty to LGBTQ Students

Multicultural Education
Southern Oregon University
Julia Kemp

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Duty to LGBTQ Students 2

Catering to diversity within the school systems is essential for the success and well-being
of all students. Commonly ones sexual orientation is not taken into consideration and students
that identify outside of the norm are subjected to harassment and fear. Todays population in
constructed of 10% of individuals identifying as homosexual and most students claim that the
most homophobic of social institutions is the classroom (Munoz-Plaza, Rounds, Quinn 2002).
Breaking the silence within the school systems is the first step to combating these potentially
hostile environments within the school and validating LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transgender, and Queer) students. Educators are in a unique position to positively change and
shape the publics view on sexuality and ensuring the safety and happiness of homosexual
students. By staying up to date with current information, defending students from bullying and
expanding the perspectives of youth, the homosexual student population can receive the most
from their educational experiences.
When considering the diversities that exist within each individual, we consider their
ethnicity, socio-economic standing, learning exceptionalities, and background. As of lately there
is more and more prevalence to considering a students sexuality. Chapter 11 of Learning from
gay and lesbian students defines ones sexual orientation in a two part question: Who are we
emotionally attracted to and who we are physically attracted to? Formulated by the answers to
the previous questions, individuals are labeled as lesbian, gay, bisexual, straight and questioning,
and along with that identity, they are objected to the stigmas and discrimination that goes hand in
hand with each identifier. There seems to be an attraction or essential need for such labeling, and
sexual orientation can be seen as a part of ones core being or part of their biology. The truth is

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our attraction and emotional connections cant be defined by biology alone, and this view often
leads to a perspective aligning heterosexuality as normal and homosexuality as wrong. In
reality many other elements of our life are components to who we feel sexually and emotionally
attracted to such as your upbringing and past experiences. Human societies need to identify
ourselves is very black and white and sexual orientations is ever-changing, ranging in every
shade of grey, in a life-long journey of oneself. The focus needs to be shifted from categorizing
to acceptance, and the need to define our sexuality should be determined only by the individual.
(Spradlin 2012)
Students in the school systems are at a pivotal stage of forming their own identities,
pushing the boundaries and establishing the fundamentals of what is right and what is wrong.
Teachers and educators play an impressionable role in the development of students and when
LGBTQ people are not illustrated in childrens literature, not identified as role models, or as
individuals on sports teams. We are unintentionally setting up the tunneled perspective of the
students. Students exposure to diversity defines what they see as normal and what they arent
use to be consequently defined as not normal and different which has and underlying connotation
of being bad and undesirable. Alex, an LGBTQ high school student suggests, the school needs
programs to teach openness starting in the 1st and 2nd grade about other sexualities and it being
OK, so students do not develop that, its different and bad mindset. (Young 2004)
When students arent exposed to sexuality and the LGBTQ community, they form these
negative connotations which can lead to biases and discrimination. Approximately 63.7% of
LGBTQ students are verbally harassed by their fellow peers with such derogatory terms as
faggot, dyke, homo and sissy and phrases such as youre so gay and dont be such a fag.

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With a lack of support from peers and other social institutions, LGBTQ students are in a limbo
between denial and fear. The epidemic of social stigmatization of homosexuality has been shown
to cause a domino effect of issues for LGBTQ youth, ranging from verbal and physical abuse, to
school performance, to substance abuse. Studies show that lesbian and gay youth are 2-6 times a
more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual youth and is directly linked to the lack of
support for other sexual orientations. Individuals, who identify outside of heterosexual, are more
prone to substance abuse and alcoholism in efforts to cope with depression and societal
oppression. Studies show that alcoholism affects the LGBTQ community at a rate of 20-33
percent, while the general population experiences a rate of 10 percent. These numbers and
statistics paint a picture or the impact discrimination can play on the wellbeing of an individual
and the underlying issue of how the general population sees sexual orientations and the silence
that surrounds the issue. (Munoz-Plaza, Rounds, Quinn 2002)
With hurtful and discriminating phrases and terms at large in the school place, the
question arises; what are educators and school systems doing to prevent these hurtful actions?
The answer is that most schools are not doing enough, at times even ignoring such open acts of
LGBTQ discrimination. A 2005 study by Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Networks
(GLSEN), found that out of the three quarters of high schools students surveyed, 90% said that
had heard homophobic remarks within the school frequently and furthermore 83% said that
school personnel never or only sometimes intervened in those situations(Spradlin 2012).
These are shocking statistics in which demonstrates an educator ignoring and therefore
promoting a behavior that is without a doubt discriminating and hurtful. Some could argue that
the phrase, thats so gay isnt discriminating towards and individual but by simply swapping

