How Should Sexual Orientation be Addressed in Schools?

This was a question that I had while I was reading the section “From the Perspective of Sexual Orientation” in McNergney. There is a lot of controversy about whether or not sexual orientation should be addressed in schools and whether it should be included in the sex education curriculum. For a lot of young people, middle and high school is the time that they are coming to terms with their sexuality. Teachers may not believe that there are any gay or lesbian students at their school because they do not hear about it. The likeliness is that there are gay or lesbian students in the school as well as students with gay or lesbian siblings or caregivers. Whether or not gay or lesbian students decide to openly share their sexual orientation in their school community has a lot to do with how they perceive the attitude of the school to be toward individuals of different sexual orientations. If the student believes that there are a lot of homophobic attitudes in the school then they will likely choose to keep their sexual orientation a secret and may feel like an outcast in the community.

There are many ways that teachers and other school officials can help promote an accepting attitude of people with different sexual orientations in their school. One way is for teachers to have a no tolerance policy about homophobic comments made in the school, even if the student is not directing the comment toward a gay or lesbian student. Another way is to start a Gay-Straight Alliance at the school. Students in this group are not always of a different sexual orientation, but it is rather a group that shows their support toward the members of the community of a different sexual orientation. These strategies can help students of different sexual orientations to feel that they are not alone in their school community, but actually accepted for who they are.

As a future teacher, I want to create a classroom where students of all sexual orientations can feel safe. At the same time I also want to respect the views of those who are not in support of gay or lesbian students. I will not allow any homophobic language inside my classroom, but I will also not put a large focus on the issue. I do believe that groups such as the Gay-Straight Alliance are beneficial to schools.

Questions and Answers: Sexual Orientation in Schools

Should Sexual Orientation Be Taught in the Classroom 

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