TW: Suicide

When we talk about policing in schools, the conversation is usually centered around race, which is an extremely important point to touch on; however, it is important to be intersectional in our approach, as stated before. Living in a heteronormative society, LGBTQ+ kids usually have such a difficult time navigating their identity and self because of the influences of heteronormativity. Without having the proper education and resources to learn about queer identities, LGBTQ+ students can oftentimes feel invisible and left out of a lot of areas of school. LGBTQ+ youth seriously contemplate suicide at a rate of 3x more than heterosexual peers (The Trevor Project), and it is due in large part to the lack of education and acceptance around queer identities.

There are so many steps that can be taken to make queer youth feel more comfortable in a classroom, and that starts with including it within the curriculum. Visibility is so integral to the growth of a young person because being able to point at an example of someone who is like you is how you come to understand yourself better and shape your identity, so it is unique to you. Normalizing pronouns when introducing yourself for the first time in a new classroom is another way to bring comfort to students who aren’t cis-gendered. Getting rid of gender stereotypes when teaching is essential so students can fully express themselves without feeling put into a box of masculinity or femininity. These are simple examples of how to make queer students feel accepted in the new school year, and it could truly make all the difference in coming to understanding queer identities and normalizing it at large.