School for LGBT Teens

[ShyGuyInChicago]

I am curious wold you want or have wanted to go to a school that is designed to be a safe place for LGBT teens?

If you are still in high school/middle school, would you want to transfer to such a school if possible.


I know of two schools that are designed to be safe environments for gay teens and other teens who are unsafe because of school bullying: Harvey Milk High School in New York City and The Alliance School in Milwaukee.

Me personally, I would probably not made any attempt to be able to go to such a school by virtue of not wanting to come out to my parents.

[Ender]

No, wtf, this is so wrong. Builing a seperate school to seperate the homosexuals from everyone else. I do not agree with this idea whatsoever. Homosexuals dont need just gay friends, yeah a couple are nice, but they need regular friends too..

[Carlyle]

I admit, the idea is appealing, but why not just make our schools were in now a bit more LGBT friendly? Coming out to my parents isn't an issue, they already know.

[ShyGuyInChicago]

No, wtf, this is so wrong. Builing a seperate school to seperate the homosexuals from everyone else. I do not agree with this idea whatsoever. Homosexuals dont need just gay friends, yeah a couple are nice, but they need regular friends too..

Not all gay kids can have a safe experience at school. Such schools could be the best option for ANY student would be unsafe at regular schools. The schools are not just for gay kids. Plus, eventually such kids will find straight people who will accept them.

[Vonn]

Not all gay kids can have a safe experience at school. Such schools could be the best option for ANY student would be unsafe at regular schools. The schools are not just for gay kids. Plus, eventually such kids will find straight people who will accept them.

The solution should not be to isolate homosexuals from everybody else just because some kids were raised to think of them as inferior. If any bullying in regards to one's sexuality (or anything, really) occurs in school, that's an issue the administration will have to deal with. Dividing everybody would give into the idea that it's wrong, bad, filthy, etc., and that we can't all get along together because Jesus will explode our eternal souls.

[Ender]

I admit, the idea is appealing, but why not just make our schools were in now a bit more LGBT friendly? Coming out to my parents isn't an issue, they already know.

This would be a much better option. My school is fairly gay friendly, and we recently launched a GSA, and acceptance has skyrocketed. Maybe if other schools promoted acceptance, etc. Homosexuals would have friends everywhere, and feel safer where they stand.

[Sosaku]

segregation? isn't this like the 1900's again?

[Ender]

segregation? isn't this like the 1900's again?

^My thoughts.

[Sosaku]

^My thoughts.

no, they were my thoughts =P but you can use them :wub:

[Shadowin]

Well the thing is I am proud of who i am and i dont have to hide it. They can do what they want to me but i will always stand side by side with everyone who suppports me hurt one hurt a thousand.

[blackpo]

I admit, the idea is appealing, but why not just make our schools were in now a bit more LGBT friendly? Coming out to my parents isn't an issue, they already know.

its stupid for them to spend tremendous amounts of money to fund new schools when they could make all schools more friendly

[ShyGuyInChicago]

segregation? isn't this like the 1900's again?

Such schools are different from the segregation of the past. First, they are not open solely to LGBT teens. Second, all they were created with LGBT students in mind, they are open to ANY student regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity who may be unsafe at traditional schools because of bullying and harassment. Third, such schools are would be voluntary for the students to attend.

[DerBear]

I rarely post in here but this topic caught my eye.

Would this not set the LGBT Society back 10 years of work because doing so would be like "yhea we dont want any gays at our school" and the hate would start again and build again.

It would be nice if more school accepted gays and other sexualitys better but I am sure with time. things will change.

Unitl them, I guess LGBT's need to wait...

[AlexTorkin]

I believe that a school dedicated to only LGBT people would be kinda stupid. It'd be nice to have the safe environment, but that could just be at any school. It depends on the administration and opinions of students there. Plus, I literally feel the need to have a straight guy friend because they keep me on check with things.

[nameless12]

well, at first i thought "WOW :D THATs AWESOME!!" but then i realized that maybe its not good to put only LGBT people in a school... there should just be a more friendly enviorment for LGBT people in normal schools and no bullying :)

[Amaryllis]

This will just divide the LGBT and straight community even more. It doesn't prepare you for the real world. The LGBT kids will not learn to cope and survive once they leave school. Straight kids won't learn to accept them as they wouldn't know many. An LGBT school will not prepare them for what the world has in store and such a division would have horrible consequences.

[User Deleted]

Well, I came in thinking it would be fine if LBGT people wanted to go to a separate school.

But I started to reconsider after reading through.

For starters, there ARE school that are very accepting. At my school people come out as lesbian, bi, or gay fairly often (as we live in a small enough community that you wont find transgender people in all likelihood) and people treat them as they did before. Because people accept that it really isn't a big deal.

