LGBT+ Inclusive Teaching Philosophy: Road To Early Sensitisation

Suggested Citation: Godbole, R. (2021, July 6). LGBTQ+ Inclusive Teaching Philosophy: Road to Early Sensitisation. Queer Academia. URL.

When I was in first grade, I used to believe that my class teacher had read every book that was ever written. To me, she was the ultimate stamp of authority on everything ranging from how my handwriting was, to how good I looked in my birthday dress. This childlike belief that ‘Teacher knows best’ is not unique, every one of us has experienced it in school. A primary or middle school teacher has as much, and I dare say more influence on a child than their parents.

Today, some of us understand that introducing LGBT+ concepts and literature in school is a good idea (Dellenty, 2013). If children are more informed at an early age, they are less likely to pick up homophobic attitudes as adolescents. More importantly, primary school itself can be a breeding ground for homophobic bullying (Menon, 2019), which can be tackled through LGBT+ inclusive education. So considering that inclusivity needs to be ingrained since childhood and teachers have a huge influence over children’s attitudes, an LGBT+ inclusive teaching philosophy can go a long way in rooting out homophobia and discrimination from an entire generation.

Let’s unpack the concept of teaching philosophy and what it means to have an LGBT+ inclusive teaching philosophy. In simple words, teaching philosophy means beliefs about teaching and learning, interaction with students, and professional goals. Often, candidates applying for a teaching job are asked to submit a statement of teaching philosophy or explain their teaching philosophy during an interview. So to have an LGBT+ teaching philosophy would mean emphasizing on inclusivity, acceptance and sensitivity to the issues and complexes that queer children go through. It would also mean actively bringing up these topics in the classroom and normalising conversations about same sex relationships and gender identities.

There is no written down definition of an LGBT+ inclusive teaching philosophy, but there are initiatives dedicated to the cause. For example, in Europe, IGLYO, an LGBT+ youth development and leadership organisation, has created a guide for inclusive education that gives practical advice to primary and secondary school teachers to make classrooms an inclusive space (IGLYO, 2015). In India, transgender activist Kalki Subramaniam has created a Teacher’s Guide to Gender Non-Conforming Students to be distributed in schools free of cost (Chachlani, 2020). It covers the basics of gender identity and expression, how to identify gender non-conforming students, how to support them, how to have conversations with their families and so on. In 2019, after the government of India announced the New Education Policy, women’s groups and queer groups recommended specific changes to the policy in terms of gender and sexuality related rights, use of gender related terms in the policy document, comprehensive sexuality education and so on (The Wire Staff, 2019). As such initiatives mushroom across the world, we find ourselves in a better position to design an LGBT+ inclusive teaching philosophy.

However, the real challenge is implementing this philosophy on ground. In a survey conducted in the University of Minnesota among middle and secondary school teachers, about 52% of the teachers said that they were comfortable using LGBT+ literature in the curriculum, but only 23% of them reported actually using it (Page, 2017). This of course, does not speak for the situation in India, where LGBT+ issues are talked about even less frequently. Far from encouraging an inclusive philosophy, there have been instances of teachers losing their job (Naraayanan, 2020) and students dropping out of school because of their queer identity. There is scant research and documentation of efforts to make school-level education LGBT+ inclusive.

What we can do is take inspiration from initiatives in other parts of the world and try to work them out in the Indian context. The simplest thing we can do is avoid grouping students by gender. The practice of seating boys and girls separately, especially after puberty, is very common in Indian schools. It might create internal conflict and discomfort for students who are gender non conforming or are confused about their gender identity and expression. An alternative way of doing things would be grouping children by roll numbers. It might be difficult (although not impossible) to avoid gender segregation in some settings like sports teams and washrooms, but considering where we are now, even baby steps would be much appreciated. Along with that, we should also stop the practice of addressing the class as ‘girls and boys’, and instead use more gender neutral terms like ‘students’ or ‘children’.

Secondly, we could organise workshops, conferences and regular meetings or support groups for teachers on this topic. Teachers can be trained in how to respond to questions about sexuality and gender identity and expression, how to actively support students who are discovering their identity, how to have conversations with their parents, how to deal with homophobic comments and bullying in the classroom, and how to identify and report abuse. Teachers need to know exactly what they should do, whom they should consult in cases of bullying or domestic abuse on grounds of queer identity. A general familiarisation with LGBT+ terms and terminology like coming out, consent, etc. can prevent mistakes like letting someone out without their permission.

