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Full report coming up . . . 2007 GLSEN Conference -- pushing the envelope further to twist the minds of children to accept homosexuality, transgenderism, and other behaviors.On Saturday, March 31, at English High School in Jamaica Plain, the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN) held another statewide conference for school children and teachers (the public is also invited). Put on by the biggest homosexual activist group in the country that targets schoolchildren, this is the same nightmare conference that featured The Little Black Book and Fistgate in past years. It's also funded by tax money, corporations, the Boston Teachers Union, and others. This year they were making a special effort to attract more children. It cost $75 for adults to get into the conference on Saturday, but only $10 for middle school and high school students (we suspect that lots will get in free). For $200 an unlimited group from a school with two adults could attend.
Unbelievable workshops for children and adults throughout the day:Below is the list of workshops that were given, for both children and adults. We were going to highlight the "bad" ones, but this year they're all quite destructive. Look down the list for yourself: Adventure Programming with LGBT Youth and Using Experiential Education to Create Inclusive School Communities Jess Simmons, Program Director, North Star Adventure This workshop will give educators an opportunity to look at how adventure programming might be relevant to creating positive GSA’s or helpful in aiding students to look at their biases. It provides practical exercises to be used in groups. Overall this workshop will allow individuals to look at how experiential education is important to schools and the fight for equality. Beyond Stonewall Eva Rosenberg, Student, Harvard University, former GLSEN Boston Board Member; Lane Levine, GLSEN National Student Organizing Fellow, former GLSEN Boston Board Member There is more to American queer history than Stonewall, the AIDS crisis, and marriage equality. Queer history is a diverse and complicated story, and we will take a look at its rich details spanning many centuries and groups of people. Bisexuality 101: Myths and Realities Robyn Ochs What is bisexuality? Is there no such thing as bisexuality or is everyone really bisexual? Or is it more complicated than that? In this workshop we will examine these questions as well as biphobia in lesbian, gay and heterosexual communities with the goal of better understanding bisexuality and bisexual identities. People of all sexual orientations are welcome to attend. Creating A Cultural Competency School and Classroom Workshop 101 Al Toney III, Partner, AK Consulting Services Learn how to develop potential action steps to create a more inclusive learning and social environment within your school, classroom and community. This workshop will help participants begin to increase sensitivity to cultural differences in the classroom, school and the community and to help them develop awareness of how stereotypes and misinformation about various groups can impact the interactions and morale of students and co-workers. We will also help participants learn how to identify useful behaviors and skills that help to create a respectful, productive, and comfortable work environment for all students and employees. Finally we will help participants learn effective methods of dealing with student, employee and community conflicts around difference and help them to identify strategies for creating work environments that support diversity and respect in the classroom, school and in the community. Crossing Lines: Identity and the Sexuality Spectrum Robyn Ochs How do we assign labels to our complicated and unique experiences? At what point on the sexuality spectrum does heterosexuality turn into bisexuality, and bisexuality into homosexuality? We will discuss uses and limitations of the Kinsey scale and other measures of sexual orientation, and factors such as sex/gender, time, and much more. This engaging workshop will transform your thinking! Dreaming Ourselves Deep: Exploring Our Visions for Powerful Classrooms Saida Agostini , Social Justice Teacher Institute Director, The City School The most powerful movements and learning spaces are those where our imaginations are set free. This session is an opportunity for us to just do that—what would our classrooms look like if they had no boundaries? Our community will share and build a collective model of engaged learning grounded in social justice, explore best practices, and activities. All of the activities come from the Social Justice Teacher Institute. Embracing Diversity: Lessons From Safe Schools Programs in the Jewish Community Andrea Jacobs, Director of Education, Keshet - moderator
