Linking Advocacy to English Class

At the recent California Association of Teachers of English (CATE) [2] conference in Sacramento, I found myself surrounded by passionate English teachers, those willing to give up a weekend to share best practices. Hundreds of teachers attended to find new ways to make schools better places for students.

So I was surprised at the low attendance at the LGBT-specific workshops. Of the two sessions I attended, one had three attendees and the other had eight. CATE 2011 Convention Chair Michelle Berry surmised that perhaps “with so many other workshops competing at the same time, especially those that are specific to a particular book title, for example, teachers might be choosing something ‘Monday-morning ready’ instead.” As she aptly put it, this is a “sad commentary when we know how crucial the LGBTQ issues are in all of our classrooms.”

Perhaps we don’t all know this.

In the sessions I attended, I was shocked to hear other teachers share some of the problems they face in their schools and districts. One teacher’s principal undermined her decision to refer a student to the office for repeated use of the ubiquitous expression “That’s so gay!” Rather than back up the teacher’s decision to follow California Education Code 220 (AB 537) [3], the principal excused the student from detention and stopped just short of formally reprimanding the teacher. At another school, a teacher reported that one colleague told a young woman who confided in him that she would go to hell if she chose a gay lifestyle.

I don’t normally think of teachers and administrators as the perpetrators of homophobic language and behavior. At my school, we have openly gay teachers and staff. Students typically do not use homophobic language. But when they do, someone is quick to check them.

Cheryl Hogue-Smith, the CATE Program Chair, suggested that “teachers generally consider themselves accepting of all students—regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. So I think they think there is no need to go to a session that they think will talk about being tolerant and accepting.”

I attended the workshops because I can always use new ideas for supporting marginalized students. Even as a former Gay-Straight Alliance advisor, [4] I found many of the resources insightful. Several of the teachers who attended the LGBT workshops were looking for ways to advocate for the students back at their schools in the face of an intolerant adult culture. But most of us felt we were already advocates.

For both teachers who work in conservative climates and those of us who thought we were already doing it all, I recommend checking out Ally Action (an alliance of youth advocates and educators in the Bay Area). In particular, the group’s self assessment tool [5] can be used by any educator to identify areas to strengthen the practice of inclusivity. Teaching Tolerance also provides resources for teachers to help gay students (Why We Need a GSA [6] and 5 Steps to Safer Schools [7]).

As for CATE attendees, we all recognize that English class is often the place students feel the safest to write and talk about their feelings. By natural extension, questions about sexuality are bound to arise from the novels we read. Tying LGBT issues in to the English curriculum is just one more way we can work towards tolerance and make the invisible visible, the unspoken spoken.

Thomas is an English teacher in California.