The visit to CHS was exciting for me because it is the high school I attended, although the school has been greatly renovated since then. In fact, Kurt Dearie was my teacher for AP US History and he was the head of the GSA back then in 2006/2007 as well. When I was in school I remember homophobia and homophobic slurs as the common place. That means in the classroom, on the campus and even at home. I played sports too and I found that among sports teams the homophobia is especially apparent. My memory is fuzzy on which teachers would step in and which would pretend they had not heard a remark and often teachers may have legitimately missed these remarks but they were there and they were common. I know I did not go through one day of high school without hearing at least six or seven homophobic slurs. I have always been supportive of the LGBT community and I have worked events for the GSA while in high school and college. However there have been a myriad of times that I head the remarks without stepping in and demanding an end to those remarks. I am Jewish and this was common knowledge to my group of friends and most people aware of who I was in was school and I got jibes every now and again about my eyebrows, my hair, my nose, or my frugality but in almost every circumstance I felt a level of playfulness behind the jibes. I had my fair share of emotional days and frustration with life in high school but it never got to the point where I had trouble looking in the mirror or a legitimate fear of going to school.
When I spoke with the LGBTQ panel of students I got another perspective of how those jibes can create pain. Whether they are backed by hate or not, they are detrimental to the students in the schools that are sensitive to such issues. One thing I noticed about the group as a whole seemed much more mature than other high school students. In a sense I think the struggles they have faced growing up and being the victims of hate made them mature at a younger age than the peers around them. It was also special hearing directly from the students because when we speak about these issues away from a student body I think we miss the power of first hand accounts and the evident emotion on their faces.
Going forward I will make sure to do two things: one I want to call out students whenever I hear any homophobic remarks and two I want to establish my room as a safe zone with a sign supporting LGBTQ rights and values.
When I spoke with the LGBTQ panel of students I got another perspective of how those jibes can create pain. Whether they are backed by hate or not, they are detrimental to the students in the schools that are sensitive to such issues. One thing I noticed about the group as a whole seemed much more mature than other high school students. In a sense I think the struggles they have faced growing up and being the victims of hate made them mature at a younger age than the peers around them. It was also special hearing directly from the students because when we speak about these issues away from a student body I think we miss the power of first hand accounts and the evident emotion on their faces.
Going forward I will make sure to do two things: one I want to call out students whenever I hear any homophobic remarks and two I want to establish my room as a safe zone with a sign supporting LGBTQ rights and values.