Italian and Dutch schools start exchange on sexual diversity policy

Diversity

From 19th to 25th April six Dutch students and a teacher from the Hyperion Lyceum in Amsterdam (Netherlands) met with the teachers and 24 students of the Liceo Scientifico "Gaetano Salvemini" in Bari (Italy). There was a double program: one for students and one for teachers. In some of the events, teachers and students met to discuss homophobia. The program does not focus solely on homophobia, but also on geographical, cultural and linguistic diversity.
The students attended classes at, went on local tours and participated in student activities on sexual diversity and a socially safety in school. The student activities were organized by the Global Alliance for LGBT Education (GALE) in collaboration with the school in Bari. Additionally GALE presented the main results of a needs assessment in the three schools that was carried out before the meeting.

Surprising cultural differences for students

The Italian and Dutch students started by discussing the film "Ruben". This 10 minute film is about a gay boy who is bullied at school and finally contemplates suicide. The students talked about situations when they felt left out at school and what the school can do to make the atmosphere more welcoming for everyone. Initially, the Dutch students found is difficult to come up with ideas because bullying and sexual diversity already gets ample attention in their school. But when the discussion widened to diversity in general, they came up with the idea that their school could have care for physically disabled people. The Italian students were shocked the Dutch school does not have an elevator for wheelchairs. On the other hand, the Dutch students were surprised about the more homophobic attitudes in Italian society and the destructive role of religion.

We have a dream...

Based on the brainstorming, the students wrote short papers about the school of their dreams. They presented these ideas to the teachers. They asked them for more lessons on sexuality, a better approach against bullying and more teacher training on listening to and empathy with students. One of the student groups states: "We have a dream to attend a school without any segregation and discrimination of any kind. By giving different types of education, like sex education, and interactive lessons given by young professional teachers, the school can help to develop different mindsets and teach us how to be respectful for the people around us. Through trips and excursions we get to know different cultures, discuss them and learn to avoid prejudice. We would like the teachers to be experts in facilitation this learning process. A big public space in this school would be ideal to interact and connect with other students. To do this, we need money and volunteers. We can get the money by organizing tournaments and parties and social networks. This is the school of our dreams." Some of the students and teacher burst into tears after their statement.
The Dutch students who traveled to Bari were very impressed by the openness and friendship the Italian students immediately showed. They expect Dutch students would be more shy and maybe less welcoming at first. They are already thinking how to prepare the next exchange meeting in November in Amsterdam and make it as much a success.

Challenges among teachers to cooperate

While the students prepared their dream statements, about 20 teachers discussed how they could combat homophobia in their school. Marinus Schouten, of GALE, who led this workshop, said: "On one hand, I noticed that the teachers had a great need to have more information about how they can incorporate attention to sexual diversity in their classes. We worked on a spiral curriculum which starts at Day 1 and ends when the students graduate. This clarified how they can work step by step and set small but attainable objectives. We also discussed how to deal with the resistance of the church and of some parents."
" I noticed that teachers are not used to make agreements among themselves on how to combat bullying and to organize positive affirmation of students. Especially in Italy, the teachers rely heavily on the director, who enjoys an enormous authority in the school."

On the basis of the needs assessment and the schools exchange, GALE will develop an e-learning course for teachers. The needs assessment showed there are important differences in the relationship between students and teachers between the three schools. While everyone agrees that "respect" and "self-confidence" are the most skills students should learn, there are very diverging ideas among teachers about how to do this. They have different ideas as to how to teach about LGBT identity and sexuality, how to offer sex education, how to coach LGBT students and how to connect LGBT safety to general school safety.