Education News | Page 13 believed ; school division policies and procedures are being developed to ensure students are protected , respected , and included ; Provincial curriculum is more inclusive of differing identities ; the Ministry of Education has a policy statement ( 2015 ) on GSAs in schools ; and more students are " out " in schools .
However , school divisions need to continue to educate students , staff and families about diverse identities , including gender and sexual diversity . Some school divisions have " pockets " of advocacy happening but many school divisions do not have policies that articulate their beliefs and expectations specific to gender and sexual diversity .
Identity is becoming more politicized and less personalized , which has created an environment of debate . People are navigating how to be " religious yet supportive ." However , parents / families who are gender and / or sexually diverse are expecting that their identities are included and represented in classrooms .
James : It has been a long time coming , but finally we are acknowledging that the teaching profession can be a place for the 2SLGBTQ + community and that sexual and gender diverse teachers have a voice . It is almost 50 years ago that Doug Wilson , a gay Master ' s student from Meadow
Lake in the College of Education at the University of Saskatchewan was fired by the Dean for placing an ad in the student newspaper inviting interested people to a meeting to establish a gay association on campus . The idea that a homosexual be allowed to supervise teacher-interns in the schools was considered to be immoral and illegal and not in keeping with the " higher standards " to which all teachers are held .
The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission failed to support him because sexual orientation was not included then as a " protected category ."
Today , young student teachers , including gender and sexually diverse ones , are demanding that their school experiences be free from discrimination and that they must not just be tolerated but celebrated and allowed to be their " authentic selves " in the classroom , for their own benefit , for the benefit of the students they teach , and for the benefit of the school systems and communities in which they teach .
What do you see as the current challenges around gender and sexual diversity in education ?
Christie : I find myself regularly reminded that the work of supporting sexual and gender