As \u2018out\u2019 teachers and spouses, Chantelle Cotton (she\/her) and Kim Brown (she\/her) know firsthand the importance of making a school a safe and open space for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While schools have made a lot of strides in inclusion in the past few decades, as language and thinking shifts, the need for ongoing education remains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had people ask me, \u2018Are we kind of done with all this inclusion? Are we good now with LGBTQ?\u201d But no, we\u2019re not. We\u2019re never finished,\u201d says Cotton, who teaches at Argyle Alternative School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cotton has taught workshops for educators and Brown presents to pre-service teachers in the Diversity in Education class at the Universit\u00e9 de Saint-Boniface (USB). In the presentations they share their own personal journeys and offer resources and ideas on how to maneuver certain situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve noticed a lot has changed over the years with the university students,\u201d says Brown who teaches Choir and English at Kelvin High School. \u201cBut we still get some students for whom it might be their first time speaking to an openly out gay person. And then there are other students who are very excited because they\u2019re maybe recently identifying themselves in the queer community and wondering how that will work with being a teacher and queer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
USB is home to a lot of international students who are coming from other French speaking countries and for some, the culture in Canada is very different than their country of origin. Brown says this can lead to some interesting questions and dialogues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne time someone asked me \u2018Who is the man in the relationship?\u2019 and there was an audible gasp in the room,\u201d Brown laughs. \u201cBut it was just a question about gender roles and about how we manage our life, and it\u2019s not malicious. People are just trying to openly understand and learn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cotton and Brown take this philosophy to their own classrooms. They openly share their lives with their students \u2013 they are married and have a daughter \u2013 and answer any questions that might arise, but for the most part they\u2019re just themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI try to create a space in my class where everyone can just be who they are,\u201d says Cotton. \u201cIf I can be an \u2018out\u2019 educator and incorporate my life and who I am openly and honestly into what I do, it allows others space to bring who they are to the table. It doesn\u2019t have to be within the LGBTQ+ spectrum, it can be any aspect of themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pronouns and Names Matter<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cotton and Brown say that language around inclusion is constantly shifting and evolving, and teachers should be training to keep up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe need to move to a space where it\u2019s not just students constantly letting their teachers know what their pronouns are,\u201d says Cotton. \u201cIf adults are finding it hard, it\u2019s up to adults to overcome their hard, not up to the child to reinforce and correct.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And how teachers handle pronouns and names matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe hear students being asked to fill out a form on their pronouns and teachers will say don\u2019t worry we won\u2019t tell anybody, and while that teacher is respecting confidentiality and trying to protect the child, what the student is hearing is that pronouns are a secret,\u201d explains Cotton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA few years ago we were using \u2018she\u2019s\u2019 and \u2018he\u2019s\u2019 and then we moved everything to \u2018they\u2019. But now we know that those who are \u2018they\u2019 are \u2018they\u2019 for a reason. Some people have gone from a \u2018she\u2019 to a \u2018he\u2019 and they want to be a \u2018he\u2019. To them the \u2018they\u2019 is a slap in the face. We can no longer just use \u2018they\u2019 and mean that to be inclusive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another aspect of pronouns that has evolved is the term \u2018preferred\u2019 pronouns. \u201cFor me, I know pronouns aren\u2019t preferences, they\u2019re a reality,\u201d says Cotton. \u201cIt\u2019s a shift in thinking, especially when you thought you were already doing it the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brown says educators should also be mindful of \u2018deadnaming\u2019, which occurs when someone, intentionally or not, refers to a person who is transgender by the name they used before they transitioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With Human Rights You\u2019re Never \u2018Done\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cotton says another way to be inclusive is to always be looking at what\u2019s being taught and who is being represented and who is not. \u201cUsing names that are gender neutral when creating examples and resources is something that allows for inclusion in a really simple way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRight now we\u2019re dealing with non-binary and transgender realities and that where maybe gay and lesbian realities were 10-15 years ago,\u201d says Brown. \u201cThere is definitely progress and better understanding, but I think with any human rights you\u2019re never \u2018done\u2019 \u2013 there are always next levels and areas, and there\u2019s also regression. Look at what\u2019s happening in Florida and Texas. Canada is not immune to regressions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow many educators are talking about what is happening in the States?\u201d says Cotton. \u201cBecause to our family that\u2019s a pretty big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brown and Cotton are part of Winnipeg School Division\u2019s \u201cInclusion Across the Rainbow\u201d committee whose mandate is to keep the division supporting staff and students on everything LGBTQSIA+. They say they would recommend that every school division have a similar advocacy group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s time for PD that\u2019s so much beyond the anti-homophobia training that we used to do,\u201d says Brown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cotton recalls a workshop where everyone had to talk about their weekend without using any identifiers and keep their language as neutral as possible. After a few minutes, one person in the room complained that the exercise was \u2018too hard\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey said that it makes them feel silenced, and I said \u2018exactly\u2019. If using pronouns makes you feel silenced, imagine being that person who doesn\u2019t fit the pronouns they were born into. Then they are silent. Do we, as educators, want our kids to be silent?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As teachers it\u2019s now time to move away from safe spaces to brave spaces. We need to move away from just talking to doing and being.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n