Non-Normative Gender and Sexual Identities in Schools: - Schools Out

SS: Excuse me, what is the main tool they are going to be using for the rest of their lives.
AM: Yeah.
SS: [//] [//] I am left gobsmacked basically [//] so we haven’t thought things through I
don’t think anywhere near sufficiently. But I want the legislation, its crucial, but what
needs to follow on from that is the training is is is the cultural shift.
AM: Definitely, cultural shift. From what I’ve seen the polices are there, in some cases
they are good policies and in some cases not so good. I’ve had a lot of teachers say to me
how they don’t quite understand it, or they don’t know where it is…
SS: {no}
AM: …um.
SS: And its, I would say its competence and confidence.
AM: Yep.
SS: And most teachers don’t have either around most equality issues [//] possibly they’ve
done some work around race, but my guess is its majority around black African
Caribbean stuff probably, the Muslim stuff has taken a lot of people napping. Um [//] the
whole concept around religion and belief is an interesting one and I think you know we
actually do have still I think I must check but I think we still have on the DCFS
Teachernet website this extraordinary statement that it would not be illegal for a teacher
to say that Christianity and Islam would say that Homosexuality is immoral.
AM: Yeah, last time I checked it was still there.
SS: Yeah, I mean they are supposed to have gotten rid of it and you you heard the debate
in the Schools Out conference, where I was saying you know for fuck sake get it off.
AM: Yep, pretty much! OK, I think you covered a bit of this next question in that answer
actually. Which is, how important do you think combating, for combating these problems
is it for staff to simply recognise that this type of bullying is happening in their schools?
SS: Yeah, I think what’s interesting is that some of our staff will be aware of it [//] but
not have the confidence always to deal with it. Or will go in [//] foot in mouth. So some
teachers will say oh we’ve solved that problem so we don’t let the word gay be spoken at
all. Well thanks for that! Really haven’t thought that one through. Um I mean a deputy
head when I was doing some training bless her heart coming from a very loving place,
um challenged a young woman who yelled lesbian at me in the corridor and said don’t
say that that’s disgusting and I thought oh my god where do I start!
AM: (laughs)