Blog Post #4: Looking Into My Idea
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What's the Story? The Vermont Young People Social Action Team is sponsored by Middlebury College, Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English, and the Bread Loaf Teacher Network.
Grace,
This infographic is a good start for organizing your ideas. I’m wondering if there is any place for looking at school/district mission statements and seeing how LGBTQI students’ needs may or may not be addressed there.
Abby
Abby,
I think that is a great idea to explore and I will definitely look into it. I’ve already researched some school policies in Vermont and so far it seems as if our school systems have policies in place to help keep LGBTQ students safe and make sure they feel accepted in school.
Thanks!
Hi Grace,
I appreciate the clarity of your mind map. I loved your question: What is the best way I can bring awareness to this issue? In my mind, the answer really depends on the action you hope to achieve. It sounds like a key aspect of your focus is to educate teachers/administrators. Do you envision your documentary as being a potential tool to be used during in-service trainings or school district workshops?
On your self-eval from Mt. Philo you mentioned that you hoped to push yourself to consider ideas from other points-of-view. Who do you think you could talk to in order to learn about the perspectives of those who aren’t on board with schools providing more resources for LGBTQ+ youth? It’s important not to choose people who would villainize the other side, but maybe concerned parents who don’t want their children learning about sex? Or people from more conservative religions and/or cultures?
Excited to see where your thinking heads!
Fallon,
Thank you! I really want to strive to help educate teachers, as that might better students experiences and help the system be as safe and as accepting as possible. I would love my documentary to be used as a potential tool for teachers, and I also want to have a resource page for them as well that can help to better their understanding of the LGBTQ community and maybe broaden their thinking. That’s an interesting view that I haven’t really thought of. I am unsure of how I could learn about those perspectives, as I don’t know of many people who either disapprove of the LGBTQ community or arent on board with schools providing more resources. That is definitely something I will look into.
Thanks!
Grace,
I love your mind map and your organization in tackling your project. I’d also like to echo that your research include different points of view. I’d like to hear a bit about what the VT DOE is currently mandating teachers to provide for LGBTQ students? If anything, or is it locally controlled? You mention that it is important that students have the right to have proper resources and feel safe and accepted at school. How would you define the specific types of resources that the students require that are not currently provided for all students?
You’ve mentioned wanting to work with teachers. Are you interested in classroom teachers only, or widening your scope to include special education teachers, guidance counselors, school psychologists– all school personnel.
With school district budgets stretched thin now, why should money, time, and resources be allocated to this cause? While I feel it would be worthwhile, you would have to make a case to support more spending. You also have to consider if there won’t be any more funding to support this initiative, administrators would have to decide places to cut instead. So, would your project include resources that wouldn’t cost anything? Just some things to think about as you move ahead.
Best,
Dianne
Grace,
I love your mind map, this is a wonderful start. I think you did a great job organizing your main information and ideas. I’m wondering what technique/way you are going to educate the teachers and students, are you going to make a presentation and talk to some schools? This is a great topic that you can do a lot with!
Grace,
I love your perspective on how to handle this issue. Working with teachers is such an amazing idea! I am really excited to see how your success blooms through your project. Do you think your work can be used state wide? Nationally? Worldwide? Can you see your work becoming apart of something bigger? (A training for all teachers, resources for teachers to reach out to when the come across a problem?) I think this project is so awesome! 🙂 I hope you can make a difference like you hoped to when you wrote your first blog post.
-Katelyn