Making Our Schools "Positive Spaces"

The “Positive Space” stickers are widely visible throughout Queen’s campus. We celebrate and educate during Gay Pride Week, and fly the famous rainbow-striped flag on campus. As a place of higher education, I believe every university should be making their campus a safe and comfortable place for all its learners.

That being said, I’m especially proud of this movement towards safer schools happening at the elementary level. I work in a local inner-city elementary school in the public board which is very different than the small rural Catholic school I attended growing up. The first thing I noticed as I approached this Kingston elementary school was the “Positive Space” stickers on the front door, in plain view for all to see. As I went inside I noticed the stickers throughout the school. Something so small as a rainbow-coloured triangle had a great effect on me. Having those stickers mean that administration is dedicated to making school a safer experience for the younger generation attending it. It means that students are taught about homophobic language and actions and how they can hurt others, beyond the generic bullying talk. There are openly LGBT staff members at this school; one of which brought her partner and newborn baby into the school as a part of a board wide program teaching students about empathy.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved my elementary school education, and I often go back to visit. I thoroughly enjoyed my small-classroom experience and remain a practicing Catholic. However, I am liberal in my views regarding gender and sexual orientation. Ten years ago when I was in elementary school there were no discussions about sexual orientation during our health and sexuality lessons, and “creating a positive space” functioned primarily in a religious context. I think a part of our duty as educators is to be welcoming to all students and their families, regardless if they are hetero-normative or nuclear in style. We cannot rightly teach our students about inclusivity if we harbor our own prejudices that affect the views of children we work with. As a teacher you are a role model whether you accept that fact or not, and just as students will learn long division or how to write a short story, they will also take social cues from your example.