The Rights of Passage for Gay, Lesbian and Straight Teenagers

As a result of the murder of Matthew Shepard, teachers collaborate on an original unit that focuses on human sexuality designed to parallel the coming-of-age experience for straight, gay, and lesbian youth. This unit promotes discussion about issues surrounding human sexuality through the use of literature, film, and guest speakers. The discussion may lead to uncovering the kind of mentality that resulted in the murder of Matthew Shepard.

Students have opportunities for a variety of reading, writing, and reflective experiences in relation to actively viewing the film, Wild Reeds, and/or reading a choice of novels including The Drowning of Stephan Jones, Annie on My Mind, Jack, Whistle Me Home and Am I Blue? Students analyze the relationship of their sexuality to their humanity and evaluate the concept concerning the rites of passage from childhood to adulthood for gay, lesbian, and straight youth.

In language arts, the unit fits into a larger study of man's inhumanity to man. Students read Night, a survivor's account of the Holocaust and Beloved, a novel about slavery. The unit becomes a means for students to understand the importance of diversity and tolerance in their own lives. The use of literature circles allows students to make choices about the material they read related to this topic. A guest speaker, who has written and published books about what it means to be gay or lesbian in our society, can add a human element to the issues and closure to the unit.

Cross-discipline teaching allowed students to see connections between health issues and the literature in language arts. The unit fits into a larger study of human sexuality in the health curriculum and focuses on the importance of acceptance and recognition of the human qualities in all people. Students are made aware of the fact that 25% of gay teenagers attempt suicide and 30% of gay teenagers run away from home. These statistics reflect the intolerance and lack of understanding that currently exists regarding the rights of those who don't reflect the perceived norm of sexuality. Furthermore, the current attitude towards gays and lesbians creates an issue of public safety in school and in society in general. The unit can be adapted for grades 9 through 12 provided that there is a health component in that grade level. The school system must be sensitive to and be committed to diversity due to the controversial nature of the unit.

Overall Value

The unit relates to character education in that it teaches students the value of being honest with themselves above all and encourages them to respect the rights of others who have the right to live the truth within themselves as well. In addition, the unit relates to the theme of man's inhumanity to man within the language arts curriculum as well as the unit on human sexuality in health. The overall value of this unit is to prepare students for a diverse world, given that one out of every ten people that they come into contact with on a daily basis is gay or lesbian.

Materials, Facilities and Other Resources

·\tWild Reeds, a film by Andre Techine ·\tYoung adult fiction .\tThe Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene, 1991 .\tAnnie on My Mind by Nancy Garden, 1982 .\tJack by Jack Holmes, 1989 .\tWhistle Me Home by Barbara Wersba, 1997 .\tAm I Blue?: Coming Out from Silence by Marion Dane Bauer, ed., 1995 ·\tNew York Times editorials: .\t"Murdered for Who He Was," Oct. 13, 1998 .\t"Staring at Hatred," Feb. 28, 1999 ·\tGuest speaker on the subject of what it means to be gay or lesbian in our society

To view the remainder of this resource, click "Download PDF" above.