Critical Literacy and Sexual Orientation

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Critical Literacy and Sexual Orientation

• Kelly Rueda, Michelle Vega, Jennifer Morris

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How does critical literacy relate to sexual
orientation?

• Identifying which group has the power -
  Heterosexuals
  
• Investigating what is done with that power and
  why - All other orientations are oppressed
  
• Students ought to question why our society
  considers heterosexuality the norm and why
  anything else may be seen as weird or
  unnatural
• Once students are critically literate about
  sexual orientation they can become agents of
  change, acting to balance power .

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Definition of Sexual Orientation and Identity

• Heterosexual (or straight) refers to a person
  who is attracted to or falls in love with someone
  of the opposite gender.
  
• Homosexual (or gay man or lesbian woman) refers
  to someone who is attracted to or falls in love
  with someone of the same gender.
  
• Bisexual refers to a person who is attracted to
  someone of another or the same gender.
  
• Questioning refers to a person who is unsure of
  their own sexual orientation.
  
• Transgender refers to individuals whose internal
  feelings of being male or female differ from the
  anatomy they were born with. Transgender refers
  to gender identity, not sexual orientation.

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How are homosexual students suffering in schools?

• Teachers cannot portray homosexuality as an
  acceptable lifestyle in the following states
  Arizona, Alabama, Mississippi, S. Carolina,
  Texas, and Utah.
• 65 of teachers surveyed in Colorado have never
  taken an undergraduate or graduate course that
  featured information on homosexuality
  
• 92 of LGBTQ students in middle and high school
  report hearing homophobic remarks. 1 in 5 of
  these students heard these remarks from staff or
  faculty
• Attempted suicide rates are over four times
  higher for LGBTQ students
  
• 33 report they have attempted to commit suicide
  during the past year, compared to other students
  (8).
  

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Providing Support for GLBT groups

• Create a safe classroom environment Teach
  students how to discuss sensitive issues in an
  appropriate way. Students need to use proper
  vocabulary and demonstrate respect when speaking
  and listening to others.
• Provide explicit support systems for LGBTQ
  students. Research shows that students in
  schools with gay-straight alliances (GSAs) feel
  less likely to miss school, feel less unsafe, and
  more likely to feel a sense of belonging at their
  school vs. LGBTQ students who have no support at
  their school.
• Employ inclusive and respectful curricula. You
  can have one opinion personally, but deal with an
  issue entirely different professionally.
  
• Include anti-gay bullying in anti-harassment
  policies. Reporting forms should be available
  for students and staff, and a process should be
  in place to monitor for both repeat harassers and
  repeat victims.

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Teaching Ideasfor Early Childhood Education

• Using Multiculturalism to incorporate gay/lesbian
  issues especially when discussing differences in
  families. By doing this children will become
  understanding and aware of others.
• All families are special. Discuss variations in
  families by creating a class picture/collage.
  
• Having students share stories about their
  families.
  
• Have GLBT parents/family members as class
  visitors.
  
• Read Ashas Mums. How do you think Asha feels
  when the teacher told her she cant have two
  moms?

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Teaching Ideas for Middle School

• Incorporate sexual orientation topics when
  discussing groups of people who have been or are
  oppressed in our country.
  
• Brainstorm list of common myths/beliefs of
  homosexuality and research their accuracy
  
• Have students read Anita Kings A Stride Towards
  Freedom speech and Brian McNaughts essay, Dear
  Anita (a letter by a gay man arguing that gay
  teachers should not be kept out of the classroom)
  and have students write a letter from King to
  McNaught about gay rights
• Research other oppressed groups and
  compare/contrast the experiences to GLBT groups
  

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Teaching Ideas for Middle School

• Incorporate sexual orientation when discussing
  people/minorities that have contributed to our
  country. Read lit that includes GLBT characters.
  
• Discuss how the Civil Rights Movement acted as a
  catalyst for the GLBT Movement. (Dr. King
  organized boycotts with a well know Bayard Rustin
  a prominent gay male)
• Make a poster of a GLBT individual that have
  contributed to our society.
  
• Make a survey interviewing students and staffs
  views about GLBT people
  
• Make a chart/graph that illustrates students
  beliefs at the beginning of the unit and at then
  at the end.

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Why teach about sexual orientation?

• Education should be seen as the vehicle for
  equality and for participation in a democratic
  society. Reiko Liu, 10th Grade English Teacher
  
• 10 of students are GLBT
• GLBT students have a right to read about
  characters they can relate to or help them
  develop self esteem
  
• 92 of LGBTQ students in middle and high school
  report hearing homophobic remarks. 1 in 5 of
  these students heard these remarks from staff or
  faculty
• Such teaching may help to prevent homophobia and
  reduce the incidence of physical violence
  experienced by gays and lesbians. (Reiss p.344)
  

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Quotes

• Respecting the stories of faith and religion
  told by others is just as vital in our
  multicultural world as respecting stories of
  race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and
  class difference.I Know Lots of People Have
  Those Thoughts, They Just Do. Kazemak, Francis
  E. Journal of Adolescent Adult Literacy 45, no.
  5 Feb. 2002
• Good teaching in this area should
  enablestudents to become better informed about
  peoples sexual orientations it should help them
  better to understand each others positions and
  it should allow them to clarify their own
  values. (Reiss, 343)
• Name-calling, bullying and harassment on the
  basis of sexual orientation and gender identity
  are really quite serious and present issues in
  middle schools and high schools across the
  country. Student Silence Fights Harassment of
  Gays
• April 17, 2007 www.courant.com/features/lifes
  tyle/hc-silence.

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References

• Anthanses, S. (1996). A gay-themed lesson in an
  ethnic literature curriculum Tenth graders
  responses to Dear Anita. Harvard Educational
  Review v66 no2, 231-256.
• Casper,V (1996) Toward a most thorough
  understanding of the world Sexual orientation
  and early childhood education.
  
• Reiss, M. (1997). Teaching about homosexuality
  and heterosexuality. Journal of Moral Education v
  26 n 3, 343-352.
  
• Reese, Shelly The Law and Gay-Bashing in Schools
  Education Digest, May 1997.
  
•  
• Fight Hate and Promote Tolerance
  www.tolerance.org
  
•  
• Harvard Family Research Project
  www.hfrp_at_gse.harvard.edu
  
•  
• Reproductive Rights Professor Blog
  www.typepad.com
  
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• Student Silence Fights Harassment of Gays
  www.courant.com
  
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• Sexuality Information and Education Council of
  the United States www.siecus.org
  
• National School Climate Survey (New YorkGLSEN,
  2003)