Gender issues at school

How to address gender issues at school has been on my mind a great deal the last few weeks. When I read or hear about kids being bullied or teased because of their gender identity, I feel great pain. Maybe because I have a gay son does the subject weigh on me so heavily. So I have decided to do something about it…What? I don’t quite know. I met with Emily in the CSU GLTB office today and discussed what I, as an educator, can do to help students feel safe. I thought it was interesting when I asked Emily, “If you could write a blog and talk directly to the parents of the “straight kids,” what would you want them to know,” and she replied, “that this education is not just for their kids.” All kids have a right to an education. Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, and Bisexual kids are more likely to drop out of school due to bullying. They have a higher suicide rate. Yet Emily thought the most important thing she could say was not about straight kids needing to accept her sexual identity, but how straight kids interrupt her education. So what can I do? I have a desire to address the parents of the “straight kids.” I want to give them information on gender issues. I don’t want to try and convert them, or convince these parents that GLTB is, or is not, moral. I would rather concentrate on the educational systems responsibilities to 1. make accommodations for students when necessary, 2. keep students safe from bullying, and 3. keep church and state separate (meaning…religious reasoning cannot be the only factor in making judgments.)
More on what I want to say next blog.