Idit Klein, Executive Director, Keshet In this workshop, we will look at different approaches to creating GLBTQ safe spaces in Jewish schools and youth programs. What are the lessons we can learn from the experiences of GLBTQ Jews and their allies and how can we apply them in our work for GLBTQ rights in both religious and secular environments. Exploring Our Spiritual Journeys Barb Greve, Intern Minister, Arlington Street Church Religion is often used as a weapon against BGILQQT people and yet many of us continue to be religious people. We will explore the role religion plays in our lives and share our spiritual journeys. Family and Gender Diversity in Children’s Literature Kim Westheimer, Educational Consultant, Trainer Learn about a penguin’s two dads, a dog’s case of mistaken identity, and a boy’s pink shirt collection. We’ll review books and see their connections to Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. Educators and people who love to read to children are welcome. Gay Around the Globe A panel of GLBT individuals from different cultures sharing their experiences Panelists will share how their cultures and ethnicity have impacted their identities as gay and lesbian individuals. (Panelist include people from India, Vietnam, African Americans from the Southern United States) GSA Makeover: 10 Ways to Make Your GSA Better Than Ever Edward Byrne, Managing Director, Project 10 East, Inc. Chadwick Johnson, Vice-President Project 10 East, Inc. and teacher, Fenway High School Is your GSA feeling tired, rundown, predictable, or unappreciated? Give it some love and come get a GSA makeover! We will show you 10 new and affordable ways to reenergize your GSA to make it better than ever. Whether you’re faced with old ideas, no money, low attendance, or little school support; these 10 ideas will give you the boost of energy you need to be successful. This makeover will give you the chance to be that wonderful, beautiful, unique GSA you know you are. You’ve been working hard. Don’t you think you deserve it? Hineini: Coming Out in a Jewish High School, a film screening Andrea Jacobs, Director of Education, Keshet
Idit Klein, Executive Director, Keshet, Executive Producer,
Hineini In this workshop, we will look at different approaches to creating GLBTQ safe spaces in Jewish schools and youth programs. What are the lessons we can learn from the experiences of GLBTQ Jews and their allies and how can we apply them in our work for GLBTQ rights in both religious and secular environments. Is Displaying a Safe Zone Sticker Enough? Creating a Positive and Inclusive Middle School Community Marc Lewis, former GLSEN Boston Board Member and RJ Grey Junior High School Teacher in Acton, MA You’ve put a Safe Zone sticker up in your classroom (or haven’t). Now, how do I respond to my principal who says, “This is a high school issue”? What do I say to my colleague who wants to know why I don’t have a safe zone sticker up for every other minority group? How do I respond to the parent who believes that any discussion on this topic is inappropriate for students this age? Come to this facilitated discussion to talk about these and other questions, share your experiences, and leave with language and responses that will work for you. Keeping Your GSA Active and Strong – Ideas for a successful GSA Abbie Hodlt, Advisor, Arlington High School and members
of the Arlington High School GSA; What kinds of activities and events can your GSA get involved in to make a difference. Does your GSA sometimes seem without direction? Come hear about different ways that your GSA can become more active and new ways to engage other kids in your school and community. LGBT Youth & Elders: Building Bridges, Honoring Our History Bob Linscott, Outreach and Education Coordinator LGBT Aging Project, Former GLSEN Boston Board Member Gay and Lesbian Elders are a precious asset. Their stories are our history. Unfortunately ageism rears its ugly head in the gay world as in the straight world and we all retreat to our separate camps. Currently there is an exciting project between SpeakOut Boston and the LGBT Aging Project to train LGBT Elder Speakers so they can bring their oral histories into GSA’s and community groups and begin to bridge this generational divide. This workshop will feature several LGBT Elders who will share their stories of coming out before Stonewall, in times when mentioning the word “gay” could get you arrested. We will also talk about the “LGBT Senior Speakers Bureau” and give you information about bringing a speaker into your GSA. Making the Case: Communications Strategies for Responding to Critics Daryl Presgraves, GLSEN National Communications Department More and more schools are taking crucial action to address anti-LGBT bias and behavior in schools that negatively affect school climate and create barriers to education. Educators and community members leading these efforts sometimes encounter resistance from various stakeholders. This workshop is designed to enable you to make an effective case for the importance of dealing with LGBT issues in education, while being respectful of differing opinions and points of view. Mission Impossible? Designing and Facilitating a 45 Minute Youth-Led Training on GLBT Issues, Homophobia & Name Calling Training on GLBT Issues, Homophobia & Name Calling Kathy Keegan, Project 10 East - GSA at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School Have you ever had this experience? Your Principal, Executive Director or other manager asks you to do a training on GLBT Issues and