ED. Magazine

Long Way to Go

By Judah Leblang
3 Comments

More than two decades after the first gay-straight alliance was started at school, has much changed for students when it comes to gay rights?


lgbt_illustration.jpg

Illustrations by Sandra Dionisi

When I was asked to write about the state of the schools for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth today, I jumped at the opportunity. After all, I’m a former teacher and student myself, who struggled through high school east of Cleveland, Ohio, in the mid-1970s, and then taught deaf high school students in Columbus in the 1980s. In 1985-86, when I finally came out (to myself), and began to date other men, I was terrified of being discovered — and rejected — by my fellow , some of whom were my friends. I left teaching after that year, moved to Boston, and went back to graduate school. In the 1990s, I briefly taught in two suburban districts south and west of Boston. In one of those schools, I came out to the staff during my first week. In the other, I remained fully closeted, afraid of clashing with my conservative Christian colleagues.

My teaching career ended before Ellen’s historic kiss on primetime TV, before Will and Grace, before same-sex marriage, and the rise of gay-straight alliances. How, I wondered now, have things changed?

As I explored the topic, talking to teachers, former teachers, and other educators from Massachusetts to Illinois to California, I learned that simple answers are elusive; it was like trying to photograph a speeding train. Yes, things are changing and in some cases getting better, as society becomes more tolerant, they said. For example, I recently learned that my public high school back in Beachwood, Ohio, has a gaystraight alliance (GSA), and according to a former classmate who is now a teacher’s aide at the school, “kids are just more accepting today,” noting that her teenage daughter has several “out” gay friends. And in the states that have same-sex marriage, teachers can “come out” to their students in developmentally appropriate ways by mentioning their partners, as one of my friends did in a second-grade class that was working on writing their life stories.

And yet, most, if not all, public schools remain fundamentally unsafe for LGBT students. The most progressive schools, many of which are located in Massachusetts, are marked by administrators, teachers, and staff who are trying to “do the right thing” and to support their gay and lesbian students. But in many other schools, in New England and throughout the nation, the atmosphere for gay youth may not be much different, or much better, than it was for boys and girls like me back in the 1970s.

I started my interviews close to home, in a city known as the epicenter of liberalism, with , the current diversity programs coordinator at Cambridge Rindge & Latin High School, just around the corner from Harvard. Sitting in Byrne’s office, I noticed the school’s mission statement on the wall, which read in part, “We maintain a nurturing, safe environment for every student.”

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

  • Anthony Quaglieri

    Thank you for this thorough, clear piece of writing on this important topic. I live on the west coast of Florida, which is very much considered to be in “The South.” In my work as a mental health counselor, I have seen an odd mixture of apathy and hostility toward lgbt sutudents and teachers. GLSN chapters exist, but generally not in schools; they are separate and meet outside of schools. We have a long way to go, no matter where you live in this country.

  • Jen Lehe, AIE 2010

    It is great to see this article. It will be even better to see curricular and extracurricular attention paid to this issue in the HGSE community. The large number of educators and educators-in-training that passes through HGSE makes it a prime incubator for leadership against homophobia and transphobia. This article aptly points out that many teachers ignore heterosexism in the classroom, either because they do not know how to address it, or because it is just easier to pretend they didn’t hear. Schools of education must take this issue seriously and prepare our children’s educators to do the same. Young people–LGBTQ and straight–are dying figuratively and literally. The degraded school cultures that result from and contribute to discrimination are unhealthy for individuals and society. HGSE cannot call itself a leader while it continues to ignore this. Professors need to be trained and encouraged to address homophobia and transphobia in courses. The schools must initiate courses and workshops equipping teachers to create “safe spaces.” Leblang mentions the (fully student-organized) panel on homophobia in schools that occurred last spring, but leaves out the detail that there was only one professor in the entire, 200 person audience. That professor, Steve Seidel, took this call to action seriously, and has incorporated the lessons he learned there into his course and scholarship. Thank you, Steve. And thank you, Leblang, for the article, but HGSE has a long way to go, too.

  • Toby Johnson

    Hi Judah, interesting article. I have a sort of personal “karmic resonance”: back in the late 70s, I worked as a freelance editor on a couple of projects with Toby Marotta, a Harvard PhD who’d written his dissertation on the Gay Rights Movement. After coming out to his classmates in the Harvard 10 year “red book,” he went on to write Sons of Harvard: Gay Men from the Class of 1967. This book resulted in the formation of several gay Harvard alumni groups around the country. I’m pleased to have had a small part in Toby Marotta’s waking up the revered old institution. Toby Johnson

ENGAGE

Past Issues

Latest Activity