Starting a Gay/Straight Alliance

[Pasadenacpl2]

This year, as long as the powers that be allow it, I will be starting a Gay/Straight Alliance at my high school. I've been pondering it for a few years now, as some students have asked me to in the past. I finally feel as if I'm the right person for the gig now.

Any help any of you can lend would be fantastic. I am unsure of exactly what I'm doing (forging ahead blind, as it were), but I'm enthusiastic, so that helps, I suppose.

Thanks,
Pasa

[Long Duck Dong]

lol ok are you refering to a social school group, or something like that???

first things first.... make it non sexuality biased..... lol....
in english, not just gay / straight.... but lgb poly asexual and straight...... its a better image and look.....

do not give them extra rights that you would not afford to other students.... ie time out of class.... use the lunchtime, after school etc, instead.....

be careful of powerplays in the group.... this will happen when one sexuality wants to be seen as the *leaders *..... personally, I would have a * ruling council * with one person speaking for each sexuality..... that converses directly with the principal, you, the school board etc..... that gives the students the appearance that they all have a equal voice.....

homophobic bullying and abuse... it will be subtle, but it will be in the school.... attempts to try and remove it are a *walk on egg shells * situation.... you make the wrong call and you will send the message that your group gets extra protection over other bullied students.....

make it clear, its not a meat market.... the students want that.... take it out of school, they are at school to get a education, not laid.....

you, yourself need to be seen to be standing at arms length.... close enuf to advise and oversee things, but not close enuf that you get personally emotionally involved..... its easy to do.. but its not worth your career.....

you will get the usual * if they can have that, why can't we have this * type powerplay from some students.... as they see the students getting a * extra * deal just cos they * fudge pack * :tong:
thats where the choice of room for the group and the timing is the key to it....

lastly, its no different to bisexual.com.... not everybody is gonna see eye to eye.... but you would understand that better from the students point of view, since you deal with ( and at times, want to strangle ) the students daily.....

lol good luck..... and may the the condom dispensing machine never fail lol

[gfofbiguy]

Do you have a GLBTQ center in your area? They would have some good resources for you. As well as contacting your local PFLAG would be a good idea as well ... http://community.pflag.org/Page.aspx?pid=194&srcid=-2

Good luck to you and I think it's a great idea!!!

~~Gfofbiguy

[rissababynta]

My school had a gay/straight alliance. I was not a part of it since if it had nothing to do with music or dramatic arts I felt no need to be a part of anything...but those that I knew who were in it LOVED it. I hope your group turns out just as successful. Good luck!

[Long Duck Dong]

Are you out at work? Are you going to come out as bisexual to your bosses or the students?

Why should Asexuals or people in open relationships be included in a highschool GLBT group or a gay/straight alliance?

Asexuals are not GLBT people and just because someone has an open relationship that does not mean that they should somehow be included in a GLBT group for students.

Have you tried talking to other teachers or administrators and seeing if any of them have done this in the past at other schools, or are better suited for running the group?

asexuality (http://www.asexuality.org/home/)
asexuals can id as LGBT.... they just lack a sexual interest......

people in a open relationship can still be LGB..... the nature of their relationship should not exclude them from a gay / straight alliance.....

[Pasadenacpl2]

Are you out at work? Are you going to come out as bisexual to your bosses or the students?

No, I am not. After discussing this with the girl I referenced earlier, I would do this whether I was straight or bi or whatever.


Why should Asexuals or people in open relationships be included in a highschool GLBT group or a gay/straight alliance?

Asexuals are not GLBT people and just because someone has an open relationship that does not mean that they should somehow be included in a GLBT group for students.

I don't understand the purpose of these questions. They seem intended to pigeon hole. It is, in my estimation, a huge problem with the queer "community" as a whole. The goal of a GSA is to promote understanding of ALL sexual orientations (as long as they don't involve pedophilia, animals, or anything else that isn't a consenting human in the appropriate age category).


Have you tried talking to other teachers or administrators and seeing if any of them have done this in the past at other schools, or are better suited for running the group?

I have. None have attempted it at our school, or at past schools. And, why would I be looking for someone who is better suited?

