By Vanessa Serrano
All over the country, there are lots of bills and acts to suppress the talk and education of LGBTQ+ topics. For example, Florida passed the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill in March of 2022. This wasn’t the first, and it isn’t the last.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, they state on their website that 532 bills in America are proposed anti-LGBTQ+. To me, this is very concerning because out of the 532 bills, 208 restrict teachers, educators, and even students.
This isn’t true for just LGBTQ+, either. This is happening with race topics as well. From EducationWeek.org, they track that 44 states have proposed bills and other measures to limit teachers teaching Critical Race Theory and how teachers can discuss racism and sexism.
Many people think that the talk of sexuality and gender shouldn’t be allowed in schools because it is inappropriate for students and shouldn’t be a class topic. While I agree that sometimes talking about sex is an uncomfortable process, it’s already being taught in our schools with SexEd or telling children about puberty as they grow up.
According to HealthyTeenNetwork.org, they say sex education teaches things like consent and boundaries, anti-bullying, safer sex decisions, developing healthier body images, and birth control. While this should be known knowledge, this should also include LGBTQ+. Having teens in high school have proper resources to know about their bodies and sexual health as a queer person is very important as well. It could prevent sexual abuse, let young people learn about themselves, and ultimately feel no shame from their peers, which is a rising problem in America as well.
Diversity in the classroom can teach kids how to interact with others in and out of school. According to the National Institute of Health, ‘How does adolescents' openness to diversity change over time?’ They state, “Relatedly, young people with cross-ethnic friends might have more opportunity to engage in diverse perspectives, social relations, and lifestyles. Such opportunities may help them become cognitively and behaviorally flexible in their approach to diverse views and tolerant of them.”
Not only is this topic important for the growth of students, but the teachings of these topics can help the number of prejudice-free adults in the future. The Department of Justice released that 11,862 incidents of hate crimes occurred in 2023 alone. 52.5% of these attacks were recorded as being from race/ethnicity/ancestry.
In short, only good can come from educating children about the differences in our race and gender. Keeping a child with an open mind so that our future generation can pass more laws and inclusivity might lead to a better life for everyone in the future.
Teaching race, gender, and sexuality should be treated like any other curriculum, with careful eyes and lots of research. They shouldn’t just let anyone teach anything.
To go about this safely and age-appropriately, the US Department of Education and each state in America should consider releasing a thought-out, well-crafted, and proper curriculum that adds bits and pieces of diversity into our classrooms. New and old teachers should also have rules to ensure information is unbiased.
Honestly, it breaks my heart because there are so many people who are still getting hurt and killed for stupid reasons, such as not being the same race as another person. I believe the lack of education and the increase of political bias are getting in the way of school.
The government plays a significant role in this, too. They and all the states are responsible for educating the people, and simple changes in teaching about inclusivity and acceptance can solve the issues of educational freedom. Being in America means learning and having many opportunities, and the restriction of education goes against that completely.
Regardless of your opinions and biases, we should all be taught facts and real-world diversity without restrictions. In America, this is the solution to raise a future respectful and educated generation that grows up with less prejudice.
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