Pic: Canva

While how a modern classroom does look different than a traditional classroom, we need to ask ourselves if they have really changed the inside of the education system or not. The questions about promoting critical thinking and including the tenets of social change inside a classroom are still unanswered. One such elephant in the room is inclusivity and a holistic environment for students belonging to the LGBTQ+ community.&nbsp;
The queer community is a neglected and stigmatised front in a lot of spaces, including academic organisations. The concerns are silenced and not talked about openly, topics around gender and identity are hushed or not given the appropriate importance at schools. This lead to stigmatisation, unawareness, and feelings of shame, doubt, and guilt amongst students. Today, we need classrooms to have a positive environment where everyone can freely share their perspectives, and feelings about who they are without any judgement. The most important and influential role for the same comes down to the teachers present in these institutions. The need of the hour is to make all students feel safe, represented and also respected - for this it is not only important to use positive and inclusive language in schools, but also proactively implement strategies for the same.&nbsp;
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Research says that educators who are more forthcoming and enthusiastic about LGBTQ rights are more likely to create some acceptance within their students. Other strategies that they can adopt are introducing movies and consequent discussions that promote gender-identity inclusivity. Apart from eliminating homophobic views, teachers should consciously use positive language to create a safe environment. One such example of positive and inclusive language is asking pronouns of the students and inculcating that in their daily classes. Teachers can also invite guest speakers that identify as queer to share their journeys. On the broader level, the change should also happen around the literature we read, around the books we are prescribed, and also the school infrastructure that we might have. For instance, when talking about a family - editors should definitely include how queer families look like, so that children understand that it is completely normal to have two mothers or two fathers instead of a mother and a father. These are small but significant variations that need to become a part of the curriculum we teach the future of our country.&nbsp;
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Pic : Canva

These conscious changes would lead to a better relationship between a teacher and student, and also positively inspire classroom settings. But the biggest difference that would reflect slowly in our classrooms would be how students would be more aware and comfortable about their sexualities - resulting in sustainable elimination of stigma around LGBTQ topics!&nbsp;&nbsp;
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Any child, growing up, identifies strongly as a student before they identify with anything else. All of us spent a lot of time in classroom settings in the peak developmental stages of our lives, and hence we all know how massively it molds the personality of any individual. 

Creating a holistic environment for LGBTQ+ student community 

creating-a-holistic-environment-for-lgbtq-student-community