Safe Spaces: Making Schools and Communities Welcoming to LGBT Youth
By: Annemarie Vaccaro, Gerri August, and Megan S. Kennedy

Argument: Week 6
Emma Holman

The authors of this paper wrote this to make the pain and sufferings of youth apart of LGBT, Lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender that feel anything but acceptance in their school and in the community.



This article begins with a statement of names who took their lives in 2010 because they were bullied for the perception of being different. The pain is physical as well as emotional through nonverbal and verbal communication. It is stated that both adults and youth inflict pain, whether it is done unintentionally or on purpose. For example, the assumption many people hold because  most people guess that other people are heterosexual because of the unspoken social norm that everyone is or should be heterosexual.

Vaccaro continues by giving the job of weaving LGBT experiences into youth's lives are teachers. Vaccaro believes if this was taught in school students who are transgender or homosexual would feel comfortable since school is supposed to have a comfortable atmosphere. However many educators, teachers and administrators do not believe it is wise to teach these kinds of lessons because our students should not learn this. Their reasoning behind this is that people who like both men and women or who like someone of the same sex is diseased, HIV and AIDs are considered a "gay related disease." A mother of a son who committed suicide said, "most of the teachers and principals mean well, they want to intervene. But teachers still do not know what they can do and can't do."

A kindergraden teacher, Zeke Lerne took a bold risk as he incorporated LGBT into his reading lessons. He added the books, Who's in a family, Tango Makes Three and The Family Book. These books showed the differences of family but wrote in a language that exemplified that being a part of  a different kind of family is okay such as two moms with a son or two dads and a daughter is okay. This teacher knew that he could not do a significant amount of work to teach more about LGBT despite that he made a world of a difference through these books. The authors used this example as well as many others to explain why LGBT experiences should be welcomed in the communities and school curriculum. Even though it will take leaps and bounds accomplish done in baby steps day by day because of the strong beliefs of educators, parents against and for this stand.




I whole heartedly agree with these authors because in a school and a community everyone, straight or homosexual, transgender should be entitled to acceptance. The idea of judging someone because they like someone of the same sex is not a reason to ignore them or for a teacher to not to teach important concepts about sexuality. It was exactly like Richard form Aria who was forced to give up his native language of Spanish because he was having difficulties learning English. The nuns ignored the fact that Spanish is a part of him just like being homosexual is important to some people.

What makes someone who is straight better than someone who might find men and women attractive?

Why can't people understand that it is okay to be different, we are taught in school that being different is so valuable in our life.

The dictionary definition of gay means having a happy attitude. Use the word properly or not at all!