Happy No Name-Calling Week, a time to celebrate kindness and work towards creating safe schools! In honor of the event, educational film company Groundspark is offering free streaming of all the films from its wonderful Respect for All Project, which cover family diversity, LGBT inclusion in schools, and much more.
The week is organized by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), in partnership with a host of LGBT, educational, youth, and social justice organizations. They have a great set of resources for observing the week (or doing anti-bullying work at any time)—and partner Groundspark is offering free streaming of these films:
- That’s a Family, for students in grades K-8. Children talk about what it’s like to grow up in a family with parents of different races or religions, divorced parents, a single parent, gay or lesbian parents, adoptive parents, or grandparents as guardians.
- Let’s Get Real, for students in grades five through nine. Students speak about race, sexual orientation (real and perceived), learning disabilities, religious differences, sexual harassment, and more. They talk about how they have stood up to bullies—and in some cases, what has caused them to bully themselves.
- It’s Elementary—Talking About Gay Issues in School (1999) and the follow-up It’s STILL Elementary (2008), for grades K-8, show parents and educators how some educators have addressed LGBT topics in the classroom. (My interview with Academy Award-winning director (and lesbian mom) Debra Chasnoff about the film’s 10th anniversary is here.)
- Straightlaced, for students in grades 8-12, tackles the pressure to conform to gender norms, for both LGBTQ and straight, cisgender youth. (I also interviewed Chasnoff about this film when it first came out.)
Are your kids celebrating No Name-Calling Week in their schools? If so, how?