LGBTQ+ Middle School to Open in Phoenix, AZ

[phantasmas 12,375]

The Queer Blended Learning Center is a "micro-school" which plans to open its doors in August. Traditional classes such as math and reading will be taught alongside LGBTQ+ history and social studies. The school will be housed at the Phoenix headquarters of LGBTQ+ youth charity, one•n•ten.

Leaders of the school programme said it will be life-saving for queer children in the face of growing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in the US – more than 570 such bills have been introduced in America so far this year, according to the Human Rights Campaign. 

Nate Rhoton, the chief executive of one•n•ten, went on to say: “We have 6th, 7th and 8th graders who could benefit from a safe space to be able to have exceptional education while also having education that pertains to their own identity.

Full Article: https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/07/25/arizona-lgbtq-school-to-open/

[Bambino 24,321]

Inb4 Madonna is the principle and Gaga is the art teacher.

[weed 78,959]

inb4 someone gets paid to say their child is bullied for being straight, trying to groom him, etc. It sounds lovely, I would have loved to attend, just nervous. 

[Luke78619 23,559]

Scared that they’ll get targeted 

[Lippoutou 4,657]

Yay let's segregate this nation even more, as if it wasn't divided enough. Next step we put pink stars on queer students (or rainbow that would be more trendy). 

[StarstruckIllusion 53,565]

3 minutes ago, Lippoutou said:

Yay let's segregate this nation even more, as if it wasn't divided enough. Next step we put pink stars on queer students (or rainbow that would be more trendy). 

Segregate? Looks like someone’s misusing big words again. The jig is up. Also thanks for sharing your wildest imaginative fears, but pink stars are not happening.

[LittleMonster20 9,900]

As a queer person I would have loved to be able to attend a school like this, even if the idea of it is kind of tricky. If it wasn’t for homeschooling, I would have chosen this over a regular public school anyday.

Public schools are still a cesspool of homophobia and transphobia, and an isolating and sometimes even traumatizing experience for queer people. Take it from me as someone who’s still in high school, it’s bad. The bullying is insane, and no one cares. I’ve even overheard teachers being blatantly bigoted. So even if the idea of an LGBTQIA+ school might be tricky because of things like potential targets, proving how someone is LGBTQIA+ to be able to go to a school like this, etc. It’s definitely an idea coming from the right place.

[SHALLOW 16,469]

Is this necessary? Why do americans need to do this kind of stuff?

[RichAssPiss 5,039]

1 minute ago, SHALLOW said:

Is this necessary? Why do americans need to do this kind of stuff?

To actually educate queer youth?

[SHALLOW 16,469]

3 minutes ago, LittleMonster20 said:

As a queer person I would have loved to be able to attend a school like this, even if the idea of it is kind of tricky. If it wasn’t for homeschooling, I would have chosen this over a regular public school anyday.

Public schools are still a cesspool of homophobia and transphobia, and an isolating and sometimes even traumatizing experience for queer people. Take it from me as someone who’s still in high school, it’s bad. The bullying is insane, and no one cares. I’ve even overheard teachers being blatantly bigoted. So even if the idea of an LGBTQIA+ school might be tricky because of things like potential targets, proving how someone is LGBTQIA+ to be able to go to a school like this, etc. It’s definitely an idea coming from the right place.

I mean, if you were out already. But I'm 26 and I'm not even out yet, let alone at 12/13, when i didn't even know i was gay. A high school may have made just a bit more sense but middle school? You don't even know what you like. Who even thought about this?

[gumzy3000 7,901]

I can see the benefits of this, but in the real world LGBT people are going to have to work with a lot of people who are not LGBT. Straight people will also work with LGBT people but to a lesser extent. Having a separate school stops this interaction and awareness of the other, especially since being a teen is a crucial time where you are still learning about the world and forming your values at a rapid pace. 

Why not focus on making regular schools more inclusive and accepting? I feel like having separate schools for LGBT people will also push regular schools to be more straight and put off LGBT initiatives. The kids who are still questioning or in the closet that attend these "regular" schools will end up suffering more.

Also, this is for middle schoolers... Your teen years are the most fluid and you are constantly changing - its literally the whole part of being a teenager. A "straight" person in a regular school may actually find out they are gay by the time they graduate high school, for example. I think a school for LGBT students is putting labels onto children way to early in life. I can see this being very problematic. 

[SHALLOW 16,469]

1 minute ago, RichAssPiss said:

To actually educate queer youth?

Oh so queer youth needs to be educated differently? 

[phantasmas 12,375]

1 minute ago, SHALLOW said:

I mean, if you were out already. But I'm 26 and I'm not even out yet, let alone at 12/13, when i didn't even know i was gay. A high school may have made just a bit more sense but middle school? You don't even know what you like

there are queer centered high schools out there too 

just a handful and small in size but theyre out there

[RichAssPiss 5,039]

15 minutes ago, Lippoutou said:

Yay let's segregate this nation even more, as if it wasn't divided enough. Next step we put pink stars on queer students (or rainbow that would be more trendy). 

Waaahhh? Queer students are often alienated . What does creating pro queer education resources to do to harm them? Literally, all LGBTQ+ resource centers exist to address needs created by alienation and harm done to queer youth by family and institutions. 

[SHALLOW 16,469]

1 minute ago, gumzy3000 said:

I can see the benefits of this, but in the real world LGBT people are going to have to work with a lot of people who are not LGBT. Straight people will also work with LGBT people but to a lesser extent. Having a separate school stops this interaction and awareness of the other, especially since being a teen is a crucial time where you are still learning about the world and forming your values at a rapid pace. 

Why not focus on making regular schools more inclusive and accepting? I feel like having separate schools for LGBT people will also push regular schools to be more straight and put off LGBT initiatives. The kids who are still questioning or in the closet that attend these "regular" schools will end up suffering more.

Also, this is for middle schoolers... Your teen years are the most fluid and you are constantly changing - its literally the whole part of being a teenager. A "straight" person in a regular school may actually find out they are gay by the time they graduate high school, for example. I think a school for LGBT students is putting labels onto children way to early in life. I can see this being very problematic. 

Yeah, i wish i didn't get bullied in high school for being gay but guess what? I still think this is so unrealistic and unhelpful