Heterosexism, the belief that all of us are heterosexual or that heterosexuality is the norm, can lead to misunderstandings, pain and stress with our students and each other. Homophobia, an extreme fear of anyone from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender community, is the root of hate crimes, slurs and can create an unsafe environment for learning.

There is much confusion about gender identity, sexual orientation, and how to respect people from the queer community. This training will heighten the awareness of sexual orientation issues, that when unabated, have a negative impact on individual and team creativity, productivity and self-esteem. It will also raise awareness of gender identity and how it does and does not relate to sexual orientation. In this training, we will address some of the issues, attitudes, and behaviors that contribute to this problem, as well as ways to heighten our awareness and move towards a more inclusive educational environment.

Participants will learn the following:

• Ways to talk about sexual orientation and gender issues openly and honestly
• Exploring and practicing egalitarian beliefs, attitudes and behaviors
• Effective tools for creating positive, non-heterosexist communications and behaviors
• How to facilitate sexual orientation and gender-based conflicts through mediation techniques
• Developing an awareness of how sexual orientation and gender issues negatively and positively impact students and other school personnel