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Visibility in the classroom

Visibility in the classroom – I want to be the teacher I never had in school

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Visibility in the classroom

This autumn, I start training to become a secondary school music teacher. If you’d have told that to my teenage self 10 years ago, he would have laughed in your face. For that young closeted kid, school was a hellscape. Bullies roamed the corridors, lessons were boring, and teachers ‘just didn’t get it.’ I would never want to go back there. But now, as an out and proud queer person, I realise that I have the opportunity to be the change I once needed.

In school, I was a boy who didn’t play sports, most of my friends were girls, and I loved music. I was a very easy target for bullying. I tried my best to ignore most of it, but one time it got so bad that I couldn’t. I had been receiving homophobic hate and death threats on Facebook, and out of fear, I skipped several school days. When I told my teacher, I was told to shut down my profile, to ignore the threats, and to stop using the internet altogether. I was the victim, yet my privileges were revoked, while the bullies remained free to terrorise online. I felt like nobody was on my side, and that’s a moment that has always stuck with me. My school failed to provide the support services I needed. I needed to feel safe. I needed somebody accepting to talk to. I needed role models. Read more on (source: gaytimes.co.uk) Visibility in the classroom – I want to be the teacher I never had in school


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