gives you some kind of impossible time frame to work with? Well, our GSA lobbied to do a training for all faculty and they gave us 45 minutes!! Now the next part is how to do a meaningful training that is led by youth in a short time frame. Come to our workshop to learn how to do the impossible! Youth and adults from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School will deliver a training for how to organize the workshop like the one we ran for 200 faculty members. We will share our training “script” and open a dialogue about the challenges and joys of doing this critical type of training. LGBT Dating Violence 101: Strategies for Prevention and Support Ariel Berman, Community Programs Coordinator, The Network/ La Red: Ending Abuse in Lesbian, Bisexual Women’s and Transgender Communities This workshop will present an overview of LGBT dating violence. Through a combination of presentation and group discussion we will develop strategies of prevention and support for LGBT youth experiencing dating violence. Networking GSA’s – Making an Impact through Solidarity Julia Brindisi, GLSEN Northeast Regional Student Organizer; Lane Levine, GLSEN Student Organizing Fellow A conference with so many GSA’s and student clubs in attendance is a perfect place to develop tools to solidify networks among us. Come explore ideas and concrete ways to make these happen in Massachusetts! O.K., So Your GSA is Supported and Thriving, Now What? Melissa Buttaro, GSA advisor at Lexington High School for the past 10 years This is an “advanced” workshop for advisors whose GSA’s are active, well established and supported. This discussion-based session will focus on moving your GSA to the next level and dealing with some of the issues unique to our groups (turnover, leadership, ex’s, siblings, “inappropriate”/difficult topics, etc.) Organizing A No Name-Calling Week In Your School Lane Levine, Student Organizing Fellow, Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, GLSEN National This presentation on GLSEN’s Education Department’s No Name-Calling Week program will be both informative and interactive. Participants will receive a thorough overview of the history and content of No Name-Calling Week, as well as gain tangible tools and tips for implementing No Name-Calling Week in their schools and communities. Out of the Closet – Over the Rainbow Eva Rosenberg, Freshman at Harvard University, former GLSEN Boston Board Member Obviously, being out is a big deal. But what happens next? What is your identity, and how do the labels that you or others assign to you affect that identity? Come talk about it! Queerspawn: A Quiet Identity Elizabeth Castellana, Co-director of Boston COLAGE, Caroline Cox-Orrell, Newton North High Student, GLSEN Boston Board Member and Julia Siegenberg “Queerspawn” are often a hidden group within schools. Hear from a small panel of queerspawn about their identity as children of LGBT parents, and their relationships to other members of the LGBT communities in schools. Resistant Administrations: How to Get Your School and Community On Board Edward Byrne, Managing Director, Project 10 East, Inc., Chadwick Johnson, Vice-President Project 10 East, Inc. and teacher, Fenway High School This workshop will explore ways students, faculty, and staff can work with resistant administrators to build support for LGBT issues in schools. We will discuss actual cases where administrations were cautious about allowing a GSA and other GLBT focused activities in their school. This workshop will give you the tools, facts, and insight to appreciate the challenges administrators are faced with in these decisions. Participants will learn how to look at all sides of the issue, to confidently and convincingly present a rationale that supports their activity and student group, and proposes a viable solution. The goal will be to show how you and your administration are on the same side in making your school a safe and welcoming place for everyone. You will leave with successful tactics and convincing data to make a powerful case for your school. Respect and Empowerment from Within Yves Augustin, Social Worker and Holistic Consultant, giveer@yahoo.com This workshop will provide participants with necessary tools to shift their thinking in order to find the true source of respect and empowerment through a fourstep approach: awareness, acceptance, alliance, and action. Starting a GSA in a Middle School Kat Callard, GSA Faculty Advisor, Park School in Brookline,
