Support Services for LGBTQ Youth - SFUSD Student Support Services Department

Voices from our Schools

Christopher

9th Health Education Teacher at Balboa High

Q. What are you doing to create a safer school community for LGBTQ students?

In my class we talk about sexual orientation, which is part of learning about relationships and human sexuality. Students are interested in all aspects of relationships and I think part of our jobs as educators to create a school environment where everyone feels safe and treated with respect. So in my teaching I think about how students will be expected to treat other people when they eventually do move into a workplace. It’s a fun class to teach. It’s often very funny but I think if you’re genuine with students and respect their questions and answer them in a truthful and age appropriate way they learn to trust you as reliable source of information and they just keep coming back. Students are going to be making choices as they move into adulthood, around what they’re being taught, some are making them right now but it’s important to recognize that when they are making these choices their parents aren’t there their teachers aren’t there and they need to have accurate, reliable information to rely on and some practice with thinking through their decisions ahead of time while considering their values and what’s important to them.

Q. How has the school climate changed since the beginning of your LGBTQ work?

Were working to make sure that the whole school is on board with addressing things that maybe in the past may have slipped by. Like students throwing insults at each other, calling each other gay, with negative connotations, calling each other slurs. As new terminology comes up were trying to keep the staff aware of it. So if someone says no homo in your class you can call it out and talk about what is meant when the say that. This way it becomes part of their education. Not necessarily punishing them when they use these terms but just letting them know that the words that they use are important and have value and they should be aware of the values that they are promoting when they say them. That is part of teaching them in a respectful and diverse class room, don’t let words slip by that are derogatory about gender, race, religion, etc. If people are being insulted or can’t express who they are in school then that’s not okay in the same way that it wouldn’t be okay in a workplace. Part of being an adult in a modern world is learning to get along with people who are different than you.

Q. What would you like to do better this year?

I’ve been really excited this year because our GSA has a lot of new students. We have an enthusiastic group of ninth grade students who had a great teacher in middle school and all came in ready to get started having a really active GSA at the high school level, which is just great. I really want to find opportunities for them to speak to the school and express their voices as much as possible.