This year in Pride Alliance, in addition to working on Pride Month, have decided to work on some new projects behind the scenes. The aim of these projects is to try and make more permanent changes throughout the school. Steph (YR12) and I as co-leaders both noticed that throughout our time at ISL, there were very limited times in which we could remember having discussed topics regarding the LGBTQ+ community in class. If we had, it was very brief or just an activity to acknowledge the fact that it was pride month. We decided that the first big project we were going to tackle this year was to change certain parts of the curriculum from years 7-11. We thought it was an important change because a lot of homophobia comes from not being educated on the topic. If it is not included in the curriculum, unless people research it for themselves, they will never learn about what the LGBTQ+ community is. They will never know what could be perceived offensive or why it’s offensive, which is one of the things that leads to homophobia within our community.
After discussing it with the whole Pride Alliance we decided that the places where we could make the most relevant changes were in English and Humanities. Steph and I set up meetings with the heads of department for the relevant subjects. In preparation for those meetings we looked through the curriculum of each subject to find the units in which we could easily add in some things, without changing the entire curriculum. We were very aware of the fact that if we went and modified everything, not only was it not realistic, but it would also become very obnoxious, and certain students may feel like that is all they talk about. We didn’t want to make it seem that this issue is more important than others which are discussed, (because it is not) but still make people understand that it is equally as important.
When it came to the English proposal we focused on the units Fantasy Fiction (Year 7), Persuasive Language (Year 10), Greek Mythology (Year 9) and Writing Our Identities (Year 10). For the Fantasy Fiction unit in Year 7, we tried to look for a queer fantasy novel that can be added into the book options for the unit. The book that we found, which we thought would be the best fit for the unit, is a book called Too Bright To See By: Joly Herman, which is a book that discusses how 11-year-old Bug goes through a journey of discovery after the death of her uncle. She comes out as transgender and the novel follows her coming out story. We found that transgender people are not often discussed within schools and that a novel would be a good way for the topic to be introduced to year 7s, especially if it has not been discussed in primary. For the Persuasive Language unit, we found a few examples of queer speeches which could be used throughout the unit. Some of these include Olly Alexander’s “Queer is Beautiful” and Debi Jacksons “ That’s Good Enough”. Similarly, for the year 10 unit on writing our identities, which is based on poetry we found examples of queer poems and queer poets which could be used throughout the unit. Some of the poets include Sean Lìonadh, Danez Smith and Frank Bidar while the poems include “Don’t Call Us Dead” by Danez Smith and “Homosexuality” by Frank O’Haran. We found “Homosexuality” to be a particularly good poem as it includes some really strong metaphors. Finally, we thought that a good area in which we could incorporate something was the Greek myths unit in year 9 as we knew of some myths that have been adapted to show queer characters and relationships, or some that were changed when translated from Greek by Catholic monks. Some examples of queer relationships or characters that we found in Greek mythology and thought could be introduced to the students within the unit are Apollo and Hyacinth, Cycnus and Phylius, Iphis (transgender male) and Heracles and Hylas.
For the Humanities Curriculum we decided to focus on the renaissance unit (year 8), the Religious Differences unit (Year 9) the Protest unit (Year 10) and then more generally on political systems and how strict laws for LGBTQ+ individuals are. For Humanities specifically, we focused on starter activities that could be used. For the year 8 unit on the Renaissance we focused on renaissance art specifically and how queer stories that had been told in the ancient world were retold by queer artists which allow us to view the story through that lens. An example of this is a fresco that was painted “Il Sodoma ” which portrays a heterosexual relationship between Alexander the Great and Roxana, but shows a bisexual narrative by showing Alexander’s companion Hephaestion, as their relationship is often used as a queer narrative. Another example is mentioning queer artists of the time such as Donatello . In terms of the Religious difference unit, we mostly discussed how there is an idea that religion is mostly opposed to the LGBTQ community, but there are some overlaps. An example of this is that there is a series of mediaeval stories about saints who were assigned female at birth but then went on to be monks in all male communities. For the protest unit we created a slideshow with a series of examples of LGBTQ+ protests such as the stonewall riot which the students then have to choose one of and do more in depth research. Finally, we found a map to be used as a starter activity which shows how certain political systems are against the LGBTQ community.
After creating our proposals we sent them to the heads of department, and after they had been reviewed we got some feedback from each of the teachers. Although some of the activities cannot be easily added to the curriculum, the vast majority of the things that were proposed fit in with what is already part of the curriculum therefore will most likely be added to the curriculum for the next academic year.
