Exclusive Schools

Exclusive Schools

The Fight Against Homophobic Bullying

Submitted by: Anthony Taddeo

Submitted to: Juan Marsiaj

Date: March 31, 2012

POL 510

Every child has the right to attend school and learn in a safe and inclusive environment. A threatening atmosphere will negatively impact a student’s experience at school and may compromise his or her ability and willingness to learn. In an unsafe environment, being a student may become secondary to the individual’s status as a victim. Bullying is a pervasive problem in schools everywhere. Unfortunately, for the students who experience bullying, it is often met with little to no objection by those in positions of authority. At best, it is common for a bully to be told to stop what he or she is doing with no further consequences; at worst, incidences of bullying are overlooked completely, thereby leaving the victim to fend for him or herself. While this is the situation for many students who are being bullied, the predicament often worsens for victims of homophobic bullying as this is a situation that many educators are not equipped or willing to address and remedy. For a school to be a safe place for all students, a clear policy regarding bullying and the consequences for engaging in behavior that is harmful to other students needs to be clearly outlined and understood by all staff. A requisite step to implementing consequences is to define the parameters of homophobic bullying. Finally, it is necessary to address incidences of bullying by following through with a progressive discipline model in which the perpetrator of the bullying is punished for his or her actions. The problem of homophobic bullying is one that permeates the lives of LGBTQ youth and for any improvements to be realized, the issue must be clearly defined to those who can effect change, recognized, and have a decisive response.

The Nature of Homophobic Bullying

A welcoming and inclusive school environment demands that the students...