School Counselors Worry over the 'Don't Say Gay' bill

School counselors have major concerns over the 'Don't Say Gay' bill. They fear that questioning students will lose one of their only places to go for support.
USA Today reports:

"We have a lot of students who are kind of coming to terms with who they are, whether it's sexual orientation-related or not," said Leigh Bagwell, coordinator of school counseling services for Metro Nashville Public Schools. "I think you'd be hard pressed to find a counselor that hasn't dealt with that at one time or another."


Counselors wonder if the bill, for example, would ban:


• Suicide prevention posters that reference sexual orientation.


• Gay teachers from displaying or discussing photos of their partners.


• Discussions of sexuality with parents who ask about their children.


• Thoughtful exploration of episodes in which students are targeted with homosexual epithets.

Brad Palmertree, a spokesman for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, also wonders how his organization would support students who might be bullied about their perceived sexual orientation.

"I think we would be limited in our resources," said Bagwell, whose group offers training to counselors.

This bill was never a well thought out plan. It was set from the start to be problematic. I wish these foolish people would realize how harmful this bill really is.

Department of Education addresses Bullying

The U.S. Department of Education launched an initiative to address harassment and bullying of children, including LGBT children.

Please read the letter released to many educators
Dear Colleague... A Letter addressing Bullying

I hope this helps.

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Purple Power

If you can, wear something Purple in support of Spirit Day.

What is Spirit Day?

The idea behind Spirit Day, first created by teenager Brittany McMillan earlier this month, is a simple one, not dissimilar to the idea of "Spirit Week" held in many high schools, and can be summed up in three words: Everyone Rally Together.
Spirit Day honors the teenagers who had taken their own lives in recent weeks. But just as importantly, it's also a way to show the hundreds of thousands of LGBT youth who face the same pressures and bullying, that there is a vast community of people who support them.
Purple symbolizes 'spirit' on the rainbow flag, a symbol for LGBT Pride that was created by Gilbert Baker in 1978.
As one of the event's Facebook pages says: "This event is not a seminar nor is it a rally. There is NO meeting place. All you have to do is wear purple." 
Wearing purple on October 20 is a simple way to show the world that you stand by these courageous young people and a simple way to stand UP to the bullies. Remember those lives we've tragically lost, and show your solidarity with those who are still fighting. 'Go Purple' today!  

Report: LGBT Students are Harassed or Feel Uncomfortable on College Campuses

Today, the Student Affairs' bible, The Chronicle of Higher Education released some 'not so cute' news about LGBT students in colleges.

The report, "The 2010 State of Higher Education for LGBT People," was based on a survey conducted by the Q Research Institute for Higher Education, which is run by the advocacy group Campus Pride in partnership with Iowa State and Pennsylvania State Universities. The survey drew on responses from 5,150 people—primarily those who described themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender but also heterosexual "allies"—in the spring of 2009 at about 100 institutions nationwide.

About a quarter of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer students and employees said they had experienced harassment, as did more than a third of transgender and "gender nonconforming" respondents, compared with 12 percent of heterosexuals.

Seventy percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer students and employees felt comfortable with the overall campus climate, the report says, a rate that was higher than that among transgender and gender-nonconforming respondents but lower than that of heterosexuals. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer students who were also members of racial minority groups felt less comfortable in their classes than did their white counterparts, and faculty members were more likely than were students and staff members to have considered leaving their institutions, the report says.

Not as bad as the high school reports, but it could be better.

GLSEN report: 9 out of 10 LGBT Students Experience Harassment in School

Sorry for more sad news, but GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) released results from their The 2009 National School Climate Survey. The findings were not good:

The 2009 survey of 7,261 middle and high school students found that at school nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT students experienced harassment at school in the past year and nearly two-thirds felt unsafe because of their sexual orientation. Nearly a third of LGBT students skipped at least one day of school in the past month because of safety concerns.

Here are some key findings:

Student Experiences, a Hostile School Climate and the Effects on Educational Outcomes and Psychological Well-Being:

84.6% of LGBT students reported being verbally harassed, 40.1% reported being physically harassed and 18.8% reported being physically assaulted at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation.

63.7% of LGBT students reported being verbally harassed, 27.2% reported being physically harassed and 12.5% reported being physically assaulted at school in the past year because of their gender expression.

72.4% heard homophobic remarks, such as "faggot" or "dyke," frequently or often at school.

Nearly two-thirds (61.1%) of students reported that they felt unsafe in school because of their sexual orientation, and more than a third (39.9%) felt unsafe because of their gender expression.

29.1% of LGBT students missed a class at least once and 30.0% missed at least one day of school in the past month because of safety concerns, compared to only 8.0% and 6.7%, respectively, of a national sample of secondary school students.

The reported grade point average of students who were more frequently harassed because of their sexual orientation or gender expression was almost half a grade lower than for students who were less often harassed (2.7 vs. 3.1).

Increased levels of victimization were related to increased levels of depression and anxiety and decreased levels of self-esteem.

Being out in school had positive and negative repercussions for LGBT students – outness was related to higher levels of victimization, but also higher levels of psychological well-being.

GLSEN has been doing their research for 10 years. Although there has been some good things, many of our LGBT youth are still suffering abuse and harassment.

I REALLY want schools to take this seriously. As leaders, guides and mentors they can really take a stand and protect our students. They should not have go through so much Hell. Our youth, needs support and they need it now!

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