One approach that I think really works is highlighted in a bonus clip of Jess and Evan below. Their school sent out a simple message to parents saying who identifies as a mother in your family? No assumptions made and not one student or family was singled out. Win Win. :) (Pam Baer)
This week I want to introduce you to Michael and Ernst. In this clip they talk about the conundrum that many LGBTQ families face which is Mother's Day and Father's Day at school. I find this clip really interesting because it addresses the heteronormative assumptions that are often made about queer and trans families. In this case it is the assumption that the kids don't have mothers because families have two parents and in this case those two parents are Michael and Ernst. I am sharing it today because I want to continue to expand and reimagine the definition of family to include a multitude of relationships and identities. Advice to teachers would be: get to know the students in your class, ask them who they want to celebrate on these hallmark occasions, and try not to make assumptions. One approach that I think really works is highlighted in a bonus clip of Jess and Evan below. Their school sent out a simple message to parents saying who identifies as a mother in your family? No assumptions made and not one student or family was singled out. Win Win. :) (Pam Baer)
0 Comments
This clip of Victoria speaks to the importance of including LGBTQ topics in both the school setting and within the curriculum documents. Victoria talks about the consequences of not having holistic, accurate representations of queer and trans identities in the classroom and the damaging effects it has on students. Victoria’s clip shows how the absence of LGBTQ content in schools is a sign that our educational system needs more a rigorous curriculum that looks at LGBTQ issues as more than an add on or an afterthought. She urges educators to recognize that LGBTQ youth need a curriculum with “… a lot of laughter, and a lot of love.” (Yasmin Owis)
This week, I chose to highlight Garrett and his work in the alternative school system. In this clip, Garrett discusses the importance of alternative schools in creating a more inclusive learning experience for students, especially those who have been pushed out of the mainstream system. Garrett describes how he uses an intersectional framework to incorporate Black, Native, Queer, and Gender Studies into the curriculum (Edil Ga'al). I really like this video clip because it shows how Jae and Daya actively sought out queer information, education, histories, stories, people, and language online and in other communities because they weren’t getting their needs for queer community and information through school or their immediate community. They talk about the importance and value of going to see queer performers, accessing queer spaces and queer literature, finding queer mentors, and immersing themselves in queer culture, and how these things were (and continue to be) integral to their identity sense-making processes and to locating themselves in the world. They talk about discovering the complexity, value, and beauty of their identities, which is so inspiring. Plus, these Jae and Daya are just so darn lovely! Their laughter and how they articulate themselves just warms my heart (Kate Reid).
|
Archives
June 2021
Categories |