Introduction

In an effort to recognize and acknowledge the needs of our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) students, we came together as a group of teachers concerned with the inclusion of LGBTQ literature, literature by LGBTQ authors, and LGBTQ issues in the English classroom. As a result of our past teacher collaboration in the UCLA Writing Project Study Group on Homophobia, we have accumulated sizable research experience. We built on this experience to learn more about classroom-appropriate LGBTQ literature, to pilot this literature in our classrooms, and to disseminate this information to other teachers and schools. We developed and piloted curriculum materials related to pieces of the researched literature, attended and presented our research at California Association of Teachers of English and With Different Eyes conferences.  We attended many workshops and talks at these conferences, as well as the 2011 National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention.  We held an intensive teacher workshop to help English teachers integrate LGBTQ literature into existing units of study. We sponsored an annual student writing contest centered on LGBTQ issues with cash prizes for winners. The top entries are published on the Center X website. We have created an online community of learners in the form of a simple, independent website to share the materials we have developed and aid teachers in future curriculum development.

Click here to see a prezi that gives overview of our first year's work including details of how the student writing contest entries can be used in a classroom setting.

Click here to read an interview with two members of our group in the "Growing and Supporting Teacher Leadership" issue of XCHANGE,  UCLA Center X's online journal.

Team Member and School Information

Our group first came together under the auspices of the UCLA Writing Project's teacher inquiry group on homophobia.  Though we worked at different schools, we had been meeting regularly in the study group several times a year.  Once we formed the TIIP grant team, we increased our meetings and held regular conference calls for planning.  We traveled together to attend and present at conferences and kept up frequent email contact.

The schools represented are the Humanitas Academy of Art and Technology, Bravo Medical Magnet, Fairfax Magnet Center for Visual Arts, and Freemont High School.  Though all LAUSD high schools, they range from east to west to south and from comprehensive to magnet to pilot and are of varying sizes and offer varying degrees of curricular autonomy.   Among the five of us we teach every grade level and every sub-type of  English class available (AP, sheltered, 9-12, etc.) That has given us the ability to field test many curricular ideas in a variety of settings.

Please click here for more information about the Teach LGBTQ team members.

Our Projects

Our three major projects included hosting a city-wide writing contest for middle and high school students, developing a resource website for teachers interested in incorporating LGBTQ issues in their classroom, and planning a day-long workshop for educators interested in modifying and/or developing an LGBTQ conscious curriculum. 

Our projects invited students and teachers to engage in speaking, reading, writing, and thinking about a subject that is oftentimes ignored in the classroom.  The writing contest for teens provided an opportunity for students to express their voice on the subject, and the website and workshop provided educators with a unique space to collaborate and lesson plan meaningfully.

Please click on the links below for more information on our projects:

Stand Up! Speak Out! A Writing Contest on LGBTQ Issues for All Teens

Teach LGBTQ - a teacher resources website

Weaving LBTQ Literature Into Your Curriculum - a teacher workshop

Presentations and Workshops

CATE 2011 and With Different Eyes 2011 were opportunities to share the best writing from our LGBTQ writing contest.  It showcased the value and power of having students write about these issues and using the student writing in our classrooms. 

The 2012 CATE Conference was a different type of workshop for us.  Up to this point, our workshops involved presenting specific texts that we had piloted in our classrooms.  In this workshop, we presented the process that we used to evaluate the texts that we pilot in our classrooms.  

Please click here for more information about the presentations and workshops we led.