Brenda Lopez

T-TH 2:00

08/01/2019

Argumentative Essay

LGBTQ Cirruculum

LGBTQ history goes as far back as cavemen, however, many would not know

this due to the lack of education we receive when it comes to LGBTQ studies. There

has always been of fear of speaking on sexuality and discussing a subject that we may

not fully understand. The world has long sought to hide it, keep it in the closet, or even

deny its existence for multiple grough part of the LCBTQ Community. All of this has built

up extreme prejudice and discrimination towards LGBTQ people as well as community

and or associates. We are endangering our kids and students by continuously trying to

hide parts of our history. As much as we cannot deny the injustices that African

Americans suffered, Native Americans, or even the suffering of Jews in Germany, we

cannot deny the current and past suffering of LGBTQ people. We as a society cannot

continue to hide parts of our history simply because we don’t agree with the views of a

particular community, because at the end of the day it happened and ​will continue​ to

happen if we do not educate ourselves and our children. It is imperative to the safety of

LGBTQ Community that we add LGBTQ studies to middle and high school curriculum(s)

in hopes to push for a greater tolerance and acceptance towards this already

misunderstood community.
 There are those who would argue that if we teach sexuality in our classes, it may

persuade our children to choose that certain sexuality. Whilst, others argue that it is not

important or useful to know the sexuality of historical figures, especially in kindergarten

or elementary education. However, we do not hold that same stigma when teaching

about wars and slavery believing that we are promoting those subjects. Instead we are

teaching that homosexuality has no importance in history, which may portray to our

students that it doesn’t exist all together. We would never stop teaching about Martin

Luther King Jr because we do not want people to protest. LGBTQ is as important and

significant as any other movement in history. We would not stop teaching about women

rights and take away role models that continue to inspire women today. Youth.gov, a

government sponsored website stated, that in California, LGBTQ students felt safer and

more included when LGBTQ curriculum and issues were included in what they were

learning.

Although there are not many states that ban any teaching of LGBTQ curriculum,

there is still a fear to teach this topic due to the backlash and sometimes personal

stigma. There are many teachers who would teach LGBTQ studies, however, they fear

they would not have the support of the administration if parents were unhappy. The 74,

a news site that provides articles on the current American education environment

shared the following graph to help illustrate the states with LGBTQ curriculum. Currently

there are 7 states who have anti-LGBTQ laws in place while many have no ban or

mandate.
 Although this may be considered an improvement, it is still difficult for teachers to

educate their students due to the lack of information on what is allowed and isn’t

allowed in the curriculum. Alabama and Texas are pushing their educators to teach that

LGBTQ lifestyle is intolerable to the general public (#DontEraseUs). In doing this we are

harming our students each day with teachings of discrimination, intolerance, and simply

insocial justice. According to Matt Zalaznick, a writer for District Administrations,

currently, California, Colorado and New Jersey are the only states to mandate inclusivity

of LGBTQ studies into their curriculum. It is not enough to only take away the ban, but

to protect the right to learn and include all communities of people, especially LGBTQ.

We need laws in place mandating inclusive LGBTQ curriculum to not only protect our

students, but to support teachers who want to do the right thing, but fear the backlash of

parents with opposing beliefs. According to the ​California Department of Education​ not

only has California put into place the ​Fair Education Act​, which protects teachers from

backlash of parents and stops protests from becoming anything more than protests. But

they are also changed as well as added LGBTQ Studies into the curriculum with Senate
 ​ ection 51204.5,
Bill 48, which states, “​The bill has added language to ​Education Code S

which prescribes the inclusion of the contributions of various groups in the history of

California and the United States such as Native Americans, African Americans, Mexican

Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, European Americans, lesbian, gay,

bisexual, and transgender Americans, persons with disabilities, and members of other

ethnic and cultural groups. . .” ​ With laws like this in place we will be able to guarantee

the safety and acceptance in our classrooms.

The most important and deciding factor as to why we should incorporate LGBTQ

studies into school curriculum is because by refusing to teach these subjects, we are

creating an unsafe and unaccepting environment for LGBTQ children. We are still

enforcing the idea that it is unacceptable and we need to be guarded from the

immorality that is homosexuality. We are continuing to teach that homosexual

relationships are not acceptable lifestyles, and that they have no importance in history.

We as a society are enforcing an enviroment of bullying and discrimination.

By teaching

LGBTQ studies to

our students we can create safer environments for not only LGBTQ children but children
as a whole. Less schools with LGBTQ students would be targetted; saving not only

students, but faculty as well. California has proven that if we include these topics we

can make our students feel safer. #DontEraseUs clarifies that school should be

teaching us to accept others, be open to new ideas, and not discriminate. ​GLSEN

Research​ also supports the idea of making LGBTQ curriculum more accessible and

reachable to students. We need to change the school environment that we send our

kids to everyday. We cannot keep turning an eye to the suffering these students face.

According to various research LGBTQ students are more likely to suffer from bullying,

or depression and anxiety. They are more likely to drop out from school. In extreme

cases, LGBTQ children commit suicide. We need to put into place laws that enforce

teaching LGBTQ studies to teach tolerance, acceptance, and to give students a sense

of belonging in such a fragile time in their lives.

Adding LGBTQ studies to our curriculum in all stages of our school will push for

safety. We can change the entire school environment by being willing to talk about and

learn about sexuality. We owe it to our children to teach them to be accepting. Every

child deserves to go to school and feel safe and supported. They deserve to learn about

their history. Excluding vital parts of world history has been damaging. The LGBTQ

movement, LGBTQ advocates and historical figures are just as momentous as any

other movement in world history. We need to educate ourselves and allow our children

to be educated about their history. This is not an issue only for LGBTQ people, but for

any person who believes in our basic human rights of safety and education.
 Works Cited

“The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Middle School Students
(GLSEN Research Brief).” ​GLSEN​, 2009. ​Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education
Network.​

“#DontEraseUs: FAQ About Anti-LGBT Curriculum Laws.” ​Lambda Legal​,

www.lambdalegal.org/dont-erase-us/faq​.

“Schools.” ​Schools | Youth.gov,​ youth.gov/youth-topics/lgbtq-youth/school-experiences.

Ingram, Noble. “The State of LGBTQ Curriculum: Tide Is Turning as Some States Opt
for Inclusion, Others Lift Outright Restrictions.” ​The 74​, 11 June 2019,
www.the74million.org/the-state-of-lgbtq-curriculum-tide-is-turning-as-some-states
-opt-for-inclusion-others-lift-outright-restrictions/.