No Outsiders

Within the "Speaking the unspeakable in forbidden places: addressing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality in the primary school" reading, there is so much going on at one time, but all of the information from all the different authors seems to blend perfectly to explain the project. The No Outsiders project seems to have made a huge impact on the lives of not only the students, but also the staff that are helping to run the project.

Two summers ago, I worked at a residential Girl Scout Camp where we had many staff from a group called "Camp America". The people from this group were from different countries, but the majority of them were from the UK. One of the girls that was in this program became a close friend of mine and she told me all about the No Outsiders project. The way that she explained it was that it was to create a safer and more comfortable environment for those who were a part of the LGBT community along with their families and friends. According to my friend Beth, although the project was effective in most schools, there were some schools that had awful backlashes from the project and some parents didn't want their kids to go to school because they didn't feel comfortable with the curriculum. Although the project seems to have a good impact on the majority of the schools and the children seem to take very nicely to the idea that being part of the LGBT community is okay, the small group of people that aren't okay with it are going to become the demise of the project.

In my personal opinion, I think the No Outsiders project is a wonderful thing because it brings to life the fact that everyone has a different orientation and no matter what that is, you should judge them for it. I also really appreciate the fact that one of the writers brought up the fact that schools have become "desexualized" and that students are beginning to think that their teachers are basically inhuman, that they don't have lives outside of being their teachers. I really enjoyed reading about this and I hope that they create a similar project for the students in the USA but within all grades so that the students never forget the importance.