“only 18 percent of students said they had studied anything related to LGBT issues or people in any of their classes, a statistic that has shown no significant change since GLSEN’s 2001 survey…” Still in the Shadows; Michael Sadowski.

This statistic speaks volumes. As we mentioned in the beginning of class, the silencing of a topic communicates a lot. By deeming and keeping this topic taboo communicates that it is not acceptable, among other things. The book went on to quote a student who said, “the gay rights movement is not even mentioned during the civil rights chapter in my American history textbook.” This is unacceptable because what educators, book publishers, politicians, and many others are doing is silencing the truth that they find uncomfortable. Apart from silencing the truth, they are creating a hostile environment for others in order for themselves to feel more “comfortable.” It really is sickening. As educators it is our responsibility to create a safe environment for all of our students despite the restraints put on us by politicians, text books, and intolerant people. This is no easy task because there will be many times when we are put in uncomfortable positions to do this. I firmly believe that we have to train for this, and it is my hope that there will be professional development  opportunities for this. The book does offer some great ideas such as incorporating LGBT issues into our curriculum, talking openly about the issue, challenging stereotypes and shattering taboos, and being supportive and available for all students. They also mention the fostering of healthy peer relationships by having  a gay-straight alliance group, which is something teachers can easily support. I think that this alliance is extremely important because the students are the ones who really need to change the culture with the guidance of adults. Teachers can control what goes on in the classroom to a degree, but they have no control what goes on outside the classroom; the students are the ones who have control there, so they are the ones who need to create a safe, positive, accepting culture that doesn’t tolerate discrimination in any of its ugly forms.  The article offers many ways to be supportive, but I would have liked some more strategies to help teachers directly address discrimination and bullying of LGBT students.