Although comprehensive diversity training has become part of public school life, last week’s That’s So Gay conference in Sydney was told that compulsory sexual diversity discussions have been dumped on the whim of individual principals.

Teachers claimed some principals lied to the Education Department about whether senior students had completed the Crossroads program. In 25 hours spread across years 11 and 12, Crossroads looks at defining intimate relationships, sexual identity, and rights and responsibilities in sexual relationships, including consent.

In 2005 NSW’s then Education Minister Carmel Tebbutt banned a Crosswords question asking students to “consider how these pressures [to find a partner] may affect the way gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender young people see themselves” after a media storm and conservative backlash.

A minor media storm ensued last week, when it was implied that the NSW Government, using the conference as a mouthpiece, was demanding the use of the word “partner” (instead of “husband” and “wife”, for example) in schools – a claim denied by the government and the conference. The ABC’s Media Watch dubbed the story a “cynical, shameful beat-up”.

This beat-up, unfortunately, masked the importance of the conference at a time when the NSW Government has been accused of failing gay students.

One issue discussed was the Education Department’s over-zealous internet filters. In late 2007, the department’s chief information officer boasted of a new filter that blocked everything that hadn’t been pre-approved.  This happens to include information about support services.

“Whenever you type in ‘gay’, or ‘gay youth support services’ to a search engine, it comes back with ‘this is unauthorised’. What kind of message does that send?”, Juvenile Justice school deputy principal Daryl Hood asked.

NSW AIDS Council CEO, Stevie Clayton, said too many same-sex attracted students were abused at school, making it crucial that they and their teachers could access support while at school.

“It is most likely that they will look for that help on the internet, so it is dangerous to deny them that access,” Clayton said.

However, some Sydney schools have embraced diversity awareness programs, teaching years 7 and 8 students to recognise homophobic bullying and understand the barriers victims face in reporting it. Year 9 and 10 students are asked to clarify their personal values and challenge negative community attitudes that demonise sexual minorities.

Julie Mumford, from Macarthur High, said girls in her classes often didn't have the vocabulary to express their values, even when supportive of sexual diversity.

"We hear the words 'normal' and 'not normal' over and over again," Mumford said. "We spend a lot of time repeatedly correcting [hurtful] language. At that age, they don't want to be seen as different; they want to be seen as normal."

Diversity programs aim to change classrooms and playgrounds from centres for bullying into safe places, but teachers warn that some principals undervalue diversity programs, which are not externally assessed.

A spokesman for the Department of Education and Training said discrimination and harassment were not tolerated in public schools and its policies required principals to act against such behaviour.

Sydney Star Observer, www.ssonet.com.au
 

by HARLEY DENNETT and KATHRYN GOLDIE