Posted on 07/20/2006 7:42:56 AM PDT by presidio9
The Greater Victoria School District's
"That's So Gay" campaign launch this May was just the beginning, promises school trustee Charley Beresford.
"It's not a short-term campaign. It will be going on for some time," she says. Next month, the district's queer advisory committee will send packages out to school principals reminding them about the campaign and offering suggestions on how to make their schools friendlier for queer and questioning students come September.
For Beresford, the campaign was a natural next step after her district introduced its groundbreaking anti-homophobia policy in 2004. "I felt like we were not getting far enough fast enough when it came to that phrase."
She says addressing the use of "that's so gay" is a good starting point for discussing other areas of homophobia with students and teachers.
Lower Mainland teacher James Chamberlain agrees.
He, too, used a classroom discussion of the phrase as a starting point with his Grade 3 students in Surrey during lessons on homophobia, racism and sexism. "They got it and started to challenge other kids in the schoolyard," says Chamberlain, a member of Gay and Lesbian Educators of BC.
When his students reported back that older kids were using the phrase, "it snowballed into me talking to other teachers. I spoke with the Grade 7 classes about being a gay man and my own experience in school. It was a first for my school and I've been there for five years," notes Chamberlain.
Using the term "that's so gay" perpetuates discrimination and impacts the emotional safety of students--and that affects the entire school system, says Beresford.
"It's a really 'othering' statement," she continues. "It's a way of saying 'those are other people, not us.'"
Recently reported statistics showing lesbian teens are nearly five times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers really drove this point home for Beresford, who recently won Xtra West's Straight Ally of the Year award for her work with schools.
"Kids get really tired of having to explain why it's a bad phrase," Beresford says, adding it's time adults stepped up to the plate and set an example.
"Adults are responsible for the tone of the school and the culture of the school," agrees Chamberlain. "When we say it's not acceptable, then take the time to educate kids why it's not acceptable, then we'll see change."
He too says suicide statistics, drop-out rates and substance abuse speaks volumes about the phrase's effect on many queer youth.
"It impacts negatively on their sense of self-esteem, sense of belonging and sense of community, and the ability to learn to their full potential," says Chamberlain.
The Victoria school board launched its "That's So Gay" campaign May 17 to coincide with the National Day Against Homophobia. Representatives from the district's queer advisory committee, including Beresford, an associate superintendent and practicum student, visited the district's more than 50 schools.
Each school was sent a package in advance, advising them of the campaign, with posters, a pamphlet prepared by the BC Teachers' Federation (BCTF) and ideas for action.
The BCTF materials, including its slogan "That's so gay is not okay," were a terrific fit for this campaign, says Beresford. BCTF tips include advice for teachers ranging from sharing books with positive images of queer families at the elementary level, to highlighting the contributions of queer people in each subject area at the high school level.
The campaign encourages administrators to invite presentations by organizations like PFLAG and Out in Schools (Out on Screen's initiative to bring queer films to high schools). It also suggests librarians add queer-positive books to their collections.
Chamberlain is pleased Beresford visited schools individually and notes similar campaigns are taking place in the Lower Mainland. The Vancouver School Board sent similar packages to its schools, and Burnaby North Secondary held a full week of events in May, including a day of silence where 200-300 students refused to speak for one day in a show of support for queer youth who feel silenced every day. Chamberlain was particularly encouraged to be invited to host an anti-homophobia workshop with a group of teachers in Chilliwack, not known to be the most socially progressive area.
In Victoria, participation in the campaign launch varied from school to school. One school rolled out the rainbow carpet with a Rainbow Day; others posted materials in their display cases. Beresford was invited to speak with staff at one school and at a school assembly at another.
The campaign is already meeting its goal of raising awareness, says Beresford.
At one elementary school, she recalls speaking with a principal about the district's anti-homophobia policy. "She said: 'We don't have to worry about that here.' But then I mentioned the phrase 'that's so gay.' And she said, 'Kids say that all the time here.' And it made her realize it is a problem."
Beresford hopes other initiatives, such as Vancouver-Burrard MLA Lorne Mayencourt's Safe Schools bill, will also build steam this fall. The bill attacks homophobia in schools the right way by requiring school districts to develop their own policies, says Beresford.
