Get With The Picture

SAY WHAT???? I know, I thought the same thing. And I am a physical education major that has studied health and physical education for the last 4 years. Although I have progressed in my thinking while studying Diversity Issues in Schooling and working with the new Ontario Health and Physical Education Curriculum, I am back to the beginning with the same question… How will I ever educate my students if I don’t know WHO they are. Or what their race, culture, gender, identity, faith, etc., means to them. So let the studying begin… well continue… forever and ever. While in a group with a number of other physical education majors, we were struggling with matching definitions to terms under the LGBTTIQQ2SA culture. I learned words I had never seen before, and saw the differences between words I have made no separation to. I am thankful for this wake up call, this starting point.

I feel excitement and pride when I think of my future as a physical educator because of the many great things it brings to schools and students. Health covers a number of topics we have covered in this class, and thinking critically about the implications of each is a gateway for me to be a better educator. We have shown each other many great activities related to gender identity, gender norms, mental health, healthy eating and self-image, the list goes on. I have learned what queer culture is, and that it is important to normalize it in order to make material relevant for students. I liked the example of “Sally went home and asked her mom ____ and asker her other mom ____” I still have a bad habit of saying “guys” while facilitating a lesson, and I must be conscious of that. I want my students to know how a majority of society views them, and how very, very wrong they are. That they do not have to play with cars and like sports to be manly, and they do not have to play with dolls and like shopping to be feminine.


In my health class, I will attempt to break down the stereotypes behind maleness and femaleness and identify the biological and political incorrectness of sayings such as “You throw like a girl” and “Hit it with your purse”. After I can fully understand the complexities of LGBTTIQQ2SA, I hope to at the least have students know what that means. To be able to accept through understanding the uniqueness of every individual. Using people in the media that students may be able to connect with and recognize allows for better connection to the content. I particularly liked the quote shared in class by Caitlyn Jenner to explain that “Sexual Orientation is whom you go to bed with. Sexual identity is whom you go to bed as."

Checking out Twitter is a great way of showing the positivity and the negativity around queer culture and slang in our society. By getting to know our students the moment they walk into our classroom, we can better understand what they want in order to feel safe. Educating those who lay outside of the LGBTTIQQ2SA community need to be informed in order to be inclusive. Having GSA’s in schools and talking about queer community events and celebrations helps to build a positive and inclusive community as a whole. According to Wells (2010) "INCREASINGLY, YOUNG PEOPLE ARE MORE COMFORTABLE WITH LGBTQ ISSUES THAN THEIR PARENTS AND TEACHERS, AND THEY VIEW SEXUALITY AS MUCH MORE FLUID, SITUATIONAL, AND RELATIONAL THAN PREVIOUS GENERATIONS.” I feel confident that I can freely engage with my student and learn from them what I don’t know about their school and cultural norms.