Lauren Martin, Kate Quiring, Bethany Lampe, Haley Montgomery, & Daniel Jordan Project #3; Option #5 TEAC

330 05/01/14 As we sat in recitation and discussed this module and how it is particularly important to be informed and aware of LGBTQ issues in this day and age, we realized that until taking this class, none of us had much experience in this area. When deciding what project to do for this module, we quickly came to the conclusion to do Option 5, reflecting on your schooling experience. We chose this option because we already found ourselves interested and intrigued by the various schools we had each attended and how different, yet similar they were from one another. We all had different experiences in high school. Lauren went to school in the city and her experience was extremely different than the rest of ours. In her situation, issues of LGBTQ were not a problem but they werent addressed. Being gay or lesbian was normal, and those students who actually did come out, excelled socially. However, Laurens experience with LGBTQ differed from the rest of the group. In everyone elses schools, we saw the oppressiveness that can hold students who are different back and instill fear and hatred in their hearts. We shared experiences where being gay or lesbian was weird and those students usually suffered. Through all of our different experiences in high school, it was apparent that we all had one thing in common. The fact that the administration and teachers didnt address LGBTQ issues and pretended that they werent there or saw them as too taboo to address. There werent open and honest conversations between students and staff about how to serve the needs of all students and how to be accepting of students with untraditional sexualities.

Process: Our project began with us deciding to discuss and analyze the differences in our schools because we felt that our own experiences in our respective schools was lacking in educating students on LGBTQ 1

and ensuring those who were, had a safe environment for them to grow and prosper in. We decided to get together Sunday April 27th and discuss what we had learned about our own experiences after reminiscing and writing down our thoughts. When we met to put our paper together, we went in a circle talking about what we thought about our schools. It became very obvious as the conversation progressed that we all shared a disappointment, that the staff in our schools never addressed issues of LGBTQ. In some schools being gay is acceptable and students who are LGBTQ that go there are lucky because its not taboo to be gay. However, at other schools, LGBTQ students are not so lucky; being gay comes with being bullied, oppressed, and disrespected. After we finished discussing our experiences and how we werent satisfied with how issues of LGBTQ were handled, Daniel dictated our thoughts into the introduction and conclusion of our paper. We all were instrumental to the completion of this paper by adding in our own thought and experiences from our various high schools. We were all actively participating and bouncing ideas off of each other throughout the course of this project, as well as the few before. After the completion of this course, it is safe to say we are all good friends and very trusting of each other after completing three projects together. Some of us may butt heads, but at the end of the day, we have been able to have honest, hard, and eye opening conversations about tough issues that will not only affect us, but our future students as well. Kate: The school I attended was a class B high school in rural Nebraska. LGBTQ was and from what I know of today, has not been a topic discussed in the school systems and rarely in the community. While I know there were student in the school that identified themselves as gay or bisexual, the majority of those students kept their secret to themselves and a few close friends throughout their middle and high school careers. A few were open and honest with everyone about it, not caring what others thought or said about them and faced the cruelty of typical teenagers. The topic of LGBTQ has for the most part been ignored by the school system, and only brought up in terms of not bullying or harassing students rather than discussing the reason for their being bullied. During my time in high school, I know that bullying of those who were LGBTQ was bound to be happening. Even though I never heard of nor saw any actions 2

committed against those students, saying it didnt happen would be a lie. Within the last few years, the number of LGBTQ students that I know of has nearly doubled, and the school system and teachers need to be proactive and supportive of those students. Seeing as they have yet to recognize LGBTQ students in the school system. However, Ms. Holder, an English teacher at my former high school has always stressed the importance of treating each other as equals and telling it like it is. Through allowing various controversial topics that she has integrated into course curriculum. Topics such as human trafficking, homosexuality, same sex marriages, and other topics of the sorts to be researched and discussed throughout the duration of the course, students who take her classes. Topics and situation they may otherwise would not be exposed to or educated on before stepping out of the comforts of high school and into the real world. Aside from Ms, Holder and the role she plays in the students lives at my former high school, there are several teachers that are accepting of each and every student that walks into their door and do all they can to make it a safe and productive environment of all. Unfortunately, there are still those few teachers who wish and act like they are still a student in high school yearning for attention and to fit in with the popular kids. School systems, especially those in rural areas need to embrace LGBTQ and encourage their students to be themselves and know that they are in a safe environment. As well as educate those who may not understand or be aware of LGBTQ students that even though they are different, there is really nothing different about them. Therefore, there is no reason to judge, discriminate, or criticize them for the personal choices they have made.