"It's important for each district to develop its own policy as it's an important part of the process," she explains. "More people buy into it and understand it when they are developing something."
That said, she also believes it's crucial the BC government take the lead in this area and direct the province's school districts to address homophobia.
Without government direction, only three school districts in BC to date--Victoria, Vancouver and most recently Southeast Kootenay--have developed their own anti-homophobia policies. Vernon and Quesnel also mention sexual orientation in their general non-discrimination policies.
"Nobody can argue with the right of everyone to be respected and safe," says Beresford. "Now it's time to celebrate diversity."
So I suppose that smear the queer is no longer allowed at recess..........
What a bunch of faggots........
Or "Queerodisgustic"?
Might I ask why "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" is okay but "That's so gay" is not?
Actually, you are both right. "Homo" is both a Latin and Greek root. The Greek root means "same" (i.e. homosexual, homogenous), and the Latin root means "man" (i.e. homocide, homo sapiens).
My objection with the word "homophobia" isn't with the homo part, but the phobia part. Phobia means an irrational fear. I'm sure there actually are some people that suffer from literal homophobia, but today the word "homophobic" is applied to anyone that doesn't kowtow to the homosexual agenda.
*snigger* - I like that story.
I don't recall ever telling anybody here that I'm pro-gay. Some people may misconstrue my comment as being leftist/pro-gay/whatever, but it was really intended to be pro-discussion. After all, that's what we're here for (I hope).
I made the comment that I did because I made an assumption about a previous post. I don't remember who said it, but what I thought was meant by it was that heterosexual acts are good because they make children and homosexual acts are bad because they do not and cannot make children. By this logic, mowing the lawn is also bad -- doing so cannot make children. I was wrong to assume this was the reasoning behind the previous post.
You haven't been here long enough to lecture anybody on why where here. I looked at your posting history. This isn't the first time you've come to the defense of assclowns. Read the charter: We have no tolerance for pro-homosexual sentiment here.
Plus, you observation was nonsensical (as was pointed out by several other posts on this thread).
All of us from the North end of Vancouver Island always figured those at the south end, especially Victoria were a little weird... this just goes to prove that point...
Though I can vouch that there are several "Vanilla" and "too-many-girlie-drinks" lesbians at the North end of the Island... It's just Chic for them to "try-bi"...
are they teaching lesbian fisting yet like the Boston elementary schools?
A trend on the internet is to say, "That's so ghey!" I finally asked someone, and they said, "Ghey doesn't mean gay. They're totally different. We say ghey because we don't want to offend homosexuals."
So, they like the phrase, but it doesn't satisfy their need to be PC. How ghey/gay/queer is that?
I haven't lectured anybody; I merely stated the hope that the people who visit and comment on these boards are here for conversation and debate. If you guys are more interested in a safe haven for conservative thought where little debate occurs and everybody can say exactly what they're thinking without fear of having to defend themselves, then I apologize for not following the wishes of the group. What entertains me may not be what entertains you all, and it's not my place to try to change anybody, to force the rest of you to deal with my desires, or to make judgments about which is better. If it turns out that my personality doesn't fit in with what the rest of you want, then I won't bother you anymore and I wish you all the best.
My thoughts exactly, but since dodgeball is taboo now, smear the queer would definitely float like a lead balloon.
Maybe not, but as long as you don't buy some weenie hybrid car, it can definitely lead to activity that DOES produce children.
Maybe nothing against all those other activities, maybe just single minded. You know they produced the results of that study that said the average male thinks about sex every 15 seconds or something like that. :-)
hahaha, thinking of the "Not that there's anything wrong with that" episode of Seinfeld.
...and for those who don't meet the goals, there's always:
My objection with the word "homophobia" isn't with the homo part, but the phobia part. Phobia means an irrational fear. I'm sure there actually are some people that suffer from literal homophobia, but today the word "homophobic" is applied to anyone that doesn't kowtow to the homosexual agenda.
True. We really should come up with a better name for those of us who simply resist the homosexual agenda being rammed down our throats.
Thanks for the ping.
Exactly!
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