Transcript 318-LGBT-Bleasdale

LGBT where are we now ?
Jane E.Bleasdale
Saint Peter’s Prep
PhD candidate Fordham University
Moving beyond tolerance to
inclusion…..
• Jesuit Schools like Saint Peter’s Prep in Jersey
City are places of diversity. Students come
from extreme socio economic backgrounds ,
of all races and ethnicities. Some are gay,
some are straight. We are a diverse
community of men and women for others .
How do we practice Cura Personalis for
‘minority students’ students of color, and our
gay and questioning youth ?
Tolerance vs. inclusion =
‘don’t ask don’t tell’
• Tolerate ?
• Include ?
Day of Silence ?
• The Day of Silence’s purpose is to bring attention to anti-LGBT namecalling, bullying and harassment and effective responses. The goal of the
Day of Silence is to make schools safer for all students, regardless of sexual
orientation and gender identity/expression. In a Harris Interactive study
on bullying, students said two of the top three reasons students are
harassed in school are actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender
expression. Additionally, nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT students experience
harassment at school. Students across the country participate in the Day
of Silence to bring attention to this problem, let students who experience
such bullying know that they are not alone and ask schools to take action
to address the problem.
Verbal harassment/bullying
• Hundreds of thousands of students of all beliefs,
backgrounds and sexual orientations participate in the
Day of Silence. Anti-LGBT bullying and harassment affects
all students. Slurs such as "faggot" and "dyke" are
commonplace in school. The Day of Silence is an example
of students, from middle school to college, working
together proactively to bring attention to the anti-LGBT
name-calling, bullying and harassment experienced by
LGBT and straight students alike. GLSEN, the Day of
Silence’s organizational sponsor, encourages participants
to be counted by registering at www.dayofsilence.org.
Students from nearly 8,000 middle and high schools
registered for the 2008 Day of Silence.
National Stats (GLSEN)
• The 2009 survey of 7,261 middle and high school
students found that at school nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT
students experienced harassment at school in the
past year and nearly two-thirds felt unsafe because
of their sexual orientation. Nearly a third of LGBT
students skipped at least one day of school in the
past month because of safety concerns.
Academic consequences
• The reported grade point average of students who
were more frequently harassed because of their
sexual orientation or gender expression was almost
half a grade lower than for students who were less
often harassed (2.7 vs. 3.1). Increased levels of
victimization were related to increased levels of
depression and anxiety and decreased levels of selfesteem.
Student life ‘diversity club’
• Breaking Barriers is a student club committed
to being men and women for others in our
diverse student body. Embracing CURA
PERSONALIS, we strive to support individuals
while educating the school community on
issues of diversity, particularly sexual
orientation.
Activities
• What does the club do?
• We meet regularly to discuss issues, share ideas, and
socialize.
• We inform and address the student body on issues of
diversity.
• We network with other schools (Jesuit and non) in the
metropolitan area.
• We coordinate the schools ‘safe space program’ which
states that every student deserves a safe space to learn
free from bullying and harassment.
Club mission
• Everyone is welcome to join Breaking
Barriers
• A STUDENT CLUB COMMITTED TO BREAKING
DOWN THE BARRIERS AROUND ISSUES OF
DIVERSITY AT PREP.
• WE WORK TO ENSURE THAT PREP IS A LOVING
AND AFFIRMING PLACE FOR ALL STUDENTS
Students That Oppose Prejudice
What does inclusion look like ?
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Curriculum
Role models
Visuals
Marketing tools
Professional/development formation for
teaching, supporting including minority
students.
• Personal bias.