This Pride month, a trend has developed that is driving me insane. There is a response to almost any LBTQ+ topic that goes something like “Just leave kids alone”. I’ve seen it too much. It’s silly, it’s harmful, it’s (usually) just a smokescreen. Take this report from NBC News, and you’ll see the trend I’m discussing.
Do you remember when you had your first crush? I do. I was in 4th grade. That’s what…9 or 10 years old? As a heterosexual male, it was a girl. You probably wouldn’t think that’s very weird, would you? In fact, many of you reading this might have had a very similar experience. Now what if you’re a 10-year-old kid, who doesn’t understand what being gay means and you have that experience? It’s confusing for any kid, but I can’t imagine how it feels when it’s not the “norm”. I had (and still do, have) wonderful parents. I can’t recall specifically but I’m sure we had discussions about relationships between girls and boys, boys and boys, girls and girls. I’m sure the conversation was quite simple. People connect with who they connect with, and it’s your job as a responsible citizen to respect that.
A common phrase in response is “well we want to teach our kids about that at home”, which at face value, great! I wish more parents were involved with their kid’s schooling. It’s just so rarely the case. Party chat has removed some of this but go play a video game online and see how long it takes before a gay slur gets thrown out. Doesn’t take long at all. A part of being in a public school is learning to accept others who are not like us. Some parents seem to have a real issue with this.
The bottom line here is that folks seem to have this idea that something is happening in schools that is simply not. I tried to find examples of LBGTQ curriculum. It likely varies from district to district but I found a wonderful overview here. To summarize, a LBGTQ+ curriculum is about helping students understand that they are normal, and they are included when learning about health. Not “how to be gay”. The American Bar Association passed a resolution stating “This resolution urges legislative and education policy-making entities to pass laws and implement policies that mandate that the political, economic, and social contributions of persons who are LGBTQ+ be included in their school curricula, in addition to other underrepresented cultures and identities; this resolution further urges legislative and education policy making entities to pass laws and implement policies that mandate LGBTQ-inclusive sexual health education and positive relationships be included in the health education curriculum to promote the good public health and mental well-being of all youth.”
Hiding behind “well leave the kids alone” will end up doing more harm than good. It’s a cowardly response. This should be obvious, but we still have adults getting in fist fights in front of schools, so we have a long way to go.