In November of 1998 a conservative political organization sponsored a conference near Columbus, Ohio with the goal of encouraging the promotion of �reparative therapy� programs in public schools. �Reparative therapy� refers to psychotherapy to eliminate individuals sexual desires for members of the same sex. The American Psychiatric Association says that �reparative therapy� causes depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior, because therapist alignment with societal prejudices against homosexuality may reinforce self-hatred already experienced by gay and lesbian patients. At the same time the Religious Right is pushing �transformational Ministries�. �Transformational Ministries� refers to the use of religion to eliminate desires for the same sex. Since November 1998 a number of conservative organizations have spent large sums of money to promote �reparative therapy� and �transformational ministries� in the press, in conferences targeting educators, and in TV and newspaper ads. In addition to the American Psychiatric Association, the National Association of Social Workers, and the American Psychological Association all agree that there is not any data to demonstrate that �reparative therapy� or �transformational ministries� are effective and that they are likely to be harmful to gay and lesbian youth. (Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation & Youth, 1999). The Religious Right Christian Fundamentalists once again have not considered how hurtful they are to other people, and if they have, they do not care. James Baldwin speaks as an African-American and as a gay man when he says, �this is the crime of which I accuse my country and my countrymen, for which neither I nor time nor history will ever forgive them, that they have destroyed and are destroying hundreds of thousands of lives and do not know it and do not want to know it�but it is not permissible that the authors of devastation should also be innocent. It is the innocence which constitutes the crime� (Kielwasser, 1992, 366).
The following organizations have passed resolutions that protect the rights of sexual minority staff and students: the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, and the National Association of State Boards of Education. Educators� have a clear professional mandate to address the needs of sexual minorities. Most businesses acknowledge the need of respect for diversity of all kinds of people. At Stratford Public Schools a few educators have come out to the public and there is little problem. In this case a few people stood up with unimagined consequences that have proven that even in the face of administrative reluctance or objection a big impact can be made by only a few people. Careful planning, mutual respect, and civility go a long way toward achieving real progress. Nine states including Connecticut have extended civil rights protection to gay and lesbian citizens. (Anderson, 1997, 65-66).
The question for society and for educators now is what can they do to create safe environments for lesbian and gay youth? Schools have no unified policy to protect gay and lesbian youth (Anderson, 1997, 68). All schools should include staff and student protection for sexual orientation. Schools can start gay straight clubs to provide support for gay, lesbian, and questioning youth. Many gay and lesbian youth like their straight friends to participate in these clubs. The 1984 federal Equal Access Act requires public schools to give equal access to non-curricular student clubs, regardless of the subject matter they discuss or lose federal funding (Mathison, 1998, 152). Project 10 is a program that is sought out by school districts across the United States (Uribe, 1994, 170). This program was started in 1984 as a way of addressing the under served needs of gay and lesbian students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (Uribe, 1994, 170). Any teacher can transform the curriculum into an inclusive experience for gay and lesbian youth the same way that they include other minorities in the curriculum (Anderson, 1997, 67). Teachers can start by enforcing a basic rule of �No put-downs.� Teachers often condone lesbian and gay harassment by ignoring negative words used about or against lesbian and gay people. By ignoring the put-downs the teacher sends the message that it is OK to discriminate against lesbian and gay people. The lesbian or gay student (that no one may know is there) clearly understands the message and his or her self-esteem takes another blow. Teachers should enforce the use of appropriate language and behavior. It is inappropriate to call someone a �faggot� and it is inappropriate to physically harass another individual. Teachers can display gay-positive materials such as the rainbow flag, stickers, or news clippings. Our society assumes that everybody is straight except for certain stereotypes, which are inaccurate. Teachers should be able to say lesbian and gay without it being a big deal. Some teachers may want to wear a button that shows they are gay friendly. If teachers create safe environments for lesbian and gay youth they may help some of these students stay alive, improve their grades, and graduate. |
