Gay+Lesian+and+Straight+Education+Network

Eric Pinter ** Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) ** ** Introduction ** The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) is an organization located in New York City that strives to assure that each member of every school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression (GLSEN website). GLSEN focuses on K-12 schools in forty different chapters across the United States. These chapters represent cities, states or regions. ** Establishment & Histor **** y ** The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network was originally founded as the Gay and Lesbian School Teachers Network (GLSTN) in 1990. The GLSTN was a volunteer group consisting of 70 gay and lesbian teachers. At this point in time, only two Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) in the United States and only one state in the U.S. with official policy to defend lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students. LGBT children and adolescents did not have much of a say in education circles or in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender movement. Also, at this time, teachers in school had limited resources and knowledge to talk about LGBT issues and concerns (GLSEN website). In response to these inadequacies, the GLSTN hired full-time employees and changed its name to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network to attract more members. Since its inception, GLSEN has more than 4,000 registered Gay-Straight Alliances. ** Communication ** Communication and connection with other people is often cited as difficult because of social norms/taboos and stigmatization. In a study relating to education and LGBT students, one woman stated, “I had shut myself off from everybody. I had no one.” Another man cited that, “I stopped going to parties in the 7th grade because I was too uncomfortable. It was expected that I would try to put the moves on a girl and I felt very uncomfortable doing that because I didn’t want to lie to myself and I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. So I would say that I already had a girlfriend but then the question came up, who is she and the lying just couldn’t stop” (Mathison, 1998). Difficulty in communication stems from pressures felt even as early as grade school. Coupled with harassment and assault that LGBT students experience, communication can become very difficult for LGBT people. The aim of the GLSEN is to reduce this harassment and assault against LGBT students so that they can feel safe in school. If this can be achieved, the communication between LGBT students and straight students can be improved and the harassment can be eliminated. ** Advocacy for LGBT Youth Safety ** “Of the over 47 million K-12 students in the United States, two-thirds are unprotected by any form of state law or local policy” (Vaught, 2005). One action that GLSEN takes in order to advocate for such laws and policies is releasing a publication entitled, the “State of the States.” In this document, GLSEN presents a policy analysis of LGBT safer school issues by state. State grading is derived from five categories which in total are worth 100 points: · General education, 20 possible points, including teacher/student ratios, teacher salaries and student funding · State safe schools law, 30 possible points, including sexual orientation and/or gender identity · State non-discrimination law, 20 possible points, including sexual orientation and/or gender identity · Sexual education, 15 possible points, whether or not required by the state and whether or not it includes HIV/AIDS education · Local safe schools policy, 15 possible points, including sexual orientation and/or gender identity States also lose points if their state law stigmatizes LGBT people (Vaught, 2005). By extrapolating these facts and figures, safe schools will be created through a process of “policy, procedure, [and] practice” according to Lisa Love, a health education specialist in Washington state. ** Awareness and Policy Response ** In June of 2004, the New York City Council passed the Dignity in All Schools Act which covers all people, most importantly students, from bias-harassment on school property on the grounds of religion, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin, disability, academic performance or any other physical characteristic (GLSEN website). This policy was created in response to the failing grade that GLSEN gave New York state in its 2004 State of the States report.

** Current Campaigns ** // Day of Silence // The Day of Silence is a student-led day of action; supporters of this action strive to show that anti-LGBT biases in school are inadmissible. Students who partake in this action take a daylong vow of silence to content discrimination and harassment. This silence is supposed to represent the silence that LGBT students experience. The Day of Silence campaign was first enacted in response to GLSEN’s findings in their 2005 National School Climate Survey in which GLSEN reported that: · 75.4% of students heard derogatory remarks such as “faggot” or “dyke” · 89.2% of students reported hearing “that’s so gay” or “you’re so gay” – meaning stupid or worthless – frequently or often · 37.8% of students experienced physical harassment at school on the basis of sexual orientation, 17.6% experienced physical assault · 26.1% of students experienced physical harassment at school on the basis of gender expression, 11.8% experienced physical assault · LGBT students were five times more likely than the general student body to report having skipped school because of safety concerns · LGBT students reporting that they were harassed frequently in school were twice as likely than the general student body to report that they would pursue post-secondary education · The average GPA for LGBT students who were frequently harassed was .5 GPA points lower than LGBT students experiencing less harassment (Day of Silence website) // No Name Calling Week // No Name Calling Week is an annual week where activities in school are intended to end name-calling and provide schools with the resources necessary to engage in an ongoing dialogue about ways to mitigate and hopefully eliminate bullying (No Name Calling Week website). Students and teachers alike are encouraged to bring No Name Calling Week to their schools. GLSEN offers an education kit for No Name Calling Week that includes a video, information and lesson plans. ** GLSEN and Celebrity Support ** Lady Gaga announced on the Gayle King Show in March of 2011 that the proceeds from her recently released single, “Born This Way (Country Road Edition)” would be donated to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (Advocate). ** References ** GLSEN Website: [] Vaught, S. (2005). How One Seattle Educator Gets an “A” in a Failing State. //Journal of Gay & Lesbian Issues in Education.// Vol. (3) 1. The Hawthorne Press, Inc. Day of Silence Website: [] No Name Calling Week Website: [] Advocate: [] Mathison, C. (1998). The Invisible minority: Preparing Teachers to Meet the Needs of Gay and Lesbian Youth. //Journal of Teacher Education//, 49: 151. Sage Publications.