Gay Student Groups in Schools

Talk about a hot topic. I wanted to write about this subject because I feel as if I have a very different view. I was a music teacher in a high school for 15 years. This afforded me the opportunity to work with a large number of gay students. Many of them were proud to display this fact with outgoing feminine (or masculine) behaviors and some were not very "out" and only wanted a few friends to know they were gay. I have to tell you most people knew anyway, but they felt safe in the fact that it was not open for discussion. Then there were the students who, in my opinion, had not discovered themselves yet. That is not to say I knew they were gay before they did but rather that their maturity level was such that they had not had a personal awakening yet.

I attended Florida State University and studied in the School of Music. I was surrounded by some of the most talented musicians I had ever had the pleasure to be around. I specifically remember that the sexual preference of my peers in college played no role in deciding whether or not to socialize or befriend someone. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for high school. I know that in a high school setting you are pretty much defined by the group of friends you have. I constantly reminded students that had issues with bullies or prejudicial friends that they would find college to be completely liberating. They had a hard time seeing this freedom so close at hand. Many of them did return from college and comment on how true it was that they felt free to express themselves and found strength in knowing that they were not in quite as small a minority as they were in high school.

As far as teachers go, I have found that the line is pretty clearly drawn along the age gap. I really felt that most teachers who under the age of 40 were very open to gay student associations but that as their age increased they had more trouble accepting these organizations. This is only my experience, but I think that it is to be understood. Teachers who grew up during a time period where sexual preferences are not discussed and behaviors were hidden behind closed doors, are more likely to behave similarly when confronted with these same issues in the workplace. I must end this comment by saying that I have many teacher friends well over the age of 40 who are very accepting and supportive of gay student organizations, I applaud them and believe that most of their acceptance comes from years of dealing with students and learning in the high school classroom and life much more than they ever did in college!