Teaching students to question assumptions about gender and sexuality

Abstract

Every student in our public schools should have opportunities to learn about differences in gender and sexuality, just as they should learn about the world’s differing cultural traditions, religious practices, and political systems. Such knowledge about human differences is, the authors argue, a basic requirement for active citizenship in a diverse, pluralistic, and equitable society. A description of an LGBTQ+ literature course, taught by one of the authors, illustrates what this can look like in practice.