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Washington Post Showcases Black Lesbian Families

Black LGBT families are an unfortunate rarity in the media, but the Washington Post this week showcased not one, but two, black lesbian couples with kids. Taken together, the stories show that just maybe, we are moving towards several different types of acceptance in this country. The first couple, Julie Garnier and Charlene Evans, are in an article [...]

Happy Gay-Straight Alliance Day!

Today marks the first-ever National Gay-Straight Alliance Day, a project of the Iowa Pride Network in partnership with the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). In honor of the occasion, I’ll point out my coverage a few years ago of the 20th anniversary celebration of the GSA at Phillips Academy, which has the second-oldest GSA in [...]

This Week Only: Free Streaming of Anti-Bullying Film

In honor of No Name-Calling Week, educational film company Groundspark is offering free streaming of its anti-bullying and anti-name-calling film Let’s Get Real. Aimed at students in grades five through nine, it is notable for not preaching at kids, but rather letting them speak in their own voices about  race, sexual orientation  (real and perceived), learning [...]

Video: Elementary School Kids Discuss What “Gay” and “Lesbian” Mean

“What Do You Know” is a new short film from the Welcoming Schools initiative that shows children ages six to twelve (including some kids with lesbian and gay parents) discussing their experiences with the words “gay” and “lesbian.” The full 13-minute film, used in Welcoming Schools diversity trainings and playing in film festivals across the [...]

Bias, Bullying, and Homophobia in Elementary Schools: Are Teachers Prepared?

The media has been full of stories about bullying and its damaging effects—but most stories have centered around middle-school and high-school students. Less has been said of bullying in elementary schools. A new study from the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), however, shows that such bullying does exist—including bullying and teasing based on homophobia and gender-nonconformity. Those [...]

How a First-Grade Teacher Addresses Gender Stereotypes and Variance

Here’s today’s must-read article: Melissa Bollow Tempel, a first-grade teacher in Jackson, Wisconsin, has written at Together For Jackson County Kids about how she approaches issues of gender stereotypes, gender variance, and gender-based bullying. It’s full of insight and actionable ideas. Good stuff, and worth sharing. (For more on the topic, you might also want to [...]

LGBT Parenting Roundup

Schools The Sydney Morning Herald looks at what parents and teachers are doing in Australia to address hetero-centrism in elementary schools. The Buffalo News reports on gay and lesbian teachers—why it can be hard to be out, and why many nevertheless feel it is important. Family Portraits Mark Daniel Snyder at HuffPo talks about the true diversity [...]

New Resource for Teaching LGBT History in Schools

There’s a great new resource for teaching LGBT history in middle and high schools—and it might even teach us parents something. The Anti-Defamation League, Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), and StoryCorps have just released Unheard Voices, “an oral history and curriculum project that will help educators to integrate LGBT history, people and issues into their instructional programs.” [...]

Back-to-School Preparations for LGBT Families

(Originally published as my Mombian newspaper column the first week of September.)

Hurricane Irene raged up the East Coast this past weekend, sending people scrambling to the stores for bottled water and canned tuna. Of course, hurricanes weren’t the only thing I prepared for this week. Back-to-school time is here, so I’ve been buying pencils and erasers alongside the flashlight batteries. And because I am an LGBT parent, I’ve also been thinking about the “emergency supplies” we should have as we navigate the sometimes-stormy weather of our educational system, in case our children encounter anti-LGBT prejudice, bullying, or simply exclusion.

What Are Your Back-to-School Concerns?

It’s back-to-school time, so let’s do a fun little poll for all of us who have children braving the wilds of education:

The Magic Schoolbus’ New Route

Those of you who have had kids in elementary school will likely know the Magic Schoolbus series. XKCD uses it to make a point about the state of science education: If you’re looking for real science resources for your children, check out Science News for Kids, an online science site for older elementary and middle [...]