Pasa

[BI BOYTOY]

:bipride:well i wish you good luck with that and i truely hope every thing works out for you:bipride:

[NEPHX]

....I will be starting a Gay/Straight Alliance at my high school.

Any help any of you can lend would be fantastic. I am unsure of exactly what I'm doing (forging ahead blind, as it were), but I'm enthusiastic, so that helps, I suppose.

That's easy... one stop shopping to help you with all the things you need to set it up:

Contact GLSEN (GayLesbianStraightEducationNetwork):
www.glsen.org

Don't be dismayed by the lack of the B for Bisexual. The name stuck even after the B for Bi and T for Transgender asserted itself. I've worked with them here in Phx representing our local bi group over the years.

About Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs):
http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/library/record/2342.html?state=what

The GLSEN Jump-Start Guide for Gay-Straight Alliances:
http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/library/record/2226.html

Jump-Start Guide:

GLSEN has created a series of 8 how-to guides for new and already established GSAs. The resources take you through the process of establishing your GSA, identifying your mission and goals, and assessing your school's climate. Learn how to make your school a safer place for all its students.

Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) are student clubs that work to improve school climate for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. 4,000 GSAs are registered with GLSEN.

Register:

GLSEN keeps a count of GSAs across the country. By registering at www.studentorganizing.org, GSAs are able to access GLSEN resources and network with other students and advisors. Please make sure your GSA is registered.

Chapter Listings for Texas
(could give you a local flavor even though they are in Dallas vs. Houston
GLSEN Dallas
PO Box 7200
Dallas, TX 75209
Phone: 817-999-0199
Email: dallas@chapters.glsen.org
Website: http://www.glsen.org/dallas

[darkeyes]

Interestin Pasa.. an good luck with it.. cant help cos its not something I know too much about.. since no such thing exists in Scottish schools or anywhere else in the UK that I know of.. I'm not too sure just how successful they would be either because while there are openly gay and bisexual people in our schools, Im afraid school peer pressure has kept those numbers down to very few per school.. in the High school I work at I know of just 2 openly gay and 1 openly bisexual kids out of 450.. and a couple who remain in the closet.. most schools here for all the progress we have made in the last half century are hardly hotbeds of progressive thought and action in things sexual, certainly not in things homosexual or bisexual.. I have no doubt whatever that there are probably many more who are not straight but in insufficient numbers to even think of doing what you wish to do.. one good thing is that staff seem to be more progressive than the pupils and in time as numbers increase of kids who declare themselves we may be able to do something along the lines of what you are proposing.. I see it certainly has possibilities..

School has broken up for the summer but you have given me food for thought for when we return at the back end of August.:) Tie for some research methinks...

What is interesting, just as an aside.. is that many of those up-tight and repressed kids, especially, but not exclusively those who go on to our universities, tend very quickly to discover their sexualties remarkably quickly, or at the very least expriment with them.. especially those who stay in Halls and live away from home and their place of upbringing... that tells me a lot..

[tenni]

Good for you Pasa!!! I wish you success.

You mention the powers that be and uncertainty if it will be permitted. Would that be the principal or higher up the ladder? Would I be correct in thinking that there are no other schools in your Board with such a programme? Are the students that asked you to start such a group still in your school? I had not heard of such a network but found a website discussing it. I notice that it offers training for young people but not necessarily for the school teacher mentor? I'm sure that you have read this website but http://gsanetwork.org/about-us



Again, good for you and post here later in the school year as to how it is coming along.

[mikey3000]

Wow. Very brave. Good for you and best of luck.

[TulsaTriad1]

no such thing exists in Scottish schools or anywhere else in the UK that I know of.

Waitasecond. Didn't you folks invent personal liberty? The Magna Carta, John Locke, Quentin Crisp and all that?

And you say you work in a high school?

Go back there this fall and tell them that the kids in states that voted for George W Bush and Sarah Palin and spell potato with an "e" are kicking their tweedy behinds in the Rights of Man (Woman/Etc./Etc.) Department.

Seriously, though, it's places where sexuality is most repressed that such groups are most needed. In the US, there has been a recognition that a significant number of teenage suicides are connected to (actual or perceived) sexual orientation.

See www.thetrevorproject.org -- in fact, watch the video. You might recognize the young actor that featured on their home page video. Very wizardly sort of kid.... :male::male::female: