Queering our schools

Extended Comments: I read Brooke's blog and found it very interesting. The first quote she uses goes, "In a recent survey, six out of 10 LGBTQ teens said they felt unsafe at school and 82 percent had been verbally harassed because of their sexual orientation." (page 23). she is able to connect this quote back to her own life and it made me begin to think about my own experiences with this. I am not apart of this community so I have never had to experience this first hand but I have definitely witnessed it in my time in school. Wether it was to their face or behind their back Ive seen kids making fun of LGBTQ teen. From my own point of view I think I saw a decrease in this throughout the years in schools but due to not being apart of the community I can't fully speak on this. 

    In her blog the second quote she uses is, ""But no number of classroom discussions about gender stereotypes and homophobia will create a nurturing environment if teachers and parents are afraid to come out. A school that’s a protective community for LGBTQ adults is a school that’s going to be safe for kids." (page 24). I completely agree with the point she makes about this quote. She writes about how it is our jobs as educators and adults to learn and teach about all different sorts of topics and LGBTQ topics are apart of this. School is a place for students to go to learn but more then that its a place where students are able to grow as humans and as an educator it is our job to allow for a nurturing and caring environment for all students to learn. 

    The last and most important quote of Brook's and the paper, "I’m going to keep wearing a skirt. It’s a big part of who I am.” (page 26) This is one of the most important quotes of the paper because it's showing they wont change just because of hate. It brings the paper together and leaves the reader thinking. Even though they went through this horrible experience it wont define them and they'll continue to be themselves and express the way they feel. 

Here Is another article going over LGBTQ rights in schools.