ERIC Number: EJ1309136
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 8
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1054-0040
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Queering Your Culture: The Importance of Gender Diversity and Inclusion in The Classroom
Hennessy, Terri; Bloomberg, Sara
Montessori Life: A Publication of the American Montessori Society, v32 n1 p40-47 Spr 2020
Forty-two percent of LGBT youth say the community in which they live is not accepting of LGBT people (Human Rights Campaign). That's 4 out of 10. And lesbian, gay, and bisexual young people are almost five times more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to have attempted suicide. It is very, very hard for an LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) child to grow up in a society that tells them that who they are is wrong or ignores who they are or pretends that people like them don't exist. (And yes, this is true for all marginalized communities.) By making their school or classroom inclusive, educators have the very amazing power to change those numbers and the lives of the children they teach. Schools should be a safe space for people--students, families, teachers, staff--to feel comfortable being themselves. To do this, educators need to actively cultivate a culture that embraces and teaches gender diversity and inclusion. Teaching peace means teaching equity. It means having an anti-bias, anti-racist (ABAR) curriculum in place and a culture that supports educators' ABAR curriculum and models equity. In this article, Terri Hennessy and Sara Bloomberg discuss why educators need to break the gender binary and how and why it is important to communicate with parents/caregivers about what topics are being discussed in the classroom and what language is being used. The article then details how Montessori educators can create and curate an inclusive classroom and school by observing, reflecting on, and evaluating themselves, their environment, their classroom culture, and their staff through the lens of gender diversity and inclusion.
Descriptors: LGBTQ People, Student Diversity, Inclusion, Social Bias, Educational Environment, School Culture, Social Justice, Curriculum, Teacher Role, Controversial Issues (Course Content), Montessori Method, Classroom Environment, Parent Participation
American Montessori Society. 281 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010-6102. Tel: 212-358-1250; Fax: 212-358-1256; e-mail: info@amshq.org; Web site: https://amshq.org/Educators/Membership/Montessori-Life
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A

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