Schools for Gay Children in the US (That are of a poor quality of course)

[The FBI]

I happened to stumble upon this little article while browsing The Guardian this morning about a few charter schools being opened up for gay youth who suffer from bullying in their communities. Now, naturally the article goes on about how evil bullying is and all of that good stuff, but there was something that caught my eye. The Valedictorian for that year got an average of a D+. Now for those of you who don't know, that is bad.

I mean, really bad.

Hell, the Valedictorian for the school will have it bad enough. She/he/zee won't be able to go to college, and remember folks, most people who do go to college end up flipping burgers, so in this labor market she'll be lucky if she ,get any kind of legal employment. So clearly, while the whole thing is intentioned well, these kids are clearly getting an education that is far inferior to the education they'd get in a school that doesn't protect their natural right to safety.  So something needs to give.

The obvious thing to do is to fund these schools better, and I personally thing that should be done, but that won't change anything. It seems from reading the article there's a culture of low standards in these schools. Maybe it's just me, but they all seem quite nonchalant about the fact that if something isn't done to improve their education, all these kids will end up hopelessly destitute. So personally I propose that the school ought to put every kid that gets a D- or lower average back to the public schools from whence they came (with that standard being raised to about a C- over a ten year period. Sure, that's as inhumane as corporal punishment, probably alot worse. But lets face it, unless human beings are giving an incentive to do anything , they won't do anything; and since these kids have been abused to the point that they don't seem to grasp the long term incentive for improving their lot, we can't just try to pretend that purely positive incentives will be enough. Since they all are of the consensus that their old schools sucked, what better way to make them work harder than to hold that threat over their backs?

And to those who say that such a punishment is cruel, I'd have to tell you to grow up a little. If you get a scholarship to a good school and you fail to make the grades then you get kicked out, so I don't see why this principle shouldn't be applied here. After all, it really doesn't get better.

Or as house brilantly puts it:

Yes bullying is bad and the LGBT community should feel as at home as straight people in our society, but the simple fact is that for even the straight people, life outside of school sucks and continues get worse until you die. So while giving these kids a safe environment to learn is a good start, unless these schools can actually preform then they really don't have any merit as schools.

That was probably too long winded. So Tl;dr version of that:

Gays have their own schools now but they suck, what do now?

[moby_jones]

I think this just shows the lack of progress society has made into accepting LGBT individuals. Living in a world where people don't get herassed for one's sexual preference, thus without a need for such schools, is what we all strive for. But to ask a small child to withstand daily torment in the name of that goal is very hard, so these special schools do have a raison d'etre. It's such a shame :'(

[WJones]

I think this just shows the lack of progress society has made into accepting LGBT individuals. Living in a world where people don't get herassed for one's sexual preference, thus without a need for such schools, is what we all strive for. But to ask a small child to withstand daily torment in the name of that goal is very hard, so these special schools do have a raison d'etre. It's such a shame :'(

Progress will eventually come, don't you worry.

[Guest Atlya]

So the only means to fight bullying is to let it win?

Uhuh, bullshit.

[The FBI]

So the only means to fight bullying is to let it win?

Uhuh, bullshit.

I like to think it means holding these students to a higher standard so they can overcome their past and use what seems to be the only incentive available to do so.

Besides, if you don't work in the real world you starve right? So then I really don't think it's that cruel to kick anyone out who doesn't get a D- average since if you put even the slightest effort, it really isn't that hard to do. It's just that since these kids have been so damaged by their enviorment that they don't seem motivated by the long term incentive to do well in school so they need a short term incentive. Yes its cruel, but life is cruel. Do you have another idea that would work just was well? Cookies?

Oh and as I already said before, yes these schools should be funded better. But funding won't do a thing if the prevalent culture remains.

[Guest spock]

Gays won't be able to be equal until they have the courage and confidence to stand up for that right.

The deserve it just as much as any other human, they just need to bitch slap whoever says they don't.

[The FBI]

Gays won't be able to be equal until they have the courage and confidence to stand up for that right.

The deserve it just as much as any other human, they just need to bitch slap whoever says they don't.

Personally I'd love to see a black panthers like origination for bullied gays. It seems that at this point the only way to attack bullies for areas deeply affected by anti-gay prejustice is  through militancy and the threat of repercussions for their actions. But of course that's just radical old me

[Guest Smithsonius]

Negative teaching methods rarely have much affect on failing students. You tell someone they're crap and if they don't do better they'll be booted, most will continue down the same path. It's rather naive as well to suggest that if they don't get the grades they'll spend their lives destitute and poor. In actuality it is possible to be successful without the grades. If you can read, write and carry out general mathematics then all you need is the drive to actually succeed. Problem is most people don't bother.

I generally find that even in higher education, grades and qualifications are mainly there to act as gatekeepers to employment, essentially ensuring only a select group of individuals have access to meaningful employment. Most graduate schemes in the UK require a minimum 2:1 to get on them, yet I know people who have self funded themselves through the qualifications and found interim experience because they had 2:2 or not even degrees who are now earning more than those who went on the schemes.

It's very hard to pick up any kind of decent management experience here if you don't already have experience, I have seen only one scheme offering a route into management recently and it wasn't a graduate scheme or anything, it was an apprenticeship with Royal Mail, fairly basic pay, but they gave management qualification training, proper management experience and the intention of full time managerial work at the end of it which with them is very decent pay. That wasn't aimed primarily at graduates, although they could apply, it was aimed solely at people who were out of work, education and training but had a modicum of 'basic' qualifications. They are one of the few organisations that are talent searching without resorting to the usual graduate only elitism that most big employers now do.

