The Triangle Program: Experiences of Lesbian, Bisexual and Gay Students in the Classroom

The Triangle Program: Experiences of Lesbian, Bisexual and Gay Students in the Classroom Calvin Knight A thesis submitted in confonnity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education Ontario lnstitute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto @ Copyright by Calvin Knight 2000 Natio~lLibrary Bibiimthèque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Sewices services bibliographiques The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une Licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or seli reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/lnlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. The Triangle Program: Experlenees of Lesbian, Bisexuaf and Gay Students in the Classrmm Calvin Knight Graduate Department of SoUology and Equity Studies in Education Ontario lnstitute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto Master's Thesis 2000 ABSTRACT: Toronto has an alternative high school program, the Triangle Progam, for students who leave school because of homophobia. Eleven Triangle Program students were asked about the following: why they came to the program; their experiences at other sdiools; the advantages and disadvantages of the program; and how had it developed their social. emotional and intelledual skills. Four of the Triangle Program staff were asked about the following: the strengths and weaknesses of the program; the needs that it meet; the barriers that it had to overcome; and the ways in which issues of race, gendet and bisexuality were integrated into the lesbigay cumculum. The data obtained showed that these lesbigay students, had littie support from educators, farnily and pers and had endured severe hornophobic harassrnent in their former schools. The Triangle team provided the safaty and the social, psychological, academic and ecanomic support lesbigay youth needed to continue wiVi their education. Houever, issues surrounding race, gender, bisexuafity and the transition into other schools needed to be addressed. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would fint Iike to thank my mother, Pauline, who gave al1 the emotional support I needed. Next, t would like to thank my father, Clarence, who taught me the importance of a good sense of humour which is imperative when doing a thesis. I would also like to say I love you, Geoff and Stu, and thank you, Penny, Peter, Anna, Ingrid, Heather and Lynda, you were invaluable friends during what was sometimes a rough two years. Thank you. Allison Kemper, Joseph Stetlpflug, Heather Lash and Lynda Anthony for the hours of work you put into prwfreading my thesis, and Professor Lenskyj and Professor Schneider for your guidance. Thank you Kathryn Snider. Finally, I thank al1 the students at the Triangle Program who made me feel cornfortable in their classroorn. I especially thank the students who agreed to be interview&. l hope you are satisfieâ with the end result. I also thank Tim McCaskell, Vanessa Russell, Steve Solornon, Krin Zook, John Terpstra and my Toronto teacher fnend. I thank you for taking the time to be interviewed. I especially thank Vanessa. Steve, and John for providing support and guidance throughout the development of my thesis. I would also like to thank these six people for the tremendous time and effort they have dedicated to helping young people in need. And I congratulate those young people overcoming who are adversW. I wish you al1 well. iii Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Homophobia against Youth - Violence and silence Chapter 4 Understanding the ldentity Of Gay. Lesbian and Bisexual Youth Chapter 5 Education for Gay. Lesbian and Bisexual Youth in Secondary Schools Chapter 6 Education Policies and Programs Chapter 7 Special School Prograrns for Lesbigay Youth Chapter 8 Students' School Experiences Before Entering the Triangle Program Chapter 9 The Triangle Program: Evaluation Chapter 10 Chalknges Facing the Triangle Prognm Chapter 11 Obsentations and Conclusions Appendix A Appendix B Chapter 1 Introduction Judy Shepard collapsed in tears Mile recalling the murder of her son. Mathew, a gay University of Wyoming student who, after being pistol-whipped, beaten and left tied, crucifwon-style, to a rural fenœ in freezing temperatures last October. (Kenna, 1999) Temr struck at the fast-beating heart of London last night, as a nail bomb planted in a Soho pub at rush hour killed two people and injured 73. The smashed and blackened Admiral Duncan pub on Old Compton St. near Leicester Square was a popular gay hangout. Many had bums and nail wounds, several had lost Iirnbs. (Wafd, 1999) The death of 21-year-old Mathew and the bombing of a London gay pub are sickening reminders of the severity of homophobia in many countries. FoRunately, deadly homophobic acts such as these