LGBTQ+ Middle School to Open in Phoenix, AZ

[StarstruckIllusion 53,737]

5 minutes ago, SHALLOW said:

Opinions. The truth is neither of us knows. 

Then drop the pre-meltdown lmao

All of you

So many freaking out in this thread holy **** are y’all okay 

[nATAH 58,146]

45 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). 

if they don't want us around their kids, we'll create our own spaces

[SHALLOW 16,469]

7 minutes ago, StarstruckIllusion said:

Then drop the pre-meltdown lmao

All of you

So many freaking out in this thread holy **** are y’all okay 

I just pointed out it may not turn out to be as positive as it seems. And you need to recognize that there may be some downsides

[Lady Rah Rah 2,013]

As good as it sounds in theory, in my opinion this could make things worse. At school I agree that there was not near enough sex education that covered gay and lesbian intercourse so when I became of age, my only “education” was adult films and myths on the internet 

It also reinforced a lot of heteronormativity into my brain which I still struggle with to this day. But I think it’s important that queer children also get used to being around straight kids because that’s just life.

We gotta learn to live beside each other, not divided.

[Roughhouse Dandy 13,910]

This is happening for the same reason HBCU's formed. Queer kids in most schools get "othered" into oblivion, they're denied education about the history and issues that have and will affect them, they are excluded from groups, etc... SO it becomes necessary to make schools that guarantee those things don't happen. The segregation accusations are silly; there are non-white HBCU students and there will be hetero students who go to the queer schools. 

If you don't know what issues in education queer kids face in this country, why are you judging before learning a little more? It just makes you look foolish. 

[Flippy 14,658]

56 minutes ago, SHALLOW said:

I literally had a girlfriend at 17. You really don't know until you're in the middle of puberty and sometimds even later.

That was your experience though… I knew since I was 8-9 that I liked the same gender. Everyone’s different. This won’t affect anyone in a negative way 

[abc123321 73]

54 minutes ago, SHALLOW said:

It won't but it may create some social difficulties later on. Also let's not overlook the fact that creating this kind of school is clearly just a political act

what difficulties?

the not being able to interact with straight people thing mentioned before?

because 

1. bullied kids are not learning how to interact with others, quite the opposite.

2. we are living in the age of the internet, you see people different than you everywhere, everyday

3. school should be mainly about learning, which is really difficult to do, when you are stressed out all the time from bulling.

also, there are schools for people with disabilities, they are still able to exist in the normal world after that, so what's the difference?

55 minutes ago, SHALLOW said:

Some things should be prioritized and i don't think Queer history is one of those when it comes to education that is useful. 

I think the same about religion that is taught in italian schools. Useless. It should go too.

School has to prepare you for real life 

this i kinda agree on, maybe instead of special classes just don't erase queer stuff from normal history, teach better, not outdated sex-ed and just be more gay friendly and protective in general.

special classes can be good for later education

[REALITY 80,298]

Some of the takes in this thread make me question some of y'all's intelligence, if I'm being completely honest. Some of y'all sound so incredibly dense, it's insane.

First of all, this idea of having schools specifically for [insert group here] is not new. There are religious schools, HBCUs, all-male schools, all-female schools, etc. So why are y'all up in arms about something directed towards queer people? I don't see this kind of energy when it comes to those other types of specialized schools.

Let's also remember that no one is forcing kids to go to this school. It should be the parent's responsibility to choose which school their child goes to. Some of y'all are acting like they're rounding up queer kids and sending them into concentration camps. Jesus Christ.

Also, this idea that some of you have that "queer kids need to grow up with straight people so that they understand what it's like in the real world". HELLO?! They're not in school 24/7. I'm sure there's a ton of straight people they'll interact with in their lives. That's like saying because I went to a school with a lot of heterosexual & cisgender people, I don't have the ability to properly interact with queer people.

Nothing about this seems wrong, immoral, or discriminatory in any way. Some of y'all need to calm the f*ck down with this nonsense.

[Pennywise 36,080]

1 hour ago, SHALLOW said:

I just pointed out it may not turn out to be as positive as it seems. And you need to recognize that there may be some downsides

Except you did not only do that. 

First, you tried to make it sound like only Americans have problems like this, trivializing LGBTQ+ issues in general:

2 hours ago, SHALLOW said:

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

Then, you generalized your own issues regarding queerness and made it sound like there are no LGBTQ+ children:

2 hours ago, SHALLOW said:

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?

Then, you acted like queer youth are educated well, as if education systems all around the world do not completely omit queer history:

2 hours ago, SHALLOW said:

Oh so queer youth needs to be educated differently? 

 

Then, though this is just an interpretation, you sounded like you think queer issues are western issues, further trivializing them and playing into the whole "queerness is just for liberal westerners" thing that goes on specifically in middle-east countries:

2 hours ago, SHALLOW said:

Mhh.. like where exactly? Northern Europe? 

1 hour ago, SHALLOW said:

What do you even mean by queer inclusive curricula? 

