I started reading a story on HongKongFP.com and was saddened by some of the stories shared and the shocking numbers presented. In "Teachers, Social Workers, Syllabi: How The School System Alienates Gay Teens In Hong Kong," we hear of how Hong Kong educators are just not prepared to deal with their students coming out or questioning their sexuality.
According to a 2015 study commissioned by the Equal Opportunities Commission and conducted by The Hong Kong Institute of Education (now the Education University of Hong Kong), over 84.3 per cent of 332 teachers interviewed said that they never received any training on issues relating to sexual orientation or identity. Almost half of the interviewees said they were moderately prejudiced against sexual minorities, while 16 per cent admitted that the prejudicial views they held were severe or very severe.
For Tommy Chen, a representative from local LGBT activist group Rainbow Action, not only are schools unequipped to deal with LGBT bullying, but that “the abuser is in fact the teacher and the principal.” Chen said that to his knowledge, stories of LGBT students being subjected to hostile treatment by teachers were common in Hong Kong. For example, a student told Chen that a teacher at her school called her “that dyke” in front of the whole class. “In these circumstances, who can the student go to?” said Chen. – hongkongfp.com
I think I was fortunate for being able to work with students in my school and across the state as part of the Civil Rights Team program. This was back in the '00s. Since then I have moved on to higher education. I do hope that the program has continued, but I'm not sure. Something else I am not sure about is how other teachers dealt with students questioning their sexuality. Before we point our figures at Hong Kong and ridicule them for their lack of action, we may need to look at what we do. We have FERPA training and learn what to do if a kid vomits or bleeds in a classroom, but I really do not remember us being trained about bullying or how to handle questioning children. I left teaching 10 years ago. Maybe I departed just before bullying and sexuality became uber newsworthy.
Most students knew I was gay, others were just too dumb to understand. I didn't make an issue of it, I didn't try to be a role model, I wasn't there to be a poster child. The students that needed to talk would come to me or a couple of other teachers that were known to be supportive of difference, acceptance, and humanity.
[An] overwhelming 88 per cent of students did not seek help from teachers according to the BGCA study, because they believed that they would not be able to help, or were fearful of their potentially discriminatory attitudes. More than half also reported being worried that the teachers would inform their parents of their sexual orientation.
Sixty-four per cent of the students said that the schools did not provide with them resources to understand their sexual orientation, while 56 per cent could not find a teacher or social worker they could trust. Furthermore, gay students said that teachers stigmatised them, with 17 per cent believing that the teachers saw them as immoral, and nine per cent believing that teachers viewed them to be promiscuous.
According to Billy Leung, a spokesperson for the Pink Alliance, teachers and social workers lack material or knowledge in terms of dealing with students who are coming out. “This is a time when students are most vulnerable and can benefit most with support to affirm their identity. Unfortunately, we often receive reports that teachers and social workers tell them that their sexual orientation or gender identity is a sin, and that they need to change. Outdated and abusive approaches like these have detrimental effects on students and youth people.” – hongkongfp.com
There is a lot more to read over at hongkongfp.com, but I must raise the question again. What kind of training do our teachers receive here in the U.S., Canada, Europe, other places than Hong Kong? We may shake our heads in judgment, but let us judge ourselves first.
How are teachers educated to handle out students, questioning students?
Do we have some Instincters that are current or recent teachers that remember if they had any LGBT / bullying training? Was it a slide show? A whole day? A pamphlet?
h/t: hongkongfp.com