Embracing Diversity in American Education: Understanding Sexual Orientation and Gender Identification Issues in the Classroom

We have learned to be tolerant of difference, but only to a point. Fear of the other, that which is not the self, that which has difference, has always prevailed. Out of this fear we breed hate ands violence and, ultimately, the need to legislate against such violence. For all people whose gendered identity differs from that of the majority, this fear is a real issue. Until we, as a society, reach a full understanding of gendered difference, that fear will continue to exist and permeate all aspects of life, including education. School districts and education programs at the college level need to take an active role in fostering understanding and acceptance of LGBT issues in the minds of current and future teachers.

Because much of this hate and fear is born out of religious and moral conditioning, change might, at times, have to be forced upon certain individual through the establishment of laws and legislation. Religion and its inherent belief systems as held by specific individuals has been used, or misused, for centuries to defend such violence as the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition, and acts of persecution such as the Apartheid in South Africa and slavery here in the United States, as well as Hitler’s Third Reich and the Holocaust and even the Salem Witch Trials. It is the same for prejudice and hatred in the school system.

The need to educate and fight discrimination in the school system is no different for the LGBT community than it was for the black community after Brown v. Board of Education enforced desegregation on the basis of race. Certain individuals will never be coerced into acceptance, but they can be legislated into accountability for their actions or, in many cases, their inaction in certain key situations. School boards, administrators, and teachers cannot be allowed to allow personal beliefs to sway their actions.

If a student is being harassed or threatened in any way, the issue must be addressed immediately. The current trend towards openly discussing these issues in education journals is a key starting point for the dialogue. As educators continue to be made aware of their responsibility to protect teenagers at the formative stage of their gender-orientation identity, attitudes will begin to change and inclusion will be more equitable for all students, regardless of sexual orientation.