You really don't need qualifications to be successful, you just need to know how to play the system and get to know a lot of people in helpful places. Some of the most successful people I know started out with minimal qualifications or experience but go onto the apprenticeship schemes, there they made the right contacts and developed the better work experience. They're now the project managers and the like for various government departments and rake the cash in. With time and effort you can do what you want within reason.

[moby_jones]

Personally I'd love to see a black panthers like origination for bullied gays. It seems that at this point the only way to attack bullies for areas deeply affected by anti-gay prejustice is  through militancy and the threat of repercussions for their actions. But of course that's just radical old me

For some strange and weird reason, that totally sounded like an awesome idea for a movie of some kind. I even have the perfect title for it too: "The Pink Panthers"

[The FBI]

For some strange and weird reason, that totally sounded like an awesome idea for a movie of some kind. I even have the perfect title for it too: "The Pink Panthers"

You know what, I think I'm going to write a bit of that and propose it to one of those big movie companies.

Oh yea right I forgot, I call dibs.

[bdog]

Gays won't be able to be equal until they have the courage and confidence to stand up for that right.

The deserve it just as much as any other human, they just need to bitch slap whoever says they don't.

What.. in your brain are gays just a bunch of folks that get picked on and do nothing?  Like if only they were tougher, THEN they'd have their rights?  There's some shred of truth to that but it's hardly the full story.

In a lot of ways they have been standing up for their rights, but rights come from laws and laws come from votes.  Gay people don't exist in the necessary numbers to change the law by themselves. 

[Guest spock]

They just need to declare being gay as a religion, (since it's a choice to be gay anyway)

And then gays can benefit from all the stuff religious nuts do! Gay schools with government funding and gay marriage under their own gay god

[Ackerman]

I think the idea of making a school for gays is a poor and clearly a not well thought through idea.

Tonnes of different people get bullied for being who they are, so why choose gays? Surely when designing this school, they should try to cater for others. Where will all the rest go?

They shouldn't even be thinking this through in the first place. Why isolate people from their friends because of somehing that isn't their fault? That's just letting them win! Some schools need more alert staff that can do their jobs well enough to prevent things like bad cases of bullying from happening, and they'll need better funding for such staff.

All the idea of building such a school makes me think of is playing Katawa Shouju only to be baffled to find out that all the characters have turned gay. It just won't work.

[moby_jones]

They just need to declare being gay as a religion, (since it's a choice to be gay anyway)

And then gays can benefit from all the stuff religious nuts do! Gay schools with government funding and gay marriage under their own gay god

That's just crazy enough it might actually work...

[The FBI]

What.. in your brain are gays just a bunch of folks that get picked on and do nothing?  Like if only they were tougher, THEN they'd have their rights?  There's some shred of truth to that but it's hardly the full story.

In a lot of ways they have been standing up for their rights, but rights come from laws and laws come from votes.  Gay people don't exist in the necessary numbers to change the law by themselves.

The irish were a minority in the north as well but they gained their rights by being militant. I don't see why the gays can't do the same in addition to democratic forms of struggle.

[moby_jones]

The irish were a minority in the north as well but they gained their rights by being militant. I don't see why the gays can't do the same in addition to democratic forms of struggle.

The Irish being militant made a lot of great movies, like 'Gangs of New York', possible. We should go to kickstarter right away and beat holywood by making this movie reality!

[The FBI]

The Irish being militant made a lot of great movies, like 'Gangs of New York', possible. We should go to kickstarter right away and beat holywood by making this movie reality!

Well I was talking about north ireland but fuck it, we ought to make a movie production company since we've got all of these awesome ideas

[moby_jones]

"WeLoveFatGirls Productions" has a nice ring to it :thumbsup:

[The FBI]

"WeLoveFatGirls Productions" has a nice ring to it :thumbsup:

And japanese Tranies, don't forget the Japanese Tranies.

[moby_jones]

And japanese Tranies, don't forget the Japanese Tranies.

"WeLoveJapaneseTranies" will be the animation subdivision.

[pin-up goblin]

Personally, I think segregating themselves is doing a disservice the public as a whole, which includes to the LGBT community. You can't fight adversity by hiding and pretending it doesn't exist. You got to expose it for what it is and be out there. People fear what they don't understand and that fear ends up turning into hatred. If they knew people or even were related to people who were apart of the LGBT community, I think it'd make them second guess their decision to bully someone from that community.

Besides, bully exists everywhere. People need to suck it up. I was bullied but you don't see me creating a school just for fat people.  :

[bdog]

The irish were a minority in the north as well but they gained their rights by being militant. I don't see why the gays can't do the same in addition to democratic forms of struggle.

Gives a whole new meaning to don't ask don't tell.  ;D

[Guest mx]

They just need to declare being gay as a religion, (since it's a choice to be gay anyway)

And then gays can benefit from all the stuff religious nuts do! Gay schools with government funding and gay marriage under their own gay god

I already wondered what happened to homeschooling. Unlike in Germany it's legal in the U.S., as far is I know. However, gay schools would be the next logical step.

[The FBI]

I already wondered what happened to homeschooling. Unlike in Germany it's legal in the U.S., as far is I know. However, gay schools would be the next logical step.

Not everyone has the time or the money to home school. It isn't easy because you have to keep up with the standards of public education without being publically funded.

[Achernar]

Not everyone has the time or the money to home school. It isn't easy because you have to keep up with the standards of public education without being publically funded.

public education in America

standards

That's cute.