There are a few stories that intersect to (hopefully) make the point I am going for in this post. My husband says that I jump around a lot when telling stories (which is true), so I am going to number and label each story for your reading enjoyment.
Story #1: Rainbow Hope
When I was a senior in high school, one of my best friends, Lesley, came out to me. We attended a private Catholic high school, and there were not any students or teachers there who were openly gay. While there were many good things about our school, to explain it simply: it was not a safe environment for anyone who was gay.
I am fortunate to have maintained a friendship with Lesley since high school. She once told me that there was one guidance counselor at our school who had a small rainbow sticker in his office; she took solace in knowing that there was one person in our school who would accept her. I never want any student to go through what Lesley went through in high school and as a teacher I have the ability to make it better for all of my students.
Story #2: Mind Freak
This year, I partnered with the University of Wisconsin - Madison School of Education Common Read committee to bring James St. James, the author of Freak Show, to my Literary Analysis class. The students and teachers who read his book spent one rainy, but exciting morning in my classroom with this amazing individual and cultural icon. One of the students asked James to comment on the It Gets Better Project wherein individuals create testimonial videos encouraging gay youth (or anyone struggling for that matter) to keep in mind that living an openly gay life will get easier in the future. James told the kids that he did not believe the It Gets Better Project was a good thing for the gay youth community. He said that it was unfair for adults to tell youth that they needed to wait for life to get easier. The idea challenged me to think more about how I relate to and support my LGBTQ students.
Story #3: Celebrate
A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend the Gay Straight Alliance Celebration of Leadership in Madison. One of my coworkers was a founding member of this group which has grown into an a truly powerful organization. The theme of the evening was: Make It Better. Listening to student, teacher, administrative and community leaders speak about their work and experiences was both beautiful and empowering. The evening found a balance between the pride and strength of the LGBTQ community, and the serious and immediate need to create safe and supportive environments for all students.
Teaching to make it better...
Since I have had my own classroom, I have had a rainbow sticker. It is in honor of Lesley, her struggle and her pride, and all of my LGBTQ students. Hearing James St. James encourage my students to be the freaks that they are, and celebrating those who work to make life better for LGBTQ students made me realize that as a teacher, what I do in my classroom is powerful beyond words. I can play the role of many of my high school teachers, who heard hateful statements and looked the other way, or I can make it better for my students now by addressing and condemning hate in all its forms. I realized that teaching to make it better doesn't tell LGBTQ youth to wait until they are older to have safe and happy lives, it creates the world they deserve to live in now. It cultivates tolerance and understanding; it eradicates ignorance and hate. I am proud of the work I have done in my classroom to support and celebrate LGBTQ individuals; but I am challenged to do more every day. Every student deserves to be safe at school; I hope for the day where I can say that is true, but until it is, I will work to make it better.
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