Bethany: Throughout my years of schooling, I attended a class C size school with town population of around 4,000. Since it was this small, everyone knew about everyone. Looking back at my middle and high school years, hindsight is 20/20. This class has really opened my eyes to see the problems with my school system and the topic of LGBTQ. As I glance back, I realize that none of my teachers or administrators recognized that this was an issue that even existed. They tip-toed around everything that had to do with the subject. Not very many people in my school identified as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. In 3

fact, I can only recall two people who were out to the public. These students were tormented, but no action was ever taken to prevent this bullying. I realized that I didnt even try to prevent this from happening. Throughout this class, I have realized that a person doesnt have to agree with decisions that others make, but that we should all be fighting for social justice. We should all be allies against any sort of injustice whether it be racism, sexism, sexual preference, or other various controversial topics. These arent subjects that should be ignored, but ones that should be discussed and educated on. We all need to stand up and be allies for those who are tormented and bullied..

Haley: I attended Cozad City Schools in Cozad, NE. Its a small town of about 3700, so the schools were relatively small. I attended high school at Cozad High and I was in a class of about 71. We never were exposed to LGBTQ issues in my schooling experience. The topic was never brought up in health classes or any other classes. We did not have any teachers that came out as homosexuals but we did have a few students who identified as homosexual, bisexual, and transgender. Looking back, I wish that the school would have made more of an effort to teach about LGBTQ issues since it was present in our school. In school we were taught that bullying is never okay and our school made an effort to try and stop it. Unfortunately, I have heard instances of LGBTQ students being bullied but I have never seen it. The homosexual students stood up to the bully and was left alone after that. I think that he was very brave because it takes a lot of courage to stand up to someone who can make you feel small. He continued to mature and make friends and was crowned Junior Attendant at prom which further emphasizes how weak bullies are. I wouldnt say that people at my school were scared to talk about it but rather it was just taboo. LGBTQ students were welcome at school and had tons of friends. I wish I knew more about the struggles that they may have faced but it just was not talked about at school. The transgender student was welcomed at prom when she wore a tux and a lesbian couple could attend homecoming together. Looking back, more should have been done to make the LGBTQ students feel safe and welcome. Overall, I think my school could and needs to improve for the LGBTQ community but I do not feel that they 4

neglected them. Some of the changes, such as allowing a homosexual couple at homecoming, took some convincing for the decisions to be made but I feel that with further education about LGBTQ students and issues our school can be more welcoming and supportive of the LGBTQ community.

Lauren: In high school, I did not even know what LGBTQ meant. This wasnt necessarily because there werent any LGBTQs in my school; there were plenty of those. It was because my school never once addressed the issue. I first learned about LGBTQs when I was in my sociology class, only because it was a topic that we covered and was still very brief. I had lesbian and gay friends in high school. The most popular kid in my school was gay. I know that most of the LGBTQ students were extremely popular and were never tormented, but I cannot speak for those who did not come out and those who never mingled with other students and kept to themselves. Because I know there are these kids in my school and every school, I believe that LGBTQ issues should still be addressed for those who dont have the courage to talk about it because you never know what they might be experiencing and the things that we dont see.

Daniel: This module has opened my eyes to the issues and problems that oppress so many students in this countrys public and private schools. My experience in the Catholic School system in Fargo, ND is one that is very similar to most schools shown in this class. Issues regarding sexuality and especially those of LGBTQ were something that were never discussed and brushed under the table. There was no discussion or openness about the idea of anyone being anything other than heterosexual and this probably contributed to the fact that no one in my high school was openly gay. I cant imagine how hard it would be to be gay in an environment that didnt recognize that it was ok to be anything other what the Catholic Church recognized. Our school didnt have bullying or fighting in the ways that the schools in some of the videos had, but the problems we had were in some ways just as bad. It is awful for me to look back and know that people all around me were gay and couldnt come out because it was seemingly against our 5

moral code. The culture of my school was one so unaccepting of being different that if someone did come out, theyd have to transfer. Gossip in a small school is almost as bad as the worst beating, it oppresses just like bullying. If I could go back, I would push for more openness and acceptance of things the Catholic Church didnt agree with. In retrospect I would have liked for my school to have classes on sexuality or at least talk about the option of not being heterosexual in a Catholic world. Its hard for me to see old classmates who are alienated by the church because of their experience in high school. It would be really forward and progressive for a Catholic school to tool students with the knowledge of what the church really thinks about the issues of homosexuality and LGBTQ. My school could incorporate the teachings of Pope Francis on the topic and illustrate that it is possible to Christian gay. I would push for my school to be open about the issues and not pretend that they are there. Throughout this semester all of our opinions have changed, we have truly been shaped by the transforming educational experience called multicultural education. Some of our opinions have been more radically changed than others, but when reflecting on where we started and where we are today, our group has shown tremendous growth as individuals and teammates. We are able to sit down and reflect on our own experiences and agree that something needs to be done in schools to protect students who are LGBTQ from the oppression that most high schools harbor. All of us have been able to recognize the disconnect in what students want and what they get. As well as the fact that it is our job as future teachers to take this responsibility upon ourselves and make sure students are protected in our classrooms, and that we never pretend controversial or difficult issues do not exist.