[simon.speech.to.congress] Provided by: GLSTN 122 West 26th Street, Suite 1100 New York, NY 10001 USA Tel: (212) 727-0135 Email: glstn@glstn.org Web: http://www.glstn.org/respect/ Testimony delivered by Anne Simon before the the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the U.S. House Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities for the Hearings titled "Parents, Schools and Values." Anne Simon is a Special Education Teacher at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School (Sudbury, Massachusetts) and a National Board Member of The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Teachers Network. TEACHING THE VALUES OF RESPECT AND FAMILY by Anne Simon We all wear different hats. I am a teacher, a daughter, a mother, and a wife. I am a friend, a sister, and a Jew. At school, I also have many roles. I am a disciplinarian, counselor, helper, and teacher. I have always wanted to be a teacher. Like countless little girls I would play school with my friends only I always had to be the Teacher. For the past five years I have been a learning center teacher at a suburban public school in Sudbury Massachusetts. Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School prides itself as having, as a core value, respecting human differences. However, on one November day during my first year I learned that not all students were respectful of human differences. On that day, two young women decided to show the school their new found love by holding hands in the halls, something that different sex couples do all the time. As they were walking to class some students started teasing them, calling them names, and shouting at them. I went out to investigate and saw a circle of kids surrounding something. I broke through the circle and found the two girls clinging to each other not out of love but out of fear. I quickly got the two girls into my office and called for a housemaster. Our core value of respecting human differences was clearly not working and those two girls sobbing in my office was proof to me and to our administration. We set about trying to make our school a safer and more tolerant place. We invited speakers and learned that one out of every three gay teens attempts suicide during adolescence. We determined that we should poll the student body to determine the amount of harassment that was taking place in the school. In February of 1993 we asked students a number of questions including "How often have you heard homophobic remarks made at your school?" A staggering 98% replied that they had heard them. When asked "Would you be upset or afraid if people thought you were gay, lesbian, or bisexual?" 64% said yes. Just like any survey of high school students we got a variety of comments. One student wrote, "...just keep them out of my sight and away from me.", another "I hate them." There were some that thought a club should be formed or that homosexuality should be more frequently discussed. "I think that it is right to have support groups if the people were teased or need to get it in the open." From the survey we determined that there was a need for a place where students could get together to discuss homophobia and ways to end it. This club became our Gay-Straight Alliance and it meets just like any other club. Teachers often tell students to write from their own experiences. I, too, speak about this topic from my personal experience. My sister is a lesbian. Emily came out to me when I was in high school. Although I wasn't the best student in the world, I was an outgoing, friendly kid who got decent grades and came from a cohesive, loving family. Suddenly my world fell apart. I will never forget the fights, the discussions, and the trauma my family went through. My grades suffered and I'm sure my teachers wondered what was going on. Had there been a place like our Gay-Straight Alliance I would have been able to talk to other students, I would have known what faculty I could talk to, I would have felt safe enough to learn. If you were to ask teachers to honestly say if they liked every one of their students they would have to say no. But if you were to ask them if they still attempted to teach that student geometry, basketball, or earth science they would say of course, that it is their job. We are hired by our school committees to teach. I am not asking teachers, administrators or anyone who works in a school to like a student's homosexuality, or to condone a student's parents' sexual orientation. I am asking that they make their classroom a safe place and a place where every student regardless of sexual orientation can learn. After all, that is what they were hired to do. I will teach my daughter that it is important to respect all human differences. In day care I have included a picture of my sister and her partner in my daughter's family tree. I want her to be proud of her family and for others to see the love that her aunt has for her. At Lincoln-Sudbury's graduation last June, a parent came up to me. She said, "You don't know me but I'm Michael's mother." Michael was a member of the Gay-Straight Alliance and came out to his family during high school. "I just want to thank you for being so kind to my son. Without your and others' support I don't know if he would have made it through Lincoln-Sudbury." A parent thanking a teacher for making it so that her son could learn and go on to college. Teachers go into teaching because they have the desire to help students learn and grow, because they want to inspire their students. Last June I heard the words that all teachers long to hear--that they had made a difference in a student's life. I hope that when my daughter is graduating from High School that there is no need for a Gay-Straight Alliance because our hard work of teaching tolerance and respect for difference will be the norm and that all schools are a safe place to learn for all students regardless of their sexual orientation. .................................................................. This document is one of the many practical resources available online from GLSTN's web site at http://www.glstn.org/respect/. The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Teachers Network (GLSTN) is the largest organization of parents, educators, students and other concerned citizens working to end homophobia in K-12 schools and to ensure that all students are valued and respected, regardless of sexual orientation. To fulfill its mission and to raise awareness of these issues, GLSTN produces audio, visual and text-based educational materials, provides training, produces community programming and conferences, and organizes a growing national network of over 40 regional chapters. Membership in GLSTN is open to anyone -- regardless of their occupation or sexual orientation -- who is committed to seeing that the current generation is the last to suffer from homophobia. More than 70% of our budget is funded by individual donations and we need your support to continue to make resources such as this available. GLSTN is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and all donations are fully tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. GLSTN 122 West 26th Street, Suite 1100 New York, NY 10001 USA Tel: (212) 727-0135 Email: glstn@glstn.org Web: http://www.glstn.org/respect/ (c) 1994-1996, Gay, Lesbian & Straight Teachers Network (GLSTN) .................................................................. Copyright is held by the original author(s) of this document. You may redistribute this document for educational purposes provided that you do not change the material and all notices remain intact.