New York Times’ “Coming Out” Youth Project

If you have not yet seen the New York Times’ excellent Coming Out project, which showcases the voices, words, and pictures of a diverse group of LGBTQ youth, get thee to their site and browse through it. There’s also a good introductory article here. Their stories are touching, sometimes heart-wrenching, but always inspiring. (Stories can [...]

Zombie Marie Curie Offers Advice to Girls in Science

Presented without comment to all the girls who like science. Thanks, XKCD!

Should Preschools Direct Children’s Learning?

I’m hard pressed to find a preschool these days that doesn’t call itself a “childhood learning center” or the like. But in a recent article in Slate, “Why Preschool Shouldn’t Be Like School,” Alison Gopnik discusses two studies that have found “While learning from a teacher may help children get to a specific answer more [...]

LGBT Parenting Roundup

School Issues The New York Times reports on parents who are objecting to inclusion of same-sex families, gay people in history, and other LGBT content in school curricula. If you read the above, you should also read the great piece in the Advocate by Stuart Biegel, a member of the education and law faculty at [...]

“It Gets Better” Says Rudolph

Maybe it’s the fact that my last name is the same as the famous reindeer, but I couldn’t help writing a little piece over at Change.org on what Rudolph might say as part of the It Gets Better campaign in support of LGBT youth. Hope you’ll go have a read. And who here also thinks [...]

Bullying: What We Can Do

(Originally published as my Mombian newspaper column, October 13, 2010.) Children in the LGBTQ community are dying. As LGBTQ parents, we need to be on the front lines working to help them. We’ve all heard by now of the string of suicides by youth bullied because they were LGBTQ or perceived to be. Children of [...]

Incorrigible Bullies and Intolerant Jerks

Brett Berk, a former teacher and preschool director and author of The Gay Uncle’s Guide to Parenting, might be expected to have a few thoughts on the subject of bullying and schools. We’re lucky he’s taken time from his more recent topics of Glee and cars to ask (and answer): “Would Kids Be Such Incorrigible Bullies [...]

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Bullies

Can Harry Potter help our children learn to deal with bullies? That’s a question I tackle over at Our Big Gayborhood, the group blog run by the wonderful Lori Hahn, whom some of you may know from her erstwhile blog Hahn at Home. Thanks to Lori for inviting me to contribute a post!

Broadway Stars Sing “It Gets Better”

Listen. Share. Wonder what we need to do to get this on Glee. Available October 19th on iTunes, with all download proceeds benefiting The Trevor Project, the leading national organization focused on crisis and suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ youth.

“Sparking” the Discussion About Bullying

If you don’t yet know the films of Groundspark’s Respect for All project, you really should—and now you can do so for free. Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Debra Chasnoff and her team have created a lauded series for students and educators about family inclusion, gender stereotypes, and bullying. In response to the recent media attention [...]

Bullying and Safe Schools: What the Federal Government Is Doing

Bullying is on everyone’s mind this week. I’ve been covering some of the recent happenings for Keen News Service: “Fed grants awarded to begin addressing bullying and safe schools,” coverage of some moves the federal government is making to address the problem, based on my interview with Kevin Jennings, Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office [...]

New and Improved Resources for Creating Welcoming Schools

The Human Rights Campaign has launched a revamped version of its Welcoming Schools site, and it’s packed with information for parents/caregivers and educators about how to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all students, including LGBT ones and those with LGBT parents. The new site breaks down much of the information in HRC’s Welcoming Schools [...]

Reading, Writing, ‘Rithmetic, and Reaching Out

(Originally published as my Mombian newspaper column.) Back-to-school time is upon us once again. We LGBT parents with kids in school are busy buying pencils and notebooks, rulers and knapsacks. We’re not that different from any others. For many LGBT parents, however, the start of the school year brings up concerns about our children’s inclusion [...]

Modern Family’s Gay Dad Explains His Role’s Impact on Children, Bullying

After winning an Emmy Sunday night for playing a gay dad on ABC’s Modern Family, Eric Stonestreet talked at a press conference about the impact of the show: “We get amazing compliments from kids of same-sex marriage families. For example, the most recent one just was the other day. A gentleman approached me and said [...]