LGBTQ+ Youth Expertise on Allyship and Advocacy for Educators

Suraj Uttamchandani,Becca Smith,Iona Pfingston,Barbara Dennis

doi:10.33011/assembly.v2i1.491

Abstract

We discuss what we have learned as youth and adult volunteers in a youth-led, community-based LGBTQ+ youth group in the Midwest United States. Based on our experiences in schools and conversations with educators, we make a distinction between allyship for and advocacy alongside LGBTQ+ youth. We offer what we see as five important ways to promote a generative school climate for LGBTQ+ individuals. For each, we discuss what we see as the practical difference between the approaches of allies versus those of advocates. Through these ideas, we hope to engage teachers, administrators, and other youth in conversation around the importance of listening to youth expertise and experience when trying to create more inclusive classrooms and schools.

Highlights

In an effort to address what they saw as insufficient educator advocacy for LGBTQ+ youth, Chroma quickly formed a youth-led Teaching Committee (TC), which created and began offering cultural competency training to youth-serving professionals locally and throughout the state
Audience members almost unanimously report positive learning and professional development outcomes, before attending training, Chroma youth often suggested that their teachers were not even aware that there were things they didn’t know about fostering LGBTQ+ inclusive environments
When advocacy is directly informed by the experiences and voices of the LGBTQ+ youth one is advocating for, advocacy can have enormous ramifications for the well-being of these youth in a school

Summary

Introduction

LGBTQ+ Youth Expertise on Allyship and Advocacy for Educators Its schools and youth programming are not exempt from dire national trends depicting LGBTQ+ youth’s experiences in educational settings (see, for example, the most recent GLSEN School Climate Survey).5 In a survey our organization administered to 56 local LGBTQIA+ youth, 40 respondents reported that when verbal or physical harassment regarding gender identity orsexual orientation took place, the teachers and staff at their school did not intervene appropriately. In an effort to address what they saw as insufficient educator advocacy for LGBTQ+ youth, Chroma quickly formed a youth-led Teaching Committee (TC), which created and began offering cultural competency training to youth-serving professionals locally and throughout the state.

Objectives

Results

Conclusion