One of the kids in my period 9 class came to the meeting of the Gay-Straight Alliance. I asked her today if she enjoyed the meeting and if she would come again. She answered "Yes. My friend made me come but I want to stay a member so I can learn to be accept life styles different from my own."
I'm glad I made the decision to sponsor this club.
5 comments:
I'm glad you decided to sponsor this organization, too. When a kid says something like that, you know it's a good thing.
I'd like to know more about this organization. How are meetings run? What's the agenda look like? Could a club like this work in middle school?
Is there a citywide organization that networks GSAs? National?
If you were going to break down and do some per session, at least you chose where you could make a difference, and where no one else was willing. Got to respect that. And got to believe that the kids benefit.
It took several years of foot-dragging to get the administration to approve ours (even though the kids had been organizing the Day of Silence since the second year of our school - some to show support, some to piss off teachers... but it's all good).
Anyhow, a couple of years to get a GSA started, and then it just sort of petered out after two years... Too bad.
Jonathan
First off, I am not getting paid per session--clubs are strictly volunteer. The school would never pay for anything that benefits the kids like this unless it would make the principal look good in the press.
The meetings are run by the kids. so far, things have been a little chaotic, but good. The kids have great ideas that they have to work on before they put them to practice. They understand they have to get together and come up with intelligent questions before addressing the dean's office on one of their issues and the JROTC on the other.
It would be great in middle school. Some of those kids are very bigoted in their ideas but I am sorry that I have no idea how to start. Basically, I just sit and observe and let the kids do their own stuff.
There's a big school, like ours, down the street. The teachers get all kind of little breaks and favors (undermines the union, as far as I can tell), but in return, clubs are freebies. I thought this was the exception. Neither at my current school (small) nor my previous school (large) were clubs free. After school hours? Paid.
If this is widespread it will take a city-wide initiative from the UFT to do anything... I will start asking... not optimistic, but you never know.
Jonathan
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