The LGBTQ+ community has always been a controversial topic. One issue in this century is having a curriculum that is not very inclusive. This means inclusive by race, gender and sexuality. One of the many ways others are trying to make a change is through having a more inclusive curriculum LGBTQ+ for both students and teachers in history and english classes.

“It is important that we learn from people’s experiences to ensure that we’re doing everything we can in a school setting in a community setting to ensure that everyone has again that equal rights, equal opportunities, equal representation, so that everyone is heard,” History teacher Liam Collins said.

Including the LGBTQ+ community into school curriculum may require it to be rewritten. The writers of the curriculum could implant more inclusive books into english classes, history classes or even just have more opportunities for students to choose their own books in classes.

“I think the easiest way to add content to the curriculum would be to go to experts in those areas,” said Collins. “People who have already included that kind of material, maybe at the college level who are experts in those fields so that you can design a curriculum that has been drafted by experts in that field, and then pass that down to kind of the high school level.”

In english, adding different types of characters to the curriculum adds more of a broader understanding and perspective to people who may not have understood before. The history curriculum could also add more inclusive learning into the curriculum. For example, queer leaders and what it was like to be queer in history.

“We try to make sure that we have showcase books that feature protagonists, as well as authors that represent that group. I hope that [authors] do focus on not just the straight heterosexual, cisgender men and women,” library media specialist Gabrielle Weston said.

Something else to think about is recognition of the community and learning about it in school. Clubs like the gay-straight alliance, also known as the GSA, are a good example of this. This is because they are able to bring everyone together and share the importance of learning about different kinds of people, this can help people accept themselves and others. 

“I honestly don’t remember where I first heard about [GSA]. I remember different points of time, I know that my high school had a GSA, And so I was aware of it,” FHN Media and library specialist Tara Willen said. “Also in high school, I knew people who were part of the community, and that my boyfriend at the time had family that was part of the community. ”