LGBT IN CLASSROOMS

I watched a film titled "bullied" on Sunday, it was an emotional movie based on the true life story of a young boy from Ashley, Wisconsin. The boy named Christopher was bullied, harassed and tortured due to his sexuality by classmates while in middle and high school. What struck me most was that he did not get any help from the people who were supposed to protect and make the school safe for him. School administrators constantly neglected pleas from both the boy and his mother. Eventually, a lawsuit was filed against  Ashley school district and in a historic landmark verdict, the court ruled in favor of Chris and was awarded a settlement of  $900,000. Watching this movie almost made me cry and I silently thought to myself how many other Chris are out there going through the same ordeal because of their sexuality. It is prevalent among middle school students as well as some high school kids to tease and torment someone who is considered an outsider or someone that "acts funny". An 11 year old boy hung himself after being subjected to anti-gay slurs in 2011, these kind of incidences have no place in school. Just like race and ethnicity sexuality of individuals should be up there among the list of unacceptable practices and should not be tolerated in any way, shape or form.

We as educators have a responsibility to be mandated reporters, as professionals, our first job is to secure a safe and sound environment for all the students in our classroom. The classroom is supposed to be a secure place where all students can feel free, therefore it is paramount that we lay ground rules and maintain a zero tolerance policy on the issue of acceptance or tolerance and mutual respect. Statistics have shown that students who are victims of this abuse and harassment almost never report the issue because they feel that adults will do nothing about it. It is also our duty to notice and correct suspicious behavior or bias when in the classroom, we must address student concerns accordingly. We can make an impact by working with the school and community on raising awareness on the issue of gender and sexual orientation tolerance.

It is not right for anybody to be subjected to taunts or harassment because of their orientation, the school is an institution of learning, teaching students to accept differences in people is part of our responsibilities as teachers. We must remember that our goal is to protect our students and help shape responsible citizens of the society, this process starts from the classroom and should not be limited to academic achievements.(oo)