From: "Reis, Elizabeth" Elizabeth.Reis@METROKC.GOV
Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2001 13:06:25 -0700
Dear Safe Schools members and friends ...
April 18 on Public Radio: Anti-gay Harassment
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April 18 at 6:35 and 8:35 a.m. on Public Radio
James Uphoff, Ed.D., President of the Ohio School Boards Association, will speak on Public Radio during "Morning Edition," Wed. 4/18 regarding anti-gay harassment ("radio streamed" on your computer via the web next Wed. at 3:35 a.m. or at 5:35 a.m. PDT and archived as text after that if you click on "Uphoff on Education": http://www.wyso.org).
This is the text of his commentary:
LEAD: Harassment of students by students on the basis of gender and/or sexual-orientation has been increasing in recent years-at least in terms of the number of reported incidents. In today's education commentary, Dr. Jim Uphoff addresses this complex and very sensitive issue.
It begins in the early elementary years even before most children really know the full meaning of such terms as sissy and tomboy, but then rather quickly escalates in the upper grades and middle school to such labels as queer, fag, and lesbo. Sometimes, bitch, tramp, and even worse are tossed in as well. From middle school on, physical attacks become much more common as "side dishes" to the verbal abuse menu.
A 14-city study of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth found 80% reporting verbal abuse, 44% reporting threats, and over 30% being chased or having things thrown at them. While at a major education conference in Boston just a month ago, I attended a series of sessions on this very problem.
I learned that strong evidence suggests that the old cliché is not true, but you can recite it with me: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!" The polite way to describe its accuracy is to say, "Male bovine excrement!" Words do hurt-very deeply and the pain is long-lasting.
Increasingly schools have been found guilty in court of failing to protect children who were being subjected to gender or sexual-orientation harassment. When school officials ignore such complaints as too many have done, they are contributing to the abuse. In the same buildings where the use of such derogatory terms such as the N-word is banned and punished, the use of words like queer, fag, and lesbo have been tolerated. Equal protection under our Constitution has been denied and the Courts are finding schools to be very guility.
In at least two incidents, early adolescent males were told by a principal to "act like a man" and defend themselves. When thus forced to fight "like a man", they were suspended from school by the same principal. It was a Catch-22 for the harassed boys and big bucks of cost for the district for a court settlement.
On the bright side of this coin, there are some excellent curriculum materials now available to help schools deal with such harassment in a positive and educative way. I'll include several sources in the web version of this commentary at wyso.org.
Schools can attack such problems by helping students learn to deal with each other using civility and common courtesy. This is an essential first step in helping to promote an atmosphere free from such overt bigotry of all types. Peer conflict-resolution groups have been highly successful in hundreds of schools. Workshops for educators and students have been found to make significant changes in a school's climate. A Maine high school principal has used such ideas and concludes, "The climate has improved noticeably...because every student knows that the dignity of ALL students must be thoughtfully supported."
Together our schools, parents, and communities can reduce such harassment. The question, however, remains: :But will we do so? How will your community respond?
---Dr. Uphoff is the current President of the Ohio School Boards Association and a columnist for the Oakwood Register. He is also an Associate Director for WSU'S Center for Teaching and Learning. His commentaries can be read on our web site at wyso.org and he can be reached via email at mjames.uphoff@wright.edu
RESOURCES ON THIS TOPIC:
OUT! MAKING OUR SCHOOL SAFE FOR GAY TEENS. a video series from Attainment Co., Inc. 1-800-327-4269
The GLSEN Lunchbox: A Comprehensive Training Program for Ending Anti-Gay Bias in Schools. 1-800-247-6553
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund: http://www.lambdalegal.org
Respect for All a media series for kids: http://www.womedia.org
Family Diversity Projects, Inc. a non-profit organization with a series of photo-text exhibits available for schools and community groups. http://www.familydiv.org
Safe Schools Coalition of Washington: http://www.safeschools-wa.org
James K. Uphoff, Ed.D.
Wright State Univ. Prof. Emeritus: Educ.
WSU Ctr. for Tchg & Lrng Assoc. Dir: Faculty Development
Oakwood City OH Bd. of Ed. mbr
Ohio Sch. Bds. Assoc. President 2001
937-299-5139 h 937-299-0878 h FAX 937-775-3651 WSU
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Last updated 4/12/2001 by Jean Richter, richter@eecs.Berkeley.EDU