by Beth Reis

About the author: Beth Reis is a public health educator for the Safe Schools Coalition of Washington, which is based in Seattle.

We really don’t have a choice when it comes to teaching about sexual orientation in public schools. Children are already learning about it. The problem is they are often receiving inaccurate, destructive messages.

Learning the Code

Author Katherine Whitlock said in her book Bridges of Respect: Creating Support for Gay and Lesbian Youth that:

In schools across the country, even very young children learn the codes, passed on in jokes and whispers: “Don’t wear certain colors to school on a particular day, or you’re queer.” Lessons are learned each time a child discovers that one of the surest ways to deliver an insult...