LGBT Students Need Our Support

By Peter DeWitt

Many students in our public school system adjust to school culture without an issue. These students go through their school experiences unscathed—they are popular and good-looking; gifted athletes or academic stars. They look forward to attending school, where they know they will feel engaged and safe. They grow up, attend college or enter the workforce, and do well in life just as they did in high school. They attend their 10th, 20th, and 25th high school reunions, where they talk about the "good old days" when they scored the winning touchdown or pulled a great class prank. Most likely, they remember their high school days as one of the best periods of their lives, and they see their high school experience as the solid foundation that led them to who they became as adults. Quite simply, they don't know what it is like not to fit in because they lack the battle scars that others have endured who have not had it so easy.

One segment of our K-12 population that does not fit in so easily is our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students. Often, they feel they have to hide who they are in order to escape the torment they have witnessed other LGBT students face. Depending on whether they fit into heterosexual norms, they may escape another day unscarred or enter a world of constant hurt. These students will not remember school fondly.

Most of them cannot wait to graduate, and typically vow never to visit their high school hallways again because of the pain they suffered at the hands of their peers. Their memories often include being called names and being taunted. LGBT students are more likely than most other groups of students to be bullied and harassed, and the adults around them often do very...