Lessons in Diversity
“I’m just so surprised at how many people make being gay a big issue. I think people need to be more accepting and just chill out.” – High school student in Colorado
In a candid discussion about sexuality that recently took place in a Northglenn High School classroom, students reflected upon human differences – and came out of the class with a better understanding of themselves. The conversation featured Chris Robertson, a program officer at the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado, who spoke with students about what it means to be gay. By having open dialogue about this topic in a safe and mature setting such as schools, the Gay & Lesbian Fund hopes young adults will become more socially aware and grow up to be accepting of all people.
In the multicultural literature course, offered for the first time during the 2007/2008 school year in the suburban school north of Denver, students are encouraged to think about two questions: “Who am I?” and, “How do I fit into society?” The class is the brainchild of teachers Kate Mulcahy and Katie Gaddis, who work in partnership on class planning and wanted to expose students to a variety of cultural topics ranging from religion and politics to race, gender, and ethnicity.
Along with examining definitions of culture and how people identify within their own cultures, students are asked to learn about people who are different from themselves – with an ultimate study of how humans can work together and peacefully co-exist.
“We are teaching students to be socially aware and open minded. Gays and lesbians are often a target of mistreatment in schools and society because people who aren’t gay don’t have an understanding of what it means to be gay. We asked Chris to come have an open discussion about what it all means, because it’s harder for students to have feelings of hatred when they see a face,” says Mulcahy.
In advance of Chris’s visit, the 125 high-schoolers were asked to supply the teacher with three anonymous questions for Chris. During the course of the discussion, students became comfortable enough to raise their hands and ask questions directly – such as, “At what age did you know you were gay?” and “How did your Catholic upbringing affect your outlook?” With students ranging from out-gay to devoutly religious, Mulcahy says she didn’t know what to expect as an outcome of the exercise, but it achieved what she hoped.
“Oftentimes, teenagers don’t look beyond themselves until they hear someone’s personal story. Chris just walked into the room and blended with everyone else. The face-to-face dialogue with him put an end to stereotypes and really caught the attention of students in ways I hadn’t expected. It created an environment of honesty,” she says.
After the class ended, Mulcahy collected comments and feedback from students and passed it along to Chris. The response he received was powerful.
“Some thanked me for opening their eyes to the challenges gay people face in life, from workplace discrimination to family teasing, or said I helped them understand a gay relative better. They commended me for my bravery on being an out-gay person, and learned for the first time that gay people just want to be treated like everyone else. But they all gained valuable new insights, and came away with a broader perspective on sexuality, a powerful part of the human experience,” says Chris.