MA. The workshop will focus on the reactions, both positive and negative, that faculty and students have had to our middle school GSA, and the challenges/rewards of starting and maintaining the GSA at Park. These topics will be explored through a viewing of a video which the students have made. There will be an opportunity for discussion after the video. Still Married: Tales of Love and Legality, A Solo Performance Piece Karen “Mal” Malme, Co-founder, Producer, Performer & Writer with Queer SoupTheater,; Advisor to NAGLY (North Shore Alliance of GLBT Youth) This is a new solo performance piece which explores the issues of marriage, queer and gender identity, and the performer’s work as a door to door equal marriage canvasser. Students and Educators Sharing Work and Building Communities of Practice in Western Massachusetts Brian J. Rachmaciej, Ed.D.,ABD, Educational and Clinical Consultant Western Massachusetts is located approximately 80 miles outside of Boston, therefore, our geographic location limits educators and youths regular contact with GLSEN Boston. Western Massachusetts has great diversity in its populations and the needs of GLBTQ youth and educators mirror the diversity of our population. Sharing our work and building communities of practice that can support the development of culturally sensitive and culturally supportive programming is important to successful outcomes. Truth About Love – Parents From PFLAG Share Their Stories A Panel of Parents From Greater Boston PFLAG How do I come out to my parents? How do I teach them to accept me just the way I am? What if they say they love me but then never want to talk about it? What if they say it’s just a phase? Share your experiences with PFLAG parents. Get answers to your questions, support and guidance. Find out how to get your parents involved in PFLAG. Transgender 101 Julia Brindisi - The Bromfield School Student Advisor and GLSEN Northeast Regional Student Organizer; Hannah Brown - GLSEN Northeast Regional Student Coordinator This workshop is designed to introduce participants to language and terminology related to gender, and gender identity/expression and to learn techniques to break down gender barriers and to look at different ways people identify. By attending this workshop, participants will not only become more knowledgeable about the subject, but also learn to embrace peoples’ diversities, to understand an individual’s difficulty to express themselves under societal, individual, & group oppression, to recognize that we are all working towards the same goal, and to network with other people. True Colors Presents: Love of our Lives The Theater Offensive’s True Colors: Out Youth Theater, Evelyn Francis, Director of Education True Colors is for queer youth and allies who create original plays based on their personal experiences. True Colors will perform scenes from their new show, which will be followed by a discussion and theater games to get you started on your own play! UGLY DUCKLINGS CAMPAIGN: Creating Safe, Equitable and Inclusive School Environments for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (GLBTQ) Youth School Environments for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (GLBTQ) Youth Lyn Mikel Brown, Ed.D., Jeanette Richelson, & Megan Williams Ugly Ducklings is a national campaign, collaboratively produced by two grass-roots Maine organizations, Hardy Girls Healthy Women and Greater Waterville Communities for Children and Youth, to combat biasedbased harassment and suicide of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (GLBTQ) youth. The Ugly Ducklings Community Action Kit is a compilation of strategies, activities, and resources gathered from local, state, and nationally recognized experts and advocacy groups to use in communities, schools, families, and faith-based organizations. It includes the documentary film Ugly Ducklings, interviews with Maine youth, and interactive features, such as discussion questions and activities. Using Your Voice as a Teaching Tool – A Poetry Workshop for Adults Shantanette Patrice, Social Worker, Teen Health Center, O’Bryant High School, Boston, MA This interactive workshop uses poetry as a tool for people to discover, develop and exercise their voice as a teaching tool. In the workshop participants will examine writing and speaking as a teaching tool. This workshop is for people of all skill levels who want to tap their creative juices, and have fun in the name of teaching respect. Using Your Voice as a Teaching Tool – A Poetry Workshop for Youth Shantanette Patrice, Social Worker, Teen Health Center, O’Bryant High School, Boston, MA This interactive workshop uses poetry as a tool for people to discover, develop and exercise their voice as a teaching tool. In the workshop participants will examine writing and speaking as a teaching tool. This workshop is for people of all skill levels who want to tap their creative juices, and have fun in the name of teaching respect. What is the T in GLBT? Transgender Youth Panel Moderated by Grace Sterling Stowell, Executive Director of BAGLY (Boston Alliance of Gay and Lesbian Youth) A Panel of young Trans individuals share their experiences of growing up as transgender and the issues that they have faced as they navigate school, adolescents and young adulthood. You Are Not Alone: LGBTQI Rights as a Global Revolution Ashley Pushkarewicz, Diversity Affairs Coordinator, Fisher College. GLSEN Boston Board member The workshops will cover legal issues such as: LGBTQI rights as human rights, immigration, marriage, and criminalization of homosexual acts. It will combine brief stories of individuals who are working internationally. I will also talk about how violence against LGBTQI people is connected to political and social instability. The Holocaust and the current state of Iraq will be cited as examples. |
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