The Michigan Department of Education assembled a team of experts called the MDE LGBTQ Student Project, who put together a series of trainings, recordings and resources to support LGBTQIA+ students. Here is a link to their videos that cover the following topics they call Pride in Diversity:
Understanding Identities
Implicit LGBTQ Bias
GSA’s in Schools
Law and Policy
School Wide Best Practices
Safe and Supportive Classrooms
Gender Identity in Student Information
Sadly, there is a high correlation between students who identify as LGBTQ and students who commit suicide. Therefore, the LGBTQ experts prepared a training session for Ottawa County with the goal of reducing suicide. While most Americans want to support troubled youth and agree that reducing teen suicide is highly desirable, the approach offered by the Michigan Department of Education LGBTQ Support Team contained suggestions that are questionable, misguided, and in some cases dangerous.
Here is video link to the suicide prevention training prepared by the MDE LGBTQ Student Project.
Here are the presentation slides. ATTACH SLIDES HERE
The beginning portion of the training focused on the link between LGBTQ students and suicide with data from the Youth Assessment Survey – YAS. It was quite informative. The second half moved onto ways the Michigan Department of Education recommends LGBTQ students are treated at school.
According to the video, teachers should work to build a trusting relationship with vulnerable students. In fact, they have a step-by-step process teachers can follow to “call in” bullies, support LGBTQ students and build trust.
One cause for concern is that these techniques are not only to be used with bullies, but with anyone who asks challenging questions. Questions that are engaging and meant for discussion are considered offensive and “called in” in this manner. Offense is determined solely by the recipient and true intent of the communicator is completely ignored. For example, if your wife walks into the room and you say, “You look nice tonight.” And she feels you have somehow insulted her weight and takes your comment as offensive, you are blamed for this offensive comment and “called in.” … if you just read that and took offense to my example because you do not have a wife, that serves as another example. The first example is an extreme example, but that is because it is meant to show how this technique turns innocent conversation around and blames the communicator when there was no offense intended. The end result of implementing this technique is an “eggshell” environment where people never know what is acceptable to say. It also ends up isolating people from each other by encouraging negative discourse. Therefore, inquisitive people that could be part of a support system for LGBTQ students are effectively discredited resulting in less supportive people available for vulnerable students. They are more isolated and less supported.
The Michigan Department of Education suggests LGBTQ students read books that feature LGBTQ characters. They believe these books help to save lives, and we have heard this statement repeatedly from GHAPS administrators. Unfortunately, many of the books that contain LGBTQ characters also contain sexually explicit content, vulgar language, teen drinking and drug use, as well as themes that paint parents in a negative light.
The Michigan Department of Education believes students should be referred to by whatever name and pronouns they desire. Despite the fact that teachers have raised concerns over complications this practice can have during emergencies, MDE recommends this strategy. In fact, calling students by their preferred name and pronouns was discussed several times during the video, and the team leading the training advocates for keeping name/pronoun secrets from parents. This is highly concerning.
The following quotes were taken directly from the suicide prevention training.
20:30 – “Ask where it’s okay to use the name and pronoun. Maybe they’re okay in your class being called a certain name or using certain pronouns, but they don’t want their parents to know.”
41:55 – “Again, when there is a conflict between the student and the parent, it’s important, what’s determined to be best practice is going with what the student prefers.”
43:55 – “There’s lots of creative ways, and whatever is decided is decided in concert with the student.”
Here is a summary of recommendations and strategies from the MDE.
Increasing isolation, building trust, sharing sexually explicit reading materials with children, and keeping secrets from parents are major Red Flags that were included in the MDE LGBTQ Student Project suicide prevention training. In part two we will look further into these Red Flags.