Blog Post #1

     After watching the film and reading the articles I have learned a lot and while learning I also made many connections to the previous module. It is important as future educators that we are accepting and make sure our students have a voice and are being accepted. While watching "The Laramie Project" I found it horrible to see how a student was tortured and left to dead because of his sexuality. This is an example of the issue with how many people do not accept others and how this needs to be changed. People should never be treated differently because of their sexuality or gender. It is important for students to be able to feel safe in their school and classroom. The article "Hate in Schools" states "Two main areas to focus on should be making sure kids who were targeted feel safe and delving into why the perpetrators of the bias incidents are acting that way"(Vara-Orta, 2018). It is extremely important as future educators we make sure our students are safe and being treated equally. With that being said, stopping hate and making sure that everyone is understanding of one another is very important for the future. It seems as if teachers and classmates are not understanding how these students are feeling being called hateful and cruel names just because they may be a different race or come from a different culture. I think it is important for our students to have the right resources in order for them to have a voice. "Soon, Helayne started an LGBTQ affinity group at Montgomery County High School"(Waxman, 2019). Providing these resources for our students gives them the opportunity to meet others, learn about the issues, and provide an impact on the future and fight for what is right. There has definitely been an increase in teaching the history of LGBTQ in schools which is a great way for students to learn and understand acceptance. It is crucial that in our society, authorities are promoting acceptance and influencing others for the better. All of this really connect to the Anti-Racism as well. Although race and gender are different they both receive unequal treatment and discrimination as well. There also has been many new laws that contribute to equal rights specifically for gender and race equality. Our schools also need to contribute the history of both racism and gender into lesson plans. This teaches our students acceptance and understanding the rights of each individual. "Schools must be safe havens and we have to implement changes to better address and prevent sex or gender based discrimination" (Veiga, 2020). There are and should be many new laws to prevent and educate our students. We need change and acceptance in our society. Perhaps school can mandate school board meetings discussing changes that need to be seen in our schools. 

Gender & Sexual Minorities Conference. (2021). Kutztown University. Retrieved 2021, from https://www.kutztown.edu/about-ku/administrative-offices/lgbtq-resource-center/gender-and-sexual-minorities-conference.html

                                                        References 

Kaufman, M. (Director). (2002). The laramie project [film]. Good Machine, HBO Films.

Vara-Orta, F. (2018, August 6). Hate in schools.Education Week. LINK (Links to an external site.) 

Veiga, C. (2020, February 27). New law aims to shed light on sex and gender discrimination — and prevention — in NYC schools. Chalkbeat New York. https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2020/2/26/21178767/new-law-aims-to-shed-light-on-sex-and-gender-discrimination-and-prevention-in-nyc-schools

Waxman, O. (2019, December 13). As More States Require Schools to Teach LGBTQ History, Resources for Teachers Expand. TIME Magazine. https://time.com/5747670/lgbtq-history-resources/ (Links to an external site.)