January 22, 2016 – Building Inclusive & Safe Schools for LGBTQ Students
Presented by: Kevin Welbes Godin
“This workshop will briefly introduce you to the LGBTQ language, the realities facing LGBTQ youth in schools, and how teachers can effectively and confidently create schools that address homo/bi/transphobia. Tools and materials will be available to concretely do this work in all publically funded schools.”
As a part of the Professional Learning Series through the Faculty of Education, on January 22, 2016 I had the opportunity to attend a workshop about the LGBTQ community put on through Ontario Teachers Federation. This workshop was informative in the way that it provided resources on the definition behind LQBTQ, the difference between sex and gender, and how we as teachers can be more sensitive to issues to create a safe school. The presentation was structured in a conversation format so that as an audience member I was able to contribute to the conversation and was able to think concretely about LGBTQ students. In this workshop I was educated on the different terms that make up the common LGBTQ acronym and the difference between gender and sex.
This workshop was beneficial to me as an educator in that many students walk into the classroom with suppressed feeling surrounding their gender and sexuality. By educating myself, I am able to transform the way I address students. Instead of saying “ladies and gentlemen” or “guys” when referring to students, I can use a more inclusive term such as “people” or “students” so that students are not identified by their gender. Similarly, I can choose texts in my classroom that focus on different elements of gender to allow other students to gain knowledge. Similarly, I am more confident in the way I conduct my classroom so that I can conduct my behaviour in a way that welcomes all students and does not make students feel uncomfortable. I hope to use the information learned in this workshop to create an inclusive space in my classroom and to make students feel at ease, so that learning can occur in a safe environment.