Alliance

I'm now sponsor of our school's newest club - GSA. That stands for Gay-Straight Alliance. I'm really excited about it. Today was our first unofficial meeting. Interested students I could get ahold of met with me after school. We planned our first meeting, which will be next week. So how did this all get started? Let me back up to the summer.

Over the summer, while I eagerly awaited my return to teaching and planned my heart out, I decided I really wanted to start a new club at my school. I wanted to start an animal rights club or a writing club, ideally. Then stuff started and I didn't get a chance to ask about it right away. By the time I did, it seemed a bit too late to start a new club because the school year had started and the club passes had been given out. Yes, that's right, club passes. Our clubs meet once a month DURING SCHOOL. Our rate of involvement is so low that we have to bribe students with time out of class to get them to join things. So I basically gave up on the club thing temporarily.

A few weeks ago our assistant principal in charge of activities emailed the faculty. He explained that some students had come to him interested in starting a GSA club - Gay-Straight Alliance. I thought about it - for about 10 seconds - and responded that I would be glad to sponsor the club if he still needed someone. They did. I am.

A few days later, students started finding me. They'd heard I was starting a club. They were excited. Cool. So I made a few arrangements, got official approval from the principal and we were off. Today I met with just a handful of students to plan for an initial interest meeting. I was impressed when about 6 students showed up, all of them with good heads on their shoulders, a realistic outlook, and the willingness to work. We're all pretty excited about this thing.

It's not a gay dating club, which was the first misconception I thought I'd have to clear up. But it turned out no clearing up was needed. These students were all very aware of what we are trying to do - educate, advocate and support all students, but with a focus on LGBT students and their friends. We're going to do things like talk about current issues (gay marriage, for example), educate teachers and students on how to handle inappropriate comments (what, for example is a teacher supposed to do when a kid yells "That's so gay!"?) and offer support for students who are gay or questioning.

I really think this club is necessary at my school. We have a really mixed population and it's very cliquey. I think most high schools are, but ours seems a bit more so than some. We are in a formerly small farm town which has become a very coture suburb full of yuppies. So we have a fair number of self-proclaimed "Rednecks," many of whom are not exactly gay-friendly. We also have a very large population of Latino and African-American students who are very into the hip-hop and Latin cultures. Then there are the preps, the jocks, the goths, the "Emo kids," and a bunch of other groups whose names I don't know. Basically there are the gay kids (a fair number), the kids who are open-minded and accepting of the gay kids(a fair number), the kids who don't care (most kids) and then several groups of people who would love to get their hands around a gay kid's neck and sqeeze (a fair number from each group).

We talked about harassment. I told the students I fully expected to feel resistence and even hostility from both faculty members and students. I told them I was happy to accept this if it comes with the territory. I'm not unrealistic, but I think of it this way: some of my students have to deal with this stuff every day. I, as an authority figure, can deal with it as a way of supporting them. If I back down that's giving in to the hate and it's not going to change anything. I really hope it doesn't happen, but if my tires are slashed or my room is grafittied, I'm not giving up the club. It could just as easily happen becuase a kid failed a test anyway.

Parents are another touchy issue we addressed. No doubt some students' parents will have a problem with their membership in the club. I told the students that we would have a club policy which encouraged students to be open with their parents about their membership, and to remind them that the club is NOT just for gay students. In fact, students may not ask one another's sexual orientation while in meetings. But, just like everything else with school, what students tell parents and what parents know about thier children is a family issue, not a teaching issue. If they choose not to tell, I will not tell on them. I also will not lie for them, however, and will reveal their membership if asked by a parent or guardian to do so.

I also cannot allow a student into a club meeting if his or her parent has asked that he or she be excluded. I have one student in particular whose parents would definitely freak out and call me if they discovered he was a member. Even if I explained it's not a "gay club" they'd want him out. If that happens, he'll have to be kept out. It's a family issue and I could lose my teaching license for refusing to abide by his parents' wishes. It breaks my heart, really, because that's so often the kid who needs support the most. But I can't sacrifice the club for the sake of one kid, so it has to be that way.

For safety reasons, we aren't making a big announcement over the intercom or anything to announce the first meeting. We're going to do it word-of-mouth. We'll meet weekly after school in addition to once a month on club day. I'm really eager to get started on this. I think it'll be a huge benefit to the school.

I'd like to hear what you think.