Learning environments for children in the United States have not historically been the best for gender, sexual and romantic minorities (GSRM). In fact, that is a huge understatement.
In elementary and middle school I can recall being gay as one of the ultimate taboos. This was in southern New Hampshire in the late 2000s and early 2010s; I could only imagine how worse it would have been if I lived in the Bible Belt. All I knew at a young age was that being gay is “weird” and you will be ostracized if you have anything to do with it.
It is shameful that in parts of the world, even in parts of the U.S., being a GSRM is still seen as taboo. The U.S. is supposed to be a civilized country, it is hard to see it that way when who you are is seen as unacceptable even though it hurts nobody. Thankfully many people are starting to see that GSRM should be treated the same as cisgender and straight people, although the realization is a bit slow.
How children are educated goes a long way in how people are treated; children are very impressionable afterall. This is why schools should be made a safe space for all students, especially those in the GSRM community.
An article by Hunter Oberst of The Keene Sentinel details a teacher at Keene Middle School creating a safe space for his students. Ian Kaplan is a sixth-grade reading teacher who treats his students as people first, letting them know it is alright to be people in the classroom. He is interested in building a sense of inclusion in the classroom so that students feel accepted.
This is a major upgrade to how inclusion was handled when I was in middle school, and it seems Kaplan agrees.
Kaplan told The Keene Sentinel, “When I was in school, I knew vaguely that I was a part of the LGBTQ+ community, and some of my peers were not super kind to me because of the fact that I was openly queer in their eyes. And now being able to create the spaces that are safe and welcoming and open for students is incredibly important for me because being the supportive adult that I wish I had when I was younger is incredible.”
It is spectacular to see a growth in acceptance among the newer generation. Letting students know that it is perfectly fine to be who they are is a fantastic step.
Some opponents of letting children know it is alright and normal to be themselves say it is indoctrination.
A tweet by right-wing political commentator Matt Walsh stated, “We need a law to ban conversion therapy. Millions of kids are being converted to LGBT through sexual indoctrination at home and at school. It must be stopped.”
Like almost all things Walsh says, this is one of the most idiotic things I have ever heard. Millions of kids are not being turned into GSRM, they are given information and told to come to their own conclusions. I also find it very strange that it is religious people, like Walsh who calls himself “one of the religious Right’s most influential young voices” on his blog, who call GSRM “groomers” when it is them who indoctrinate infants and children into their ancient and obsolete practices. It is religious extremists who not only demand children belong to their beliefs, but also demand children to be straight and cisgender. This is because while the overly religious see children as objects to be owned and controlled, the rest of the world is beginning to see them as people to make their own choices.
Children should be taught what is true and have no harm come their way. A great way to combat harm to children is to let them know they should be who they are as long as they do not hurt anybody in the process.
Nico Brazill can be contacted at
nbrazill@kscequinox.com
