We all know how difficult it is being in high school. The less you conform, the more difficult those four years become. Our personal experiences prove that adolescents feed off of "difference." They take the small tid-bits and turn them into an opportunity to highlight their normality and cover up any insecurities they have about themselves. But where does that leave the victim? Feeling isolated, feeling alone. The NCTE position statement says that 64 percent of LGBT students feel unsafe at school. Even if teachers do provide a "safe" environment for learning, how can we, as student teachers, become allies for not only LGBT students, but for every student who needs support?
Being a student teacher, not so far removed from the aforementioned environment, has given me a unique perspective and a unique opportunity. Because of my closeness in age, some students have felt comfortable coming to me with dilemmas, or issues they have experienced. But I can't pretend that this has always been a positive experience. Some students have felt as though we were buddies, that calling a student a "fag" in front of me was no big deal. My reaction to this, I learned was very important. I had two choices: I could either ignore it and continue on or have a discussion about what was wrong with saying that. Unfortunately, I chose the first. And I immediately regretted it. This student just learned from me that it was okay to use a derogatory words in the classroom. Who cares if someone in the classroom takes offense to it, right? Wrong. While no student appeared to be offended at that particular instance, the student was now empowered to use those words whenever and however he pleased. And any students who may have looked to my as an ally before, now thought that I was okay with that bullying.
I really saw how awful my response was when the same student, although joking, proceeded to make fun of me. While students were taking a test, I was reading one of my Shakespeare plays. He looked at me and said, "What a loser?" I'm embarrassed to say it, but this is when I decided to have a talk with the student. I can't say I'm proud that it took this long, but I'm glad I had the conversation. Although probably not the most successful, I got my message across: bullying would not be tolerated, at all.
I think what was taken from this experience was what I learned. I get it, this is a learning experience, and we are going to make mistakes. But I hate that I made such a horrible one. Turning a blind eye hurts everyone involved. I have taken it upon myself to ensure that I always take these moments to teach tolerance and understanding to my students. I vowed to myself to wear the school's GSA shirt as much as possible, to intervene, to listen, to respond, to become the ally that I, as a student teacher, need to be.
