"EDUCATORS FAIL GAY STUDENTS OF COLOR"

In an excellent, albeit tragic article by Deb Price entitled: "Educators Fail Gay Students Of Color, she shows how nothing has really changed over the years regarding the taunting and cruelty visited upon young Gay people in our schools.

Some of the key findings related in her article are:

• Biased barbs: More than 80 percent of LGBT youth of color often heard the phrase "that's so gay" or similar uses of "gay" at school to put people down. Two-thirds heard "faggot," "dyke" and other anti-gay name-calling.

In a particularly alarming finding, more than half of these students said they had heard teachers, principals or other adults at their school make homophobic remarks.

• Ignored cries for help: Only about one-fifth of students reported that school officials "most of the time" or "always" stepped in when anti-gay remarks were made in their presence.

Report co-author Joseph Kosciw says some educators are sending the message that anti-gay remarks "aren't just tolerated in school but acceptable."

Only about one in 10 students of color said other students stepped in when they heard anti-gay comments.

It is unacceptable for teachers and administrators in our schools to provoke or even allow homophobic statements and actions to exist in our schools; any teacher or administrator who allows harassment or physical attacks upon students for any reason, such as that of sexual orientation, or perceived sexual orientation, must be removed from any position of responsibility where children are concerned.

The allowing of such teachers and administrators who turn a blind eye to such assaults, be they verbal or physical, or who help foment these assaults by their actions and/or inactions, betrays the fact that such teachers and administrators have no place dealing with children, as what they do by their hateful responses, or hateful lack of responses, is nothing short of "Child Abuse."

And the victims of this Child Abuse are both the Gay kids as well as the Straight kids who are taught that it's OK to discriminate against others, thereby helping to assure that such hatred is continued on to the next generation of adults.

It is up to parents and others of good will who really care about the welfare of all children to agitate to get rid of such offenders in our schools who so abuse children!

Share |