Following right after yesterday’s anti-bullying Spirit Day is the synergistic National Know Your Classmates Day, an initiative aimed at ending social isolation, nurturing healthy relationships, and addressing fear of differences among middle school students. Over 850 schools across the country are taking part this year.
My son is starting high school this fall, which I find hard to believe—it seems like just yesterday that I was driving him to preschool. This year feels different for other reasons, too. Last year, we headed into school time with the assumption that progress towards LGBTQ equality and inclusion in education would continue with little hindrance. This year, however, the pall of federal actions against LGBTQ students, particularly transgender ones, hangs heavy over all of us.
“Should kindergarten include books about being transgender?” asks an LA Times column this week. For me, the answer is simple: To say that any child is too young to learn about LGBTQ people is essentially the same as saying that LGBTQ people shouldn’t be parents. At the same time, teachers may need some help in presenting LGBTQ topics accurately and with sensitivity. Let’s review some resources that can help.
Enlarged and improved for 2017! Here’s my annual collection of back-to-school resources for LGBTQ parents, parents of LGBTQ children, and educators, built on a list I started in way back in 2006. I hope it remains useful, whether your children are just entering school, starting a new school, or encountering new situations in their educational journeys.
The Texas legislature has advanced two bills that will cause harm to children living in the state. One keeps transgender students from using the bathroom that matches their gender identity; the other allows religion-based discrimination in adoption and foster care.
Education takes the spotlight this week, along with a number of family profiles. Read on and see what’s new.
A new federal bill aims to ensure that students and others have access to online LGBTQ resources by ensuring these materials aren’t blocked by Internet filters in schools and libraries.
(Originally published as my Mombian newspaper column.) Back-to-school time can be stressful for any parent. There are supplies to buy, schedules to arrange, and forms to fill out. For many LGBTQ parents, it can also bring up worries about our children’s inclusion and safety—but it can also be an opportunity for building bridges. As I
I first started posting back-to-school resources for LGBTQ parents in 2006, before my own son was even in school. He’s grown and changed, and so has this list. I hope it remains useful, whether your children are just entering school, starting a new school, or encountering new issues in their educational journeys.
When fourth and fifth graders at a New York City school saw that a major educational website wasn’t including LGBT rights in its coverage of civil rights issues, they decided to take action.
