Gay Online School Opens In 2010

International News, By Christian Taylor, 11th August, 2009

In January 2010 a new online high school for gay, lesbian, bi and transgender students will launch in America, believed to be the first of its kind.

The Advocate report that the idea came from David Glick, a consultant with over 25 years experience in the education field. He believes the school will be a safe and welcoming place for kids, who won’t have to worry about bullying or harassment from other kids.

“Diversity, multicultural education… has been a big interest of mine, and what the school system does or does not do for disenfranchised students,” says Glick.

The 2007 National School Climate Survey, which was commissioned by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, found that almost 90% of gay and transgender students experienced harassment at school, and that more than half felt unsafe.

The figures in Australia aren’t much better. According to ‘Writing Themselves In Again’, the 2005 report into the health and well-being of same sex attracted young Australians, 44% of respondents said that they’d suffered verbal homophobia and 16% reported homophobic physical assault in their lifetime, and that 74% of all the reported abuse happened at school.

The online school idea was launched last November and Glick says that some 25 students have applied from all over the country.

”[To gain a spot] you don’t have to fall squarely within one category or another. We also recognise that some students might have poor academic or behavioral histories. We see that as a natural part that have led to many things… For the application, we have one question that asks if you were suspended or expelled in school. One of the applications that we have, a girl said that, ‘I got sick of being teased as being butch, and I punched someone in the nose.’”

The school’s curriculum will be similar to that of regular school courses, however they are creating an LGBT studies class for students to learn more about the queer community.

The school will build upon the work already underway by The Harvey Milk High School in New York, which opened in 1985 and finally became a fully-accredited high school in 2002 due to a state board of education grant becuase of its excellent academic record.

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Your Thoughts

eurolad

said ages ago

and how many cases of bullying have been brought before our useless justice system? 2-3? the naivety of people still amazes me :rolleyes: I am really not surprised that Australia has such a high rate of teen suicide considering that bullies are free to do as they please I went to a public school and was never bullied once. Not surprisingly the most vicious schools are the catholic ones

naughtylion

said ages ago

and how many cases of bullying have been brought before our useless justice system? 2-3? the naivety of people still amazes me :rolleyes: I am really not surprised that Australia has such a high rate of teen suicide considering that bullies are free to do as they please Ssssh. The grown ups are speaking.

JustDax

said ages ago

Thanks for your story though, definitely gave me another point of view. :) I hope ur kid is livin the good life now... He stayed at the alternative school through to year 11. He moved out of home at 17 (his choice) and moved up to Melbourne. He's now 19. Works full time in the city, rents a house with his girlfriend and is just about to enter the Navy. He's going great! :D

naughtylion

said ages ago

Good to hear darls. I'm glad it all worked out in the end. Thats the most important thing after all. :) I'm off home now thank christ. Night all! x

ammonite

said ages ago

JustDax i went through a lot of bullying at school, so I completely understand what you did. I didn't mean that the entire concept of an online school for bullied kids was stupid - that could actually be a good idea - but this is specifically and exclusively for queer kids. that's segregation and ash and i already mention the problem of not all kids being out and that not all kids teased for being queer actually are. plus another concern i have is that when you study at home if you're not really carefull to get a lot of actual human to human peer group social contact some other way it can really be a problem later.

JustDax

said ages ago

JustDax i went through a lot of bullying at school, so I completely understand what you did. I didn't mean that the entire concept of an online school for bullied kids was stupid - that could actually be a good idea - but this is specifically and exclusively for queer kids. that's segregation and ash and i already mention the problem of not all kids being out and that not all kids teased for being queer actually are. plus another concern i have is that when you study at home if you're not really carefull to get a lot of actual human to human peer group social contact some other way it can really be a problem later. I agree ammonite, there are definitely pros and cons to every form of education offered. I believe that it's not a one size fits all scenario - different solutions work for different kids. That's why it's important to have as wide a range of alternative options as possible.

andrew m potts

said ages ago

I totally agree that moving kids to an alternative school can be necessary when school authorities refuse to take an issue seriously, but the thing with this story that concerns me is that it's segregating gay kids from the good straight kids and building a new generation of ghettos. I think gays and lesbians benefit enormously from having accepting heterosexual friends and family in their lives- and vice versa. And the more remote we are from the lives of heterosexuals, the more bigotry and stereotypes will endure. If these sorts of moves become mainstream, the response to homophobic bullying in schools from conservatives will be to say "Well those kids should have being going to your schools anyway"- in fact I've actually had conversations with anti-gay Christian fundamentalists who think GLBT only schools are a GREAT idea!

ammonite

said ages ago

i'm sure they do. that way we can't recruit our classmates.

ammonite

said ages ago

i think i forgot to point out in this thread that i have been in alternative education - distance ed, tafe, and self education - since i was 13, so i know a lot about it. it's just the idea of a queer specific school that bothers me, not alternative education in general.

nickdisco

said ages ago

Um... online school in general sounds awesome, as an avid correspondence student, I can appreciate how some people learn at different rates, in terms of it being geared at gays is actually kind of funny. It gives me this if you can't see them then they don't exist kind of vibe, next you will see the sheriff come and round us up into little missions where there are more hair dressers than seven elevens. I guess we could get just as crazy and push to go one step further and declare homosexuality as a religion. Open gay schools, churches, make up some holiday... Britney Goes Crazy Day? Harvey Milk Day? Menstrual Mondays? I guess in trying to be sensitive, they have ended up being insensitive, maybe we need some T shirts made saying Gays are people too.

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