LGBT high school planned for Chicago
Categories: Teens & tweens, 2Moms2Dads, Education
In order to provide a safe haven for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning high school students, the Chicago public school system is considering opening a high school specifically for LQBTQ students. Attendance at the new school would be voluntary and open to everyone, not just LGBTQ students.More than a third of Illinois students surveyed in 2006 said that sexual orientation is the most common reason for bullying and harassment in schools; the same number listed gender identity. Three out of four students said they had heard anti-gay remarks from other students and more than four out of five heard students say things like "that's so gay" or "you're gay."
It seems like there is a definite need for change here, but I have to say that this school sounds an awful lot like "separate but equal" to me. I'm not saying they don't need the school or shouldn't move ahead with the plan; it just saddens me to no end that it is needed.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jimi james 9-06-2008 @ 3:45PM
Seprate but equal sounds about right? how do you teach tolerece when people who are different are seprated from the so-called normal kids. As a Father and a Husband I want to teach my daughter about tolerence and if someone is different you don't have to like them or agree with them, but you should respect them. I believe no human has the right to judge other humans, and say whose moral or not
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suzkea 9-06-2008 @ 3:52PM
I agree that there is a problem, but I don't think Segregation is the answer. Parents and children need more tolerance education.
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Sabrina 9-06-2008 @ 4:12PM
Don't people realize that these kids have it hard enough without making a huge group of them a target for some whacko with "issues" with their lifestyle? It's great that it's voluntary on some level, and that they'll have more of a chance of meeting other kids going through similar rough issues, but I just feel like it's going to be a place where people are more easliy targeted for hate crimes. If I had a GLB or T child, I wouldn't want them segregated.
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hall monitor 9-06-2008 @ 4:52PM
I was kind of hoping we would be able to make strides to properly integrate students of all backgrounds and beliefs. Seems like we are setting ourselves back about 20 years with this one.
Hall Monitor'
http://detentionslip.org
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Uly 9-06-2008 @ 6:36PM
Let's see...
It's a school that all students can go to (not just LGBTQ ones), and it's a school that no students are required to attend for any reason - not even the LGBTQ ones.
So, what exactly is the problem? It's not any different, to me, than having a school for artistic kids to go to, or one for those who really think the best thing to do is to become a plumber after school (good money in plumbing. You'll always need somebody to fix your pipes, but do we really need more lawyers?), or one for those who are serious students, or one for those who *aren't* serious students and need extra help and attention.
The benefit of having a large school system, like NYC does and like I'm guessing Chicago does, is that you can have a lot of different high schools to suit a lot of different needs.
And, as the article mentioned, they're working in the existing schools already to reduce this sort of hateful speech. What more do you want?
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Uncle Roger 9-06-2008 @ 8:23PM
Well, what I really want is for this to be a total non-issue. I want sexual orientation and gender identity -- and, for that matter, skin color, cultural background, and religious belief -- to be as unimportant to anyone else as what brand of pen you prefer or whether you wear boxers or briefs. That's what I want.
Mind you, that's not going to happen -- it's not even the case here in San Francisco --right away (but it will happen eventually). So, in the meantime, this sort of interim step is probably necessary.
I think it's great that CPS is planning this; I think it sucks that it's needed.
lemongrasshore 9-06-2008 @ 6:44PM
As a gay man, I have to agree that the best solution would be an integrated school where people of all backgrounds tolerate each other. The reality is, that this does not exist yet. Meanwhile, GLBTQ high school students drop out, run away from home and even commit suicide at an alarmingly higher rate than other children due to the harassment they receive. So let's absolutely not give up on the idea of creating safe learning environments where ALL people can be comfortable. However, while we're waiting for that to happen, it's not a bad idea to have safe havens like this for kids who are going through it now and who are at risk.
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Michael 9-10-2008 @ 3:48AM
I think this is a good idea. As a teen who is in high school, I can say that it's EXTREMELY hard to concentrate or even bring yourself to go to school when your day is full of slurs being thrown at you, or even when you risk being harassed physically because of who you are.
I live in a small town in Oklahoma, so a LGBT school is out of the question, but if I were to get the chance to attend one, I would take it without thinking twice.
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godlovsus2 10-07-2008 @ 11:42PM
Wow I can't believe am am reading this a school for "different " people..Well I was a fat kid I wanted a school just for fat kids and my friend well she is black and left handed can we have a school for that too.. What happen to the golden rule No not he who dies with the most toys..... Treat others how you want to be treated. Parents today can't show there children be nice be kind. Theres always problems.. but if we came stop our children from killing one another because there different we have lost the battle...Others may need to have thicker skin..
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