On top of that as people have said it doesn't prepare you for the real world. This one hit me a bit personally. My mom has tried to bubble wrap me my whole life (please don't take that literally) so I was pretty sensitive going into kindergarten. For me to actually develop a somewhat normal behavior and to be accepted took years (about 4 or 5) and I really regret not knowing jokes, or just playing, things seemed mean to me because I didn't have a clue about the real world. And even here I started to learn more about how people act. (I guess thanks to those of you who have pointed out how stupid I really can be) Separating them will cause similar problems, it will draw more attention, it is bad in the long run.

So, the government can waste money on building more LGBT schools...
Or they can help encourage schools to be more accepting.

[ImCoolBeans]

This will just divide the LGBT and straight community even more. It doesn't prepare you for the real world. The LGBT kids will not learn to cope and survive once they leave school. Straight kids won't learn to accept them as they wouldn't know many. An LGBT school will not prepare them for what the world has in store and such a division would have horrible consequences.

My thoughts exactly. This will just create a larger social gap.

[LuckyLuke]

Not all gay kids can have a safe experience at school. Such schools could be the best option for ANY student would be unsafe at regular schools. The schools are not just for gay kids. Plus, eventually such kids will find straight people who will accept them.

I don't understand.. the school isn't JUST for "gay kids"? So... isn't that an accepting and supportive regular school? What's the point?

[thecanjump]

I would not want to, sure it be nice for knowing who you could possibly become a boyfriend with but it's not a good thing to separate. This quote sums it up.

segregation? isn't this like the 1900's again?

[danny dangermouse]

Segregation is a sickening idea but some areas need to be more gay friendly anyway.

There is one gay guy at my school and he's universally hated, yet one of my best mates is gay and lives about 20 miles away, he's one of the most popular lads in his school.

[Skyhawk]

segregation? isn't this like the 1900's again?

And have Perez Hilton as the next Rosa Parks? Hehehhehe

I don't agree with segregation, just a change in school policy would be nice.

[Nexus]

I admit, the idea is appealing, but why not just make our schools were in now a bit more LGBT friendly? Coming out to my parents isn't an issue, they already know.

This, this and this.

I'm all for such an establishment that prides itself on being LGBT friendly, but LGBT exclusive? No -- It's a recipe for disaster.

Perhaps if the school prided itself on openly enrolling and providing support to kids from varying family situations and such (which all public schools should do anyway), it might see to a better reception.

[ShyGuyInChicago]

This, this and this.

I'm all for such an establishment that prides itself on being LGBT friendly, but LGBT exclusive? No -- It's a recipe for disaster.

Perhaps if the school prided itself on openly enrolling and providing support to kids from varying family situations and such (which all public schools should do anyway), it might see to a better reception.

I said this earlier in the thread. The schools are designed to be a safe place for LGBT students, but ALL students can go if they are unsafe in other schools. The reason why they were made with LGBT students in mind is because LGBT students are seemingly more likely than their non-LGBT peers to be bullied.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Alliance_School_(Milwaukee)

The Alliance School is a public charter middle school and high school located in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It serves the needs of students in grades 6-12 who are hindered in the traditional high school environment due to harassment, intimidation, physical and/or emotional abuse, both LGBTQ and others. The Milwaukee Public Schools website describes it as, "a safe place for students regardless of sexuality, identity, appearance, ability or beliefs."[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Milk_High_School

Harvey Milk High School is a public high school in the East Village of New York City designed for, though not limited to, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender young people, as well as those questioning their sexuality. It is named after assassinated San Francisco, California supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to office and one of the best known gay politicians of the 20th century. He was assassinated along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone on November 27, 1978.

The school was originally run by the Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI), an organization that provides social support to at-risk youth, especially non-heterosexuals. After becoming a fully accredited public school in 2002, the high school is now administered by the New York City Department of Education, separate from HMI. The school and the non-profit still share space in the same building, with Hetrick-Martin providing a majority of the school's arts and culture programming.

[Nexus]

The big picture should center around acceptance. I completely understand your desire to have a safe haven for LGBT teens, but ultimately this would only alienate them. The road to societal acceptance is a long and steep one, but we should continue to push for that rather than side-rail it with temporary solutions.

That's my opinion. I would much rather see school authorities taking greater iniative in ensuring that all public schools are welcoming to LGBT teens. I was lucky enough to have that in High School, and so should everyone.

[Jupiter]

The Alliance. I heard about this on Channel One News. I'm not sure people should be separated from each other like that.

[kenoloor]

We should create schools designed for, though not limited to, black people. And others designed for, but not limited to, Asians.
No, no, no. This is absolutely a recipe for disaster, as someone said previously.
a) public schools are SUPPOSED to be welcoming and inclusive of LGBTQIA individuals (obviously, there's lots to improve in that area)
b) especially in the LGBTQIA community, but in all minority communities, there is STILL shittons of prejudice. If you came to the GSA at my college, you wouldn't believe how much shit-talking goes on behind people's backs within the group. It's disgusting.
c) this is essentially a "separate but equal" idea.