Schools/Education

LGBT Students Still Feel Unsafe, but Some Things Are Getting Better

The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) on Wednesday released the latest version of its biennial National School Climate Survey. The new survey, conducted in 2011, found that the majority of LGBT students still face harassment and feel unsafe at school—but for the first time since the survey began in 1999, it found “a significant decrease in victimization based on sexual orientation” and an increase in “levels of student access to LGBT-related school resources and support.”

Free Science iPad Apps for Kids

My son goes back to school next week, and so I have education on the brain. While part of me is thinking about LGBT-specific back-to-school issues, most of me is simply thinking about the more general issues of school time. Among other things, I want my science-loving nine-year-old son to continue enjoying the subject—which, for my engineer spouse and myself, means supplementing his formal education with fun experiments and activities at home. Ever since I bought an iPad a few months ago, I’ve been on the hunt for ways to put it towards that goal (even if my son also aims for the goal of seeing how many enemies he can defeat in the Lego Ninjago app).

Back-to-School Resources for LGBT Parents

Back-to-school time is here, which means it’s time for my annual back-to-school resource post, a tradition I first started way back in 2006. My own son wasn’t even in school then. He’s grown and changed, and so has this list. I originally wrote a version of the below as part of one of my newspaper columns last year. I’ve revised it somewhat and hope it remains useful, whether your children are just entering school, starting a new school, or encountering new issues along their educational journey.

Sally Ride Passes On, and Comes Out

She broke barriers, sonic and otherwise, when she flew into orbit as the first American woman in space. She broke another when she died of pancreatic cancer yesterday, at age 61, and her family let it be known that “Dr. Ride is survived by her partner of 27 years, Tam O’Shaughnessy.”

Happy 40th Birthday, PFLAG!

A very happy 40th birthday to PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays)—the nation’s largest grassroots-based non-profit for families, friends, and straight allies of LGBT people. Not everyone is pleased to hit middle age, but I have to imagine the folks at PFLAG are pretty excited.

Adrienne Rich: The Passing of a Lesbian Icon

Adrienne Rich was a mother, a lesbian, and one of our country’s foremost poets and writers. Today comes the news that she has died at the age of 82. Below is one of my favorite quotes from her works, about invisibility and diversity.

ABC

ABC, LGBT: Why Elementary Schools Must Teach About LGBT Families

Only two out of ten elementary school students have learned about same-sex-headed families, according to a new study commissioned by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). Combine this with the fact that same-sex families with children live in 96 percent of counties in the United States, and we clearly have a failure to teach children about the world and people around them.

History Is Written By the Victors: Gay Memorabilia at the Smithsonian

I spent President’s Day weekend with my family in a most appropriate place: Washington, D.C. I’m still catching up on laundry and such, so for today, please enjoy an image from our visit to the National Museum of American History. The museum, part of the Smithsonian, is now the repository for the papers and materials of LGBT equality pioneer Frank Kameny, as explained in a museum blog post last October.

Washington Post Showcases Black Lesbian Families

Black LGBT families are an unfortunate rarity in the media, but the Washington Post this week showcased not one, but two, black lesbian couples with kids. Taken together, the stories show that just maybe, we are moving towards several different types of acceptance in this country.

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