The third suggestion is more about the curriculum than about the teacher, but in the end it all boils down to whether teachers are willing to include it in their lectures. Even if the government does not prescribe an inclusive curriculum, there are ways in which teachers can make it inclusive. They can avoid heteronormative and gender stereotyped examples, stories and pictures. They can make more references to same sex relationships and gender non-conforming characters. They can conduct activities to show how labels can be distressing, and that in the end it is the person that matters, not their appearance, preferences or gender expression.

Lastly, it would be very useful to take help from social workers, educational experts, mental health counselors and other professionals who have insights into psychological development in childhood. Their advice and services can fill important gaps in the education system in terms of inclusivity.

While we mobilise efforts toward a more inclusive teaching philosophy, there are two things to be kept in mind. First, schools, curriculum and teaching philosophies alone cannot bring about inclusion. The child’s social environment expands beyond that, into the family and society at large. A focus on teaching philosophy needs to be complemented by efforts to take into confidence the child’s family, friends and community. Secondly, resistance from teachers, school authorities and parents is expected. While it is high time that we became more accepting of the LGBT+ community, it is also important to understand that for decades, we have been living with internalised homophobia and gender stereotypes, and shaking them away is going to take time. So we need to proceed at the pace of teachers and parents who don’t support it or are on the fence. The ultimate goal is to provide students with as many safe spaces and supportive relationships in their childhood as possible.

References:

1.     Bhattacharya, S. S. (2020, November 21). Labelled, bullied, humiliated: What LGBT students in our schools go through. Citizen Matters. https://citizenmatters.in/india-city-schools-homophobia-lgbt-discrimination-gender-research-6863

2.  Chachlani, T. C. (2020, October 17). New Education Policy & gender: It’s time to have the ‘talk.’ The Daily Guardian. https://thedailyguardian.com/new-education-policy-gender-its-time-to-have-the-talk/

3.  International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Youth and Student Organisation. (2015). Teacher’s Guide to Inclusive Education. https://www.iglyo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/IGLYO-Teachers-Guide-to-Inclusive-Education2.pdf

4.     Menon, P. (2019, June 10). LGBT bullying in schools takes heavy toll, reveals Unesco report. The Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/lgbt-bullying-in-schools-takes-heavy-toll-reveals-unesco-report/articleshow/69718451.cms

5.   Nagaraj, A. (2019, July 18). Bullied by peers, India’s LGBT+ children drop out of schools. U.S. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-lgbt-school-feature-idUSKCN1UC2UI

6.   Narayanan, J. (2020, September 8). Two years post-377 verdict: Fired from Kolkata school, a gay teacher finds a supportive workplace. The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/feelings/two-years-after-section-377-decriminalisation-verdict-diversity-inclusion-work-environments-6584487/

7.  Page, M. L. (2017). From Awareness to Action: Teacher Attitude and Implementation of LGBT-Inclusive Curriculum in the English Language Arts Classroom. SAGE Open, 7(4), 215824401773994. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244017739949

8.  Reporter, G. S. (2013, February 5). Children are never too young to know homophobic bullying is wrong. The Guardian.https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/feb/05/homophobic-bullying-children-gay-primary-schools

9. Sarda, A. (2020, February 1). For an LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum. The Hindu.https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/for-an-lgbtq-inclusive-curriculum/article30712646.ece

10. Staff, T. W. (2019, June 27). Collective of Women, Queer Groups Suggests Measures to Strengthen Draft Education Policy. The Wire. https://thewire.in/education/collective-of-women-queer-groups-suggests-measures-to-strengthen-draft-education-policy

Written by: Rasika Godbole

Reviewed by: Smriti Gupta, Kanav Sahgal

About the Author: Rasika is a psychology graduate from the University of Mumbai pursuing a career in the field of clinical psychology. She works as a content writer and wishes to write on issues of social relevance. The LGBTQ+ cause is very close to her heart and she hopes to make a small contribution to creating awareness about the same.