A Third High School for Gay Students

Confusion

How do you know what you are at such a young age? Most gay students were curious and let their minds wonder towards places they shouldn't have. It is a choice to be gay. Some men I understand are not born with as much testoterone as others and they may take that as a sign of being a woman trapped in a mans body. I understand that a woman may have more testosterone than other women and have slightly a deeper voice but that doesn't automatically mean that she is a man trapped in a womans body. Growing up I can understand the confusion in the mind of such a young person. The boy with low testosterone may feel different from his friends or may even be interested in other things, which is understandable given the fact that low testosterone levels make you more sensitive. That is what can be taken as "I must be gay or trapped inside this body. I was meant to be a girl." With the girl having more testosterone you may notice she is not as girly and is more of a tom boy. Some are girly and just like girls because they go with whatever thought they had. "She is pretty. Does that mean I'm gay?" You are to control your thoughts. If men were created for men and women, reproduction would occur in men and men relations. Same as with women. I feel that a school like this is not good because they are children who are confused for what ever reason. Maybe a little boy was sexually assaulted by an older woman when he was young and that had a negative effect on his mind and is what led to the "Am I gay?" thoughts. What ever the reason may be, this school takes confused children,(which children I believe we can all agree shouldn't be sexually active anyway) and makes them believe further more that this is "ok". When it is not. Transgender...pshh..you meditated for long periods of time and fantasized so much that you believe your own lie. Its garbage. People are crazy to even allow this to happen. But it shows you how sick this world really is.

Remark " How about the others"

If you read the outline it said. "the school will be open to all genders and orientations and will not ask students to identify either at the door" So there for the nerds, the skinny kids, and all of the other sub groups will be able to attend. So yes the others that are getting harrassed in school will be able to attned.

All I have to say is this:

"According to the Center for Disease Control/Massachusetts Department of Education Youth Risk Behavior Survey (1999), 33% of gay youth will attempt suicide? In fact, gay teen suicide attempts are FOUR TIMES that of heterosexual youth."

That's a good enough reason for me. If these high schools save even one life, it's worth it. I fully support EVERY large city having a gay high school, and the Alliance School in my city is doing GREAT things. I'm proud to live in a city that supports our LGBTQ youth and is committed to helping students have a better life, one they can be proud of.

Is this for real?

First...let me say that I am surprised at the fact that there are already two high schools for the gay population. I didn't know that!!! I don't have a problem with it! Not like I will be able to do anything about it. I have friends who are lesbians. I just don't agree with there being a seperate school. I think programs should be mandated within the present schools for GLBT (Gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgendered-if you didn't know) population. Make it law that any type of abuse or violence will not be tolerated whatsoever!!! Include everyone else too that gets picked on.

GLBTs are people like everybody else...they shouldn't be "special". You know what I'm saying?

I don't mean...oh they think they are special and we're not. What Im saying is that there shouldn't be any seperation. If so, while you're at it seperate the nerds from the non- nerds, seperate the good kids from the bad kids, seperate the caucasians from the blacks. The asians from the caucasians.

Jim Crow, eh?

Seperate but equal is alive and well.

sorry

I think they are. But they don't deserve to be harassed. And how about the others? Small people, nerds, etc?

And maybe they shouldn't go to a different school. It will just make everything worse

On the surface, I like the idea. It will stop LGBTs from getting harassed so much and let them get through high school...but

this sounds a lot like just segregating schools way back when (white/black schools). Obviously, kids'll have a choice of attending...but the key point is, in the end, LGBTs (and LGBT friends) will be separated from the haters and the indifferent/undecided. You're also only fooling yourself if you think anyone but actual LGBTs and their close friends are going to even consider going to this type of school.

This completely avoids the central problem of the hate and ignorance and general lack of acceptance of things that are different that is surprisingly prevalent in many high school. It sends the message that its ok to beat up lil kids that are different from you cuz the gov't will just make everything better.

gay kids in school

I think this is crazy, gay kids should have their own school!

What about fat kids and skinny kids, who get made fun of should they have their own school? This is nuts!!

Good Idea in Some Cases

I agree with most people who have commented saying that it is a bad idea to separate the LGBT students from the common populace; however, where I am from, Milwaukee, I have seen an example of this action that I think is a good application. There is a high school that takes students, who are usually, but not limited to, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender out of extreme situations of violent harassment. For example, one student who was moved to this school was being threatened with death on a continual basis. Another was being beaten up extremely often and the school was either unable or unwilling to do anything about it. I feel that yes, segregation simply for the purposes of creating a pristine, harassment free school is the wrong step. When they get into the world of adulthood they would be less able to cope with co-workers who give them a hard time etc. But in cases like I mentioned above, I feel that segregation is the only solution to keep the child both in school and safe at least for the time being. Fortunately it is obvious that the younger generations, in general, are becoming much more tolerant and accepting of people than the one that holds strong sway now and such places would not need to exist forever.

BAD IDEA!

You only have to go as far as reading the comment from Rob of FL to realize what an inappropriate thing it is to remove the gay students from the population.

If people like Rob are continued to live in environments where it is acceptable to discriminate any group of people then something must change. People like Rob cannot break down their prejudices if they never take the time to really get to know gays and lesbians as people. Since it is sometimes possible and often encouraged to hide this perceived difference, the sexual minorities, then the opportunities for people like Rob are limited.

The only way we are going to succeed in breaking down the barriers is to end the pathologies of silence. We must talk and we must make ALL schools safe and friendly for everyone. It does not matter if Rob or people like Rob understand those who are different than he is.

For example, I will never be able to understand what it is like to be an African-American woman. I can read, study, talk, and interact with them but will never REALLY be able to know what it is like to walk in their shoes. I do have to respect them and protect their rights as fellow members of the human race.

As a gay man, who is also an administrator in a school district, I like to think that I am very open and accepting. I recently had to have an encounter with myself when I began to deconstruct my thoughts about a group of people that I did not understand. I am talking about transgendered individuals. I do not understand how a man could really want to be a woman or think he really was born a woman. However, it is not relevant that I understand nor is it necessary. I purposefully approached a person I knew that fit this "label" (although I do not like labels) and started the conversation with the words I just typed above and we had a very good conversation. As it turned out, the person I was speaking with had a deep need to be able to talk about their life, their challenges, and their feelings. My opening up to them in order to help myself, actually helped them.

We MUST make a change in this country that we call American so that ALLL people are allowed to be who they are whether or not we understand that which is their make-up.

Schools must be radically changed where we do not allow climates of hate and harassment.

We claim to have come a long way when it comes to climates fo respect for ethnic minorities, but we still have not made the deep changes in ourselves and our offspring so that these changes are as impacting as they need to be. However, we do now have a sense of what is not correct to say to ethnic minorities. We have a sense of right and wrong when it comes to racial harassment and discrimination.

In many parts of our country, Texas specifically, it is socially acceptable and legal to discriminate based on sexual orientation.

Deep and lasting change will only occur when gays and lesbians come out in numbers too great to be ignored. This coming out must be in society and not a segregated society.

A separate high school will further marginalize the gay and lesbian student who are the children of fundamentalism who may not be able to voice their desire to go where they are not harassed. Removing those like them would not be good.