Do you realize no other country is doing this? And it's not cause we're less inclusive.

 

There's also... whatever these generalizations are, that you made without actually knowing what happens irl at all:

2 hours ago, SHALLOW said:

as an European the thought of separating straights and gays just sounds ridiculous 

2 hours ago, SHALLOW said:

Is it reslly necessary tho? Queer history is pretty recent, they can look it up.

2 hours ago, SHALLOW said:

No one's forcing them but that's what they're gonna do, tnking they're doing the right thing when it may be even more harmful. At one point they'll be grown ups who don't know how to socialize with straight people

1 hour ago, SHALLOW said:

You really don't know until you're in the middle of puberty and sometimds even later.

1 hour ago, SHALLOW said:

It won't but it may create some social difficulties later on.

 

Then, you compared actual queer history, that happened to actual queer people with... religion 

1 hour ago, SHALLOW said:

Some things should be prioritized and i don't think Queer history is one of those when it comes to education that is useful. 

I think the same about religion that is taught in italian schools. Useless. It should go too.

School has to prepare you for real life 

 

So... forgive me if I don't buy that you're "just pointing out some concerns" when it really does sound like you are pushing a pseudo-conservative narrative.

 

[SHALLOW 16,469]

12 minutes ago, Pennywise said:

First, you tried to make it sound like only Americans have problems like this

No. I said only Americans do this kind of stuff and those are clearly political choices. Americans are really taking this stuff to the extremes. I can't even blame people for calling the left woke at this point. Like, everything has to be divisive and exxagerated in America. If you're not a Nazi then you have to be the gayest, most inclusive person ever. Like, wtf. Why can't they just solve the issues that regular schools are facing? No, they have to create a school only for the LGBT so that they feel progressive and revolutionary while the republicans have something new to complain about.

[SHALLOW 16,469]

13 minutes ago, Pennywise said:

Then, you compared actual queer history, that happened to actual queer people with... religion 

K, i get your point.

But do we really need a new school just to teach Queer history is what i'm saying. Your personality and knowledge shouldn't only revolve around queerness

[Meruk Holland 2,444]

Just now, SHALLOW said:

K, i get your point.

But do we really need a new school just to teach Queer history is what i'm saying. Your personality and knowledge shouldn't only revolve around queerness

Yes, because other schools are not required to teach it, so they don't. Public schools in America punish teachers for going outside curriculum.

[SHALLOW 16,469]

35 minutes ago, Pennywise said:

Then, though this is just an interpretation, you sounded like you think queer issues are western issues, further trivializing them and playing into the whole "queerness is just for liberal westerners" thing that goes on specifically in middle-east countries:

Nah. I'm italian. We deal with queer issues too but in a much more moderate way. No one feels the need to learn about Queer history here, not even gay people. If they want to learn about it they do it on their own. You don't need a new school just for that. Period.

35 minutes ago, Pennywise said:

So... forgive me if I don't buy that you're "just pointing out some concerns" when it really does sound like you are pushing a pseudo-conservative narrative.

No conservative narratives. But you should be aware that  this kind of stuff can make us liberals look like fools.

[Meruk Holland 2,444]

Think of it this way. You're a gay parent of a 10-year-old. You don't know if your child is gay. The child has said they get teased over it and suspect its worse than they're letting on. A private school opens in your district, claiming to be queer inclusive and they even teach queer history as part of their curriculum. Things that you weren't taught about and honestly still aren't too aware of, so when your kid starts asking questions about why people make fun of them and why they don't like gay people, the best answer you have is "They're just scared of what's different" or "They believe we are sinning because it's part of their religion." 

The kids at this new school aren't likely to bully your kid because only queer affirming parents would send their kids here, be it because the kids have indicated they themselves are queer, or because their parents are, or even just because the parents wanted to broaden their children's understanding by sending them to a novel-sounding school. Even if your child does become the victim of bullying, you can imagine that the school will have much less tolerance for such behavior compared to public schooling. 

Your child will be given an education in relevant history you had to seek out on your own if you even did, and they are less likely to experience social trauma from peers because of who they are or who their parents are. 

[garbage day 11,854]

damn, this thread is a mess. the moped fumes and internalized homophobia are really getting to some of you.

yeah, the age group that will be attending is in a critical point of development, when they're just beginning to build their self-esteem and are highly susceptible to be bullied and alienated by their homophobic peers.

it's absolutely not entirely about diferent sex education or history. a school like this allows queer youth to develop their minds in an environment free from that fear and hatred. they'll be dealing with heterosexual people constantly elsewhere because that's just how the world is... so I don't understand this misguided fear for them returning to a public school. do you poop your pants over queer adults spending too little time around homophobic people also?

I knew I was gay when I was 7 and an opportunity like this would've been literally life-changing for me. I could've developed a foundation of higher self-esteem and some mental fortitude instead of fighting the urge to kill myself and being taught that I'm an abomination in my teens.