Safe Spaces
Making Schools and Communities Welcoming to LGBT Youth
Annemarie Vaccaro, Gerri August, Megan S. Kennedy

Extended Comments

In Safe Spaces, I found even the introduction to be engaging with facts that surprised me. Having grown up in "different times" I feel the classrooms and school environments that I attended were much different that what kids are growing up in today. of "Still, classroom spaces leave their mark on all of us."  Vaccoro says.  How we look, act, dress, shouldn't matter. Every student should feel safe. Vaccaro states that its the adults responsibility to "pay attention" in order to help with shaping of attitudes in the classroom. As Christian states in his blog, " A child's identity is crucial to healthy cognitive development and confidence." I have to agree with Christian on this. If a child is unsure of who they are, and their place in the world, imagine what that does for their self confidence? Their social skills? Their potential in the classroom, or in life? The LGBT student should feel as safe and free with equality as any other student in the room. Christian then goes on to say "Why limit a student just because they have a different sexual preference than you?" Exactly. Why limit any student? How does ones sexual preference affect their over all learning? If this wasn't an issue and it was truly accepted by everyone, it wouldn't affect their learning. The child would be free to express themselves and be themselves as they choose to be. "How are children going to learn to accept a concept if they are so heavily sheltered from it? Christian further explains. "Sexual orientation topics are entirely absent from nearly half our elementary teacher education programs in the United States."  As we learn more about this, and more people are open to the facts, I hope that statistic changes.

Points to discuss in class: Once we are educators, what could we do for LGBT students to ensure their safety and equality in the classroom?