Bullying. Ruined lives. Probably no one has been untouched by this horror, either as victim, perpetrator, or onlooker. Yet one group has been disproportionately affected – our LGBTQ youth.
There have been numerous studies on bullying, especially since the Columbine tragedy, that have revealed shocking statistics. Sullivan (1997) stated that 49% of elementary – age children reported having been punched, kicked, beaten, or hit by other children, and even higher percentages suffered the torment of verbal abuse. And nearly 1 in 6 children in the upper grades (6th– 10th) are victims of bullying each year. (The “411 of Bullying”, George Washington University). Those numbers rise significantly when the focus is on LGBT students. Some horrifying numbers, revealed by GLSEN’s National School Climate Survey (2007):
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86.2% of LGBT youth report being harassed at school in the past year
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80% of transgender students feel unsafe in school because of their gender expression
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60% of LGBT students feel unsafe in school because of their sexual orientation
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32.7% of LGBT students missed a day of school because of feeling unsafe, compared to only 4.5% of a national sample of secondary school students
Other studies have shown that 30% of all child suicides can be directly related to bullying. These statistics are totally unacceptable. But what can be done?
Our state has been a leader in the fight to counter these facts. We are 1 of only 14 states that now have enumerated categories in their bullying policies. In fact, at the NEA/RA this past July, a New Business Item (21) was adopted requiring the NEA to urge policy makers in all states to push for legislation similar to ours! Our new law to which they were referring is the Fair Education Act (Senate Bill 48). It stands for Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful. This Act “requires schools to integrate factual information about social movements, current events, and history of people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBT people into existing social studies lessons.” It also prevents schools from adopting instructional materials that discriminate and updates the language in existing Ed. Code on these issues. It was signed into law in July, 2011, and took effect on Jan. 1, 2012. That same date saw another law, Seth’s Law (AB9) enacted. It requires teachers to intervene in all incidents of bullying and schools to update their policies to include a full list of prohibited forms of harassment, including:actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, race or ethnicity, nationality, religion, and disability.
Knowing that the law stands on our side in our efforts to be more inclusive is reassuring, but how can we go about ensuring that our classrooms and schools become FAIR ED. sites? Is this just one more thing from a LONG list that we, as educators, are expected to cram into our already too-busy day? In my search for an answer to this very important question, I came upon an excellent website, https://sites.google.com/site/faireducationactcurriculum/home, which I would urge you to visit. It will assure you that complying with the new law can be seamlessly integrated into what we’re already doing. In its Tips and Pointers for the Classroom section, for example, it points out that “much of education happens outside of mandated curricula and standards”. Pointers covering advertisements for Prom, or how to split up a class into 2 groups (do not use “boys” and “girls”) are covered. Another fantastic section of this website deals with specific ideas for curriculum, both elementary and secondary. I was especially touched by a 2-min. trailer I saw there (for a 13-min. dvd), in which 6-12 year old children talk about gays and lesbians. (Another must-see video, dealing with secondary students, is “Bullied”.)
As educators, we know how difficult it is to teach a child who feels invisible or scared. Dr. Elizabeth Meyer, who is a co-creator of the above website, states, in her blog, that “Research and multicultural education theories tell us that erasing and ignoring students’ identities and experiences is a form of oppression and a significant barrier to learning. It prevents students from having meaningful opportunities for educational success, or ‘opportunities worth wanting’.” It’s incumbent upon us all, as teachers, to try to stop the bullying, to try to improve the conditions for all students in our schools…and to SAVE LIVES!
