Our world is very harsh and cruel, that means we have to deal with "situations" I wish were not situations at all, because they are simply part of life. Life is hard enough as a teenager, going through puberty and the teenage drama that is inevitable, and so much more that I care to remember. Individuals who identify with the LGBT community as teenagers must be feeling so much more stress, confusion and many other things at this point in their lives too. It is hard to find support amongst a high school crowd for LGBT individuals, who either have to suffer in silence or get ridiculed when they speak their minds. I want my students to feel comfortable with me and know that they can count on me to listen to their concerns and know that I will stand up for them--always.
If I had a student come out to me and not their parents, I would respect the fact that they put that much trust in me, and not tell anyone unless they asked me to. I would also encourage them to come out to their parents, because it might relieve some of the pain or pressure they may feel.
I've noticed a sign on the door of the art classroom at the high school that informed students that it was a LGBT Safe room, and this is something that I would like to have on my door too to let all the students know that I will support anyone and everyone in the school.
I also think it would be good to have artists incorporated into my lesson plans that have a LGBT background. This will open the students to a more diverse idea of who an artist is. Without realizing it, I used Robert Rauschenberg in my lesson plan as a contemporary artist who was a part of LGBT community. I almost like the fact that I had to stumble across this information because it shows more of a focus on his work rather than his lifestyle. I also found a couple of other artist, Cathy Opie, a photographer, and Barry Purves, an animator and director of stop motion films.
You can check out some of their work at these websites:
www.queerculturalcenter.org/Pages/Opie/Opeindex.html
www.barrypurves.com/
www.bobrauschenberggallery.com/rauschenberg_biography.htm
Your post was great. I love the fact that you realize it is so hard to be a teen ager and even harder to deal with also being LGBT in our society. I also wish that the world were somehow different sometimes. Glad you found the queer culture center resource. It's a good one.
ReplyDeleteI also think you are right the content of an artists work is more important in the classroom than their lifestyle, but it does help to contextualize the reasons they make the work they do.
I also like how you've phrased your statements, as I too wish there weren't "situations" to deal with, but merely people to talk to and help. It is hard to be a teenager, in fact it can be incredibly hard. By realizing this and trying our best to prepare ourseves for as much as we can, I think we will be better able to deal with the things we encounter. At least I hope so.
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