Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/27719
seriously. Some make it clear at the beginning of the year that they have a zero-tolerance policy toward name-calling. At the same time, when it does occur, many use it as a “teachable moment.” Myndi Hardgrave at Hanford West High has tried different approaches when students use offensive language. “I was in a class when one boy turned to another and said, ‘You’re so gay,’” she recalls. Hardgrave immediately addressed the com- ment without getting angry. She asked her student to rephrase what he was trying to say without being hurtful. Menlo-Atherton High School English teacher and GSA adviser Stacey Woodcock, who is a member of the Sequoia Union Teach- ers Association, also speaks up when she catches students using offensive language. “I’ll say my sister is gay and I have many LGBT friends, and it can be really hard for people who are gay to hear ‘gay’ used as a putdown,” Woodcock says. “I aim for com- passion and understanding, rather than rep- rimanding.” Teachers of every orientation know that GLBT bullying is an issue they must address in order to create a presence of supportive staff in a school. Other teachers maintain it is an important lesson for self-identified GLBT teachers to come out at school so that stu- dents can see that being GLBT is normal. “It was scary at first, but I feel it is impor- tant to take that risk,” says Melissa Bryden, who teaches math at Del Campo High School in Carmichael and was one of the leaders in the San Juan Teachers Association training. “I think it’s important to break down stereo- types. I find that kids look up to me, and know that they have someone to turn to.” Coming out, of course, is a personal deci- sion, and easier for some than others. Hard- grave acknowledges the difficulty in a more conservative area. “In the Central Valley, most educators who are gay, even right now, have a fear of coming out of the closet. Even today, in this entire district, I’m the only one who is out,” she says. Hardgrave doesn’t make a formal an- nouncement to her students, but brings it up when she talks to students about offensive language that won’t be tolerated in class. After that, it may come up in more casual references. “I’m not preaching anything. I may refer to ‘my girlfriend,’ but I make it a normal part of my life,” she says. Hardgrave acknowledges that the atmo- sphere in schools today is much more tolerant than when she was in high school some 20 years ago, and this is largely due to societal changes. But now that there are more openly GLBT students on campus, there may even be more of a need for supportive teachers, coun- selors and education support professionals. “There are a lot of gay students,” Hard- grave says. “The fact that we’re here, that I have a rainbow on my lanyard, and I walk around openly — I know it makes a differ- ence to those students.” 4 the curriculum Lesson Four: Include GLBT figures in Students also need to see GLBT figures in- tegrated into the curriculum to more fully develop a tolerant world view. Many educators and schools are making use of specific GLBT anti-bullying curricu- lum in their classrooms. Through the work of NEA, GLSEN, the Human Rights Campaign and many other organizations, there are abundant materials available. Among them are resources through the Human Rights Campaign’s Welcoming Schools program, which offers tools on embracing family di- versity, avoiding gender stereotyping, and ending bullying and name-calling. Including lessons in tolerance doesn’t have to mean teaching an entirely new curricu- lum. Working with at-risk high school stu- dents at the Jack London Community Day School in Los Angeles, Edgar Angulo not only has found ways to infuse tolerance mes- sages into his math, science and life-skills les- sons, but includes GLBT figures as well. For example, during a math class, he may point out that it was a gay man, Alan Turing, who helped break the Nazi codes during World War II. He wants his GLBT and straight stu- dents to know there are prominent people in the world who happen to be gay. ABOVE: Eleanor Evans, who represents the San Diego Education Association on the district’s Safe Schools Task Force, says educators are taking their responsibility seriously when it comes to preventing and stopping harassment of GLBT students. Angulo, who is a member of United Teachers Los Angeles, has also worked to establish an atmosphere of tolerance in his classroom in other ways, including talking about the impact of slurs and be- ing open about being gay. “My work with these students is based on trust, so if I want them to open up to me, I need to open up to them. They see them- selves as outcasts, and they began identifying with the same issues,” he says. “It’s taken awhile, but it’s made a huge difference.” Of course, Angulo doesn’t just focus on GLBT issues in his class, but brings in wom- en and racial and ethnic groups as well. “I think it’s very important. We live in a diverse world and we run into all kinds of people. In my classroom there is a Rainbow flag, a Salvadoran flag, a Mexican flag,” An- gulo says. “The message is that we are all here, we’re in a safe environment, and we’re here to learn and to have fun.” www Find more resources to help support GLBT students at cta.org/glbt-resources. MARCH 2011 | www.cta.org 13 Photo by Will Parson