Victorian schools form 'Safe Schools Coalition'

[Graeme]

Australia is behind the USA when it comes to gay/straight alliances at schools, though, as this article says, the level of homophobia in Australian schools doesn't appear to reach the peak that it does in some USA schools. Regardless, this is a welcome move:

Coming Out: Gay-friendly schools form Rainbow Alliance

[colinian]

Graeme, this initiative is a very positive very public government-supported tool that will help GLBT students. An interesting side effect is what will happen to schools that don't become members of this initiative. It may cast them in a negative light. Of course, if they are church schools they might actively avoid joining.

We need something similar in the U.S. I've forwarded the link to my high school district and Federal and State representatives with that recommendation.

Colin

[Graeme]

Of course, if they are church schools they might actively avoid joining.

I'm not sure I agree. My boys go to a church school and while I know some parents are strongly against homosexuality (one asked a question at one of the regular parent/school meetings), I'm not that sure about the school itself. Based on the way answering that question was avoided, I suspect that at least some of the school administration is neutral to friendly. I think it would cause a lot of disruption at the school if they joined this program (some parents would become very vocal), but I don't think the school would actively avoid it.

As an extra item in support of why I think the school is not anti-gay, the school recently had some after hours classes on sexuality for the primary school kids. At least a couple of the books on puberty that was available for sale was quite positive and factual on the subject of homosexuality. If the school was anti-gay, I would have thought they would have checked the books being offered and vetoed any that said that homosexuality was natural and normal. They didn't....

Some schools, yes, but I'm sure I've read an newspaper article about at least one church based school that indicated that the school was at least neutral, if not pro-gay. From memory it was an article about protecting gay students from bullying, and it was a Catholic school's strong support for the gay students that was being highlighted.

[colinian]

Graeme, it sounds like church schools in Victoria are very different than the ones here in the U.S. The Catholic and Protestant church schools here rail against homosexuality and refuse to hold any kind of reference to gays in their sexuality classes; however, many of these schools fail to offer sexuality classes because "that's a subject best left to the parents."

Colin