Week 4: Assignment A: “Safe Spaces” – Vaccaro, August, & Kennedy

Week 4: Assignment A: “Safe Spaces” – Vaccaro, August, & Kennedy

Talking points:

1 – (beginning): The beginning of the chapter discusses the ways in which it is important for classrooms to have a supportive and inclusive classroom. A quote that I took away from the first part of the article is “Without the deliberate of an inclusive atmosphere, however, what happens inside the classroom walls reproduces the prejudices that exist outside these walls: straightness and gender conformity are assumed; LGBT identity is deviant” (p. 84). This made me think specifically about my students and the usage of the words ‘retarded’ or ‘that’s so gay’. I have been lucky enough to create a classroom environment where my students recognize not to use those words or phrases outside of my classroom, yet as soon as they walk out, they begin to use it again (some not all). How do we extend it past the classroom walls?

 

2 – (middle): The middle section of the text includes a portion on how our education system has some flaws in it. It discusses the ways in which it can be harmful to LGBT youth via things like the curriculum being offered at schools. It can be as unnoticed as an assumption made by a teacher, or as blatant as some laws shared by some states. The authors state, “Erasure might be preferred, however, to the anti-LGBT teaching that some states mandate in their health curriculum” (p.88). This explicitly discusses how some schools prefer not confronting the topic at all, while others choose to simply approach LGBT discussions negatively.

3 – (end): The last section of the text gives various examples in which teachers have created safe spaces for their students. The authors state, “LGBT students need to see themselves in the world of ideas and experiences offered up by their teachers if they are to become academically and socially connected in the classroom” (p90-91). It is essential for students to feel connected and safe in the classroom. If we want students to succeed, we need to create an environment in which they are able to….this also made me think of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Argument Statement: The authors argue that it is important for LGBT students to feel safe and included in the classroom in order to be successful academically and socially.