August

Reflection:
Safe Spaces: Making Schools and Communities Welcoming to LGBT Youth by Gerri August

Gerri August begins the article by explaining the affect that classrooms may have on LGBT youth. She says, "Students understand that classrooms are not neutral spaces.. they are charged with emotion". This is true in everyone's case. It is impossible to keep emotion out of the classroom. Both students and teachers bring in personal issues, whether or not they share them with the class in another issue. Because it is impossible to separate home from school, there may be students present that are dealing with LGBT issues that the teachers do not know about. It's important to make sure that they feel safe discussing problems and opening up in the classroom. Not everyone will open up and if that is the case classrooms also need to be a safe space for LGBT youth to be. This means monitoring offensive comments and making sure that nothing said will result in harmful thoughts. Being a safe and open space is also about presenting issues that this group faces. The whole class
must be informed about LGBT youth and the types of things that they are facing. A lot of times students don't know enough information to formulate opinions or be an ally to others until they are informed about the types of things that go on. Information about LGBT youth also includes proper sex education. Discrimination against this will present itself in an unkind way. I was given the opportunity to learn about all types of sexual orientation and the issues each group faces. Having these types of discussions has helped me become more knowledgeable and given me the ability to inform others. I believe that education about LGBT youth and all youth really, is important to making sure that our students are okay and have allies within the classroom.

The gay straight alliance is one way that LGBT youth can feel connected and less alone in schools. Below is a link that explains the important of GSA
https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/Gay-Straight%20Alliances.pdf