Page 11 - ALGBTIC News Magazine - Fall 2019

A Place at the Blackboard for Everyone:

Fostering a Supportive Learning Environment for
LGBTGEQIAP+ Students

Clark D. Ausloos, MA, LPC, LPSC, NCC,
(he/his/him), The University of Toledo

The State of Our Schools ever-changing legislature that directly affects affective
As we enter the Fall months, many families breathe a and gender-diverse youth, unclear school policies,
sigh of relief that students are back in school, bring- and uncomfortable and incompetent school staff, the
ing a sense of routine and normalcy to parents’ lives. unique needs of this vulnerable population are not
Some students themselves long for school, to see being met. The following section of this brief article
friends, and put an end to summer boredom. How- will provide clear, pragmatic strategies for profession-
ever, this is not the case for many of our students al counselors, both school and clinical, school admin-
with diverse affective, sexual and gender identities. istration, educators and school staff for working with
In fact, many students in schools who identify with- affective and gender-diverse youth in an affirming and
in the LGBTGEQIAP+ communities face persistent celebratory way (Singh & Jackson, 2012).
marginalization, discrimination, physical abuse and
assault, and overt and covert microaggressions (Bry- Professional Counselors
an, 2018; Kosciw et al., 2018). While students report As language and terminology continues to evolve, it
many of these actions are demonstrated by their peers, is imperative professional counselors stay abreast of
many diverse students speak to direct discrimination trends and always strive for affirming and inclusive
from educators, staff and even school administration. language versus stigmatizing and pathologizing terms.
Additionally, students with intersecting identities A caveat to this is when a student identifies with
(i.e., trans* POC, or trans* persons with disabilities) terminology that you may not use. Learn from your
face increased stress, resulting in increased negative students, ask them what names and pronouns they use,
physical and mental health disparities. Students with ask them what their identity means to them. Ulti-
expansive affective and gender identities often face mately, respect the terminology that they want you to
homelessness resulting in poverty, and struggle with use. An example of using affirming language is using
substance use disorders. It is no wonder why these “non-dominant identities” instead of “minorities”;
marginalized students may seem hesitant in returning and “gender non-conforming” vs “gender-expansive”.
to school. Resources at the end of this article provide some
School counselors, educators, and school ad- examples of terminology in flux, and terms that are
ministration are positioned in a way to provide sup- strength-based and affirming.
port and foster inclusive environments, but the reality Understand that we all have biases and all live
is that often, they are not (Kosciw et al., 2018). With in a gendered world together. It is important to be