Breaking Barriers: LGBTQ+ Education and Empowerment
Resources
By Diane Sherron, education expert, LGBTQ+ activist, and blogger
Things may have changed for the better for the LGBTQ+ community when we compare it to how they were treated and looked upon thirty or fifty years ago. There's more understanding, acceptance, and equality on the horizon today than ever before. But it’s still far from perfect, and there’s so much room for improving their quality of life. This especially goes for young LGBTQ+ students who are facing numerous challenges.
Creating a safe, empowering, and uplifting environment for LGBTQ+ students in their education is crucial. We need to work together to break the barriers and help them strive. Below, we'll break down the biggest challenges they face and the solutions that we have to work on.
Safe School Environment
The number one fear LGBTQ+ students have is that they’ll be rejected, bullied, or frowned upon. 67% of them feel isolated and lonely. This is often the case, as other students lack the basic general knowledge about the LGBTQ+ community or are taught that different automatically means bad.
This is why schools need to create a safe environment for everyone to feel welcome and equal. Here's how it's done: - Inclusive school policies - Educating school staff on LGBTQ+ issues - Supporting LGBTQ+ school organizations - Organizing workshops for students
Diversity, acceptance, and inclusiveness are something that schools need to teach and reinforce.
LGBTQ+ Inclusive Curriculum
The next thing schools need to do to create truly inclusive classrooms is to work according to an LGBTQ+ inclusive curriculum. This refers to teaching students about the LGBTQ+ community through different subjects and not pretending like they’ve never existed.
Typically, that would include: - LGBTQ+ history - LGBTQ+ important events and dates - Important figures from the LGBTQ+ community - Their achievements Teaching LGBTQ+ as represented in art and literature
Simply put, an inclusive curriculum allows for LGBTQ+ people to be represented from various angles. This will positively impact the confidence of students who belong to this group while also helping those that don’t become open-minded and tolerant.
LGBTQ+ Resources
Students that belong to the LGBTQ+ community, including those who have not come out yet, need all the support they can get. Encouraging them to be who they are, without fear or shame, is crucial for their confidence.
This is why schools should provide LGBTQ+ resources these young students could use to help them overcome whatever challenges they’re facing at the moment.
The books, handbooks, guides, hotlines, and other resources the schools should provide are essential for both showing support and making sure we’re taking care of the LGBTQ+ community of students. The school can create resources of its own, depending on the needs of the students. You can hire a top essay writer online to help polish the materials and make them publish-ready.
Counseling
Every student, not just those from the LGBTQ+ community, needs to take care of their mental health. But, this is often a huge challenge.
For LGBTQ+ students, the challenge is even bigger, as they have so much to cope with. From inner struggles to fighting all the outside factors such as rejection, not being understood, or even being openly bullied- it’s a lot.
This is why student counseling needs to be available for all students in all schools. But just being available won’t do the trick. Student counselors should: - Organize sessions and workshop - Approach students, they recognize them as vulnerable - Encourage visiting them - Engage in school activities
This way, the students will get to know them and will feel more confident seeking help.
LGBTQ+ Staff Support
Finally, your students need to see this inclusiveness and open-mindedness in every segment of the school activity. This includes staff members who are also from the LGBTQ+ community.
Make sure you're providing them with the support and inclusion they need. Make the school an inclusive workplace to show your students an example of how to act.
Final Thoughts
When you look at the challenges that LGBTQ+ students are facing, it’s clear that we need to take action. Schools need to be made into safe and inclusive spaces that empower all students, no matter what their story is.
The practices we’ve listed above are just the tip of the iceberg of what else needs to be done. But we've got to start somewhere, so let's make sure that these basics are covered in all schools. This will initiate the barrier-breaking and start the empowerment of LGBTQ+ students.
Author’s Bio
Diane Sherron is an education expert, LGBTQ+ activist, and blogger. She writes about the importance of addressing the needs of LGBTQ+ students and paying attention to how schools handle their often difficult education journey.
