Why LGBT-Inclusive Education Matters

The last few months have seen a national spotlight shone on the schools in Birmingham. Since January we’ve watched mass protests escalate, schools forcibly closed, parents distraught, teachers threatened and children made into political instruments. This catastrophic and ongoing clash has essentially occurred because of a misunderstanding (and the refusal to understand) a newprogramme designed to teach primary school students about LGBT-inclusiveness.

The programme, called the “No Outsiders” project, seeks to teach children about the Equality Act of 2010 which legally protects all people from discrimination in the workplace and in society at large, regardless of their gender, race, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation. The programme also teaches students to be proud of their own identity, while respecting and celebrating differences and diversity. It is to prepare children for modern life in Britain outside the four walls of their classroom.

"It's about teaching young children that we are different in reception and year one, that's as far as this work goes. We're just talking about being different and being friends," said Andrew Moffat, who created and piloted the programme in 2014 and was awarded an MBE for services to equality and diversity in education for this project.

Of course, when people hear LGBT+ and children in the same sentence, they jump to all sorts of conclusions. For many people, it is impossible to separate gay people from sex, to simply view LGBT+ people as just people. That when teaching children about the existence of LGBT+ people it isn’t an instruction on gay sex, it’s saying that families and relationships come in different packages. That your uncle could have a male partner, that your friend could have two mums, and that that is completely okay.

"Sorry at this age it's totally wrong,” said Mariam Ahmed, a parent at predominantly Muslim Parkfield Community School in Birmingham. “Children at this age don't even know if they are coming or going, let alone knowing what sexual orientation they will become."

"It's good to teach children about respect and values but the sexual orientation aspect is against our principles,” added two other parents, Asma and Mohammed Jdaitawi.

Teaching children about the existence of LGBT+ people it isn’t an instruction on gay sex, it’s saying that families and relationships come in different packages. 

This inclusion program has drawn the ire of the Muslim and evangelical communities, both of which have coordinated large protests outside the schools.Shakeel Afsar, who doesn’t even have children who attend any of these schools, has emerged as one of the leaders against the program.

On May 24, he successfully led the charge to shut down Anderton Park Primary School for the day.

“This decision was not taken lightly but protests outside the school have escalated significantly over the past week and our first priority must always be the safety of pupils, families and staff,” said Council leader Ian Wardat the time.

Head TeacherSarah Hewitt-Clarkson has reported intimidating threats she’s received over phone and email, which our now being investigated by the police.

“(I feel) embarrassment for lots of our community and our parents who think this is just awful what’s happening; frustration that it’s going on so long; frustration that great British laws like ‘you can protest peacefully’ actually are causing us a problem,” she told the BBC.

Despite months of protests the school remains steadfast in teaching children about inclusiveness. They released a statement in which they said they had a duty to protect students from harm, which includes homophobic bullying, and that this programme "raises awareness of these differences so that children are able to tolerate and accept differences in our society.”

“Teaching about the diversity that exists in the world means that children from all families feel included and helps all young people understand that LGBT people are part of everyday life,” said Hannah Kibirige, the director of Education and Youth at Stonewall. “Lots of schools, including faith schools, have been doing this work for years. Different families, same love. Simple.”

She says too many LGBT+ students are left behind in the classroom, particularly when we do get to sex education later in secondary school.

“As LGBT young people are left unequipped to make safe, informed decisions, most go online to find information instead,” Kibirige explains. “It will come as no surprise that information online can be unreliable, and sometimes unsafe.”

“Teaching about the diversity that exists in the world means that children from all families feel included and helps all young people understand that LGBT people are part of everyday life.” 

A study from the GLSEN 2013 National School Climate Survey found that less than 5 percent of LGBT+ students had health classes that included positive representations of queer topics. In 2015, only 12 percent of Millennials surveyedsaid their sex education classes covered gay relationships.

A further study from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundationfound that young LGBT+ people have very few trusted adults they can talk to about sexual health, so they reach out to friends or online sources that often have inaccurate information.

Mark Pino from the GLSEN Student National Counsel argues that it is imperative for LGBT+ history to taught in the classroom as well.

“In my AP U.S. history class, we were discussing the multiple choice question: ‘Which civil rights group led the Stonewall Riots?’ It astonished me that I was the only person in the class of 20 that knew the answer,” he said. “That later brought me to the conclusion that my fellow classmates could not possibly know nor understand the atrocities committed against the LGBT community.

“How could they possibly know that the word ‘fag,’ which they say nonchalantly in the hallways, was hurled at anyone perceived as being gay for decades, and that LGBT people were forced to suppress their emotions or face incarceration and sometimes violent consequences?”

Pino argues that including positive representations of LGBT+ people through history will also help this. Teaching students that Alexander the Great was gay, as well as, Alan Turing, Walt Whitman, Sally Ride, Leonardo da Vinci, Tim Cook(and so on and so on), will go a long way in battling homophobia.

LGBT+ inclusion should be implemented at every level of education. At primary level children should be made aware of different relationships, at secondary they should know about the struggle for LGBT+ rights, and same-sex relationships should be included in sex education. Teaching tolerance and understanding should not be a controversial idea. 

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