Celebrating the LGBTQ Community in the Classroom

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Pride is a time to celebrate the LGBTQ community while honoring the spirit of the Stonewall Riots and the advocates who continue to fight for equal justice for the queer community.

For many teachers, celebrating Pride in the classroom is a way to show their students that they are in a safe space. If you are looking for ways to help your students feel seen in the classroom, these projects will give you some ideas.

The cover of "Beyond Magenta: Transgender teens speak out" written and photographed by Susan Kuklin

On the cover we see a young person wearing a pink shirt, bow tie, rainbow colored belt and jeans. They are smiling and holding their face with one hand. On the cover is also a silver sticker saying "Stonewall Honor Book" with a book and Pink circle over a black triangle.

Pride Storytelling

When Ms. Jones became a teacher, one of her driving goals was to make sure students saw themselves depicted in the reading materials she provided to her class. Her project, See Yourself in a Book – LGBT Edition! is her way of saying “all are welcome”!

“When a student picks up a book, they see the world; however, so many classroom libraries only present ONE version of the world while leaving out so many voices.” — Ms. Jones, See Yourself in a Book – LGBT Edition!

According to GLSEN, in the last school year, only 19% of students were taught an inclusive curriculum with positive representations of LGBTQ people and authors. By providing her students with books such as Eleanor and Park and Fangirl A Novel, Ms. Jones is giving students an opportunity to see themselves and experience ideas or perspectives different to their own.

The cover of "Queer Brown Voices: Personal Narratives of Latina/o LGBT Activism" edited by Uriel Quesada, Letitia Gomez, and Salvador Vidal-Ortiz

Pride Awareness

When it comes to celebrating identities, students are at the center of these conversations. The LGBTQ club at Ms. Landrum’s school — or as they call themselves, the “Rainbow Unicorns” — have a mission to promote a safer, more accepting school for all!

“We are a small but mighty group of gender-nonconforming, lesbian and gay students and staff who meet weekly to support one another and bring awareness to our larger school.” — Ms. Landrum, Help us Promote the Rainbow Unicorns LGBTQ+ Club

With this project, Ms. Landrum and the Rainbow Unicorns will create personalized buttons to educate students and staff about the different flags that represent the queer community and so that allies can make themselves visible.

Pride Through Student Groups

After learning more about the LGBTQ community, Mrs. Boersma’s students were inspired to create a safe place for students to continue learning and discussing these topics.

“Since learning about the LGBTQ community, some of our students have advocated starting a GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) at school!” — Mrs. Boersma, Gay Straight Alliance Supplies

To help them get started, she requested resources like books, stickers, and flags for students to use as they learn, grow, and advocate for the LGBTQ community.

Classrooms are a place to learn and grow, and students should feel safe in them. How are you building inclusive spaces for your students to learn? For more great ideas or to support a teacher, here are some inspiring classroom projects curated by our LGBTQ staff and allies.