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the last word of that phrase to a race such as thats so African American, there is no arguing the
statement is racist. So why is one statement that targets a group of people, defining them by their
sexuality any different than defining them by their race? There is no fine line, both phrases are
discriminating and hurtful. In a survey of LGBTQ students, Adrian suggests, To solve the
bullying of students inside the schools, we, as a country and a society, have to make changes.
LGBT rights are human rights, and there needs to be social reform as to how the LGBT
community is seen. Another student Eddie adds, I would still love to see teachers state they will
not tolerate faggot just as they wouldnt tolerate the N-word (Young 2004). Teachers turning
the blind eye to homophobic actions and words is communicating to the students that they do not
care for their physical and emotion safety at school and that is simply not ok.
While confronting students about homophobia can be uncomfortable, educators and
school personnel need to take the time to address these issues and educate students on the LGBT
community. Schools can increase the safety and success of LGBTQ students in multiple ways
from staff efforts to providing accurate and accessible information. One of the first ways to
increase awareness amongst students is to talk about sexuality and display LGBT information
through posters, stickers and books. Educators should also display and enforce zero-tolerance for
anti-LGBT harassment. Sexual orientations should also be a part of non-discrimination policies
at school. In a recent study only 7% of students reported that their schools had a comprehensive
harassment policy in which sexual orientation and gender identity was included (Bartkiewiez
,Boesen ,Greytak ,Kosciw, Palmer 2012). On a staff level, sensitivity training should be provided
for all school personnel so that when these confrontations do arise or students need support, the
staff feels prepared to handle the situation with accurate information and skills. Another

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beneficial way to change the outlook towards LGBT people is to create a Gay Straight Alliance
Club in which students can gain support from their peers. Creating an environment where LGBT
students feel they are not alone will boost their self-esteem and happiness at school. As a teacher,
the incorporation of positive LGBT people in lessons and literature can really set the tone for
acceptance and widening the perspectives of all students.
Students worldwide need to be more aware of the diversity that is within each of us and
that at the core of every being are the similarities that connect us. As a society we are constantly
establishing norms in which we all try to fit into because to be normal is good, but by setting
these unrealistic labels we are isolating everyone. Homosexuality makes up a sizable amount on
the population and yet our schools systems are lagging behind the lives of the students.
Educators need to be advocates for all their students regardless of their sexual orientation and are
at a unique position to widen the perspectives of their students so that homophobia is not an issue
in the future.

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Works Cited

Kosciw, J., Greytak, E., Bartkiewicz, M., Boesen, M., & Palmer, N. (2011, January 1). The 2011
National School Climate Survey The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender Youth in Our Nations Schools. . Retrieved May 1, 2014, from
http://glsen.org/sites/default/files/2011%20National%20School%20Climate%20Survey
%20Full%20Report.pdf

McGarry, R. (2011, September). Breaking the silence. Educational Leadership, 56-59. Retrieved
May 9, 2014
Munoz-Plaza, C., Quinn, S., & Rounds, K. (2013). Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
Students. Educational Foundations an Anthology of Critical Readings (). Thousand
Oaks: Sage Publications.
Spradlin,. (2012). Learning from gay and lesbian students' stories. Diversity matters:
Understanding diversity in schools, 56-59. Retrieved May 9, 2014
Young, A. (2004, March). LGBT Students want educators to speak up for them. the
Kappan, 93(2), 35-37. Retrieved May 9, 2014