As school boards across the country crack down on LGBTQ+ issues in the classroom, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is recognizing the community with a week of lesson plans and activities. The plan has elicited mixed reactions.
According to LAUSD’s Board of Education, the “Week of Action Toolkit” curriculum was created to provide educators with sample lesson plans in adherence with the California FAIR Education Act, which ensures curricular materials for underrepresented populations are taught in public schools. The week of learning was scheduled to coincide with National Coming Out Day, on Wednesday, October 11.
The toolkit consists of an “Identity Map” activity, which allows students to engage in the concept of intersectionality and express their identities. The guide lists daily quotes and brief biographies of prominent LGBTQ+ figures in society as activities teachers can use during lessons.
LAUSD parent Erica Menendez has two children at the 32nd Street/USC Performing Arts Magnet school; her oldest child, an 8th grade boy, and her middle child, a 5th grade girl. She said it’s a positive thing that her kids are learning LGBTQ+ lessons, and she thinks these things should be taught for more than a week.
“I honestly think it will be good throughout the whole year, so they could learn more. But I mean every parent is different,” she said.
Many have taken to social media to express their concerns over the new teaching material. Fox News’ Facebook post about the addition garnered a few negative responses from parents and others.
“How is this educational for children!! Enough already!!! My children will not be brainwashed with this nonsense,” wrote commenter Selin Asatorians.
Others do not share Asatorian’s sentiment.
Arjun Bhargava is a junior majoring in gender studies. They come from Texas and believe that it is important for students to have their identities acknowledged.
“Nobody’s too young to have a gay uncle or a trans neighbor. You know what I mean? You’re never too young to teach your children how to socialize with other communities,” they said.
Though teachers are not required to utilize the curriculum provided, they are being encouraged to incorporate lesson plans containing LGBTQ+ content.
Mary Andres, a professor of clinical education at the USC Rossier school, is in favor of these lessons. She says that a combination of representation and allyship will lead to less depression and bullying in schools.
“We are in a paradoxical culture where there’s both shame and a lot of exploitation,” Andres said. “So we see sex in a lot of ways. But then we don’t have a lot of good vocabulary to be able to just talk in a conscious way and use good language to be able to describe what we know about ourselves or what we know about our identities.”
Corinne Hyde, a professor of clinical education at USC Rossier, said that it is important that instructional practice reflects the students who attend LAUSD schools. She believes that it allows for increased academic achievement and better outcomes in terms of mental health.
“If it’s developmentally appropriate to teach children that a man and a woman can fall in love with each other or have a family, then it is also developmentally appropriate to teach children that a man and a man could marry and have a family.”
The LGBTQ+ Student Center and the Queer & Ally Student Assembly (QuASA) are resources that USC offers students. The Los Angeles LGBT center also offers services and programs for “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.”