ate rare. However, homophobia and heterosexism are deeply ingraineci in most societies, from institutions to families. Canada is no exception. In 1991, Delwin Vriend, a gay teacher in Alberta, was fired by an Edmonton Christian College. It took seven years, until April 1998, before the Supreme Court of Canada included sexual orientation as a prohibited ground fbr discrimination under Alberta's human rights code. Momver, many rights are not accorded lesbigay people. For example, equal pension benefits are available to lesbian and gay employees only in British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Ontario, and adoption by same-sex couples is allowed only in British Columbia and Ontario. For lesbigay (lesbian, bisexual, gay) adults in Canada who are 'outm,discrimination is a reality. For those who are not 'outn, there is the constant fear of being found out and the possibility of discrimination. These difficutties are also experienced by adolescents, but teens are less able to resist discrimination effectively because they do not have the experienœ and political power that adults do. Adolescence is a time when young people are attempting to fit in with other teens while beginning to fonn their awn individual idem. It is a time of confusion, insecurity, and pressure. For many, adolescence is unpleasant and depressing. In fact, suicide is a leading cause of death among adolescents (www.sfsuicide.org, 1999). Furthemore, certain groups must deal with severe discrimination because of their race, religion, class. sex, disabilities or sexual orientation. Of these groups, those who are lesbian, bisexual or gay (lesbigay) endure some of the worst discrimination and receive minimal social support. Many families, communities and institutions in Canada and the United States discriminate against lesbigay people. One would hope that schools could provide more support for lesbigay youth, but most often, this is not the case. Often, lesbigay issues are, a best. ignored in the curriculum and, at worst, denigrated. As for discrimination against lesbigay people, derogatory remarks by students are often ignored and sometimes reinforced by educators themselves. In the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). there are programs to improve the self-esteem of lesbigay youth and teach educators how to make healthier leaming environments for lesbigay youth. However, it is the decision of school administrators and educators whether or not to use these programs and many do not. Sine many educators in Toronto secondary schools do not address lesbigay issues, many lesbigay youth fkel unwanted and often unsafe in high school. Some lesbigay youth are able 10 overcome, and perhaps even challenge the homophobia in theîr school. Most, however, remain silent and pass as heterosexuals or isolate themselves ftom their peers to lessen the discrimination. Many begin to skip school and some drop out. Before 1995. most lesbigay dropouts had few lesbigay positive education programs to enter. Then. in 3 September 1995, the Triangle Program opened specifically for those students who left school because of homophobia. The Triangle Program is an accredited education program that is part of the OASIS Alternative School. The question to be asked is: what impact does the Triangle Program have on the lesbigay youth who enter the program? Research about iesbigay youth and schooling, as well as interviews with students and rnernbers of the Triangle team (the Triangle team indudes rnernbers of the Tfiangîe Board - induding Triangle Program staff, and cornmunity representatives) done in 1998 have provided some insights into this question. The issues discussed are: homophobia against youth; understanding the identity of gay. lesbian and bisexual youth; education for lesbian, gay and bisexual youth in secondary schools; the schdexperiences of the students before entering the Triangle Program; and advantages and disadvantages of the Triangle Program. Chapter 2 Methodology The two most important components of the Triangle Program are its students and staff. Their experiences provide insight into how successful the program was during 1997 and 1998, and it is for this reason that I chose to use qualitative research methods which allow their ideas and concerns to be accentuated. It is these people who know the most about the program and who can provide the most meaningful information. I chose interviewing as my method of ascertaining this information. lntentiewing helped to uncover the main issues conœming Triangle staff and students, about which further research could be done. The Triangle Program also had only been operating for two years by 1997; therefore, very little quantitative information existed. Eleven of the twenty students attending the Triangle Program in June 1998 agreed to be interviewed.

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