ERIC Number: EJ832268
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Mar
Pages: 2
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-8274
EISSN: N/A
LGBT-Inclusive Language
Weinberg, Michael
English Journal, v98 n4 p50-51 Mar 2009
Teachers certainly appreciate the importance of an inviting classroom environment. The money spent on posters, the greeting at the classroom door, and the time invested in learning students' names all help to create a sense of community, and students who feel they belong are more likely to do their best work. No teacher would deliberately exclude an individual from the classroom community. Classrooms, however, like the culture at large, often inadvertently marginalize or exclude a sizable, and frequently invisible, minority. It has been over 30 years since the Women in Literacy and Life Assembly (WILLA) of National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) released its guidelines on gender-fair language. Today, that paper's contention that "language plays a central role in the way human beings behave and think" is nearly universally accepted. Some careful thought about how individuals use language can not only help promote self-acceptance in LGBT students; it can also model respect and fairness for others. It is, after all, the responsibility of educators to prepare students to become parts of the global community. In this article, the chair of NCTE's Gay Straight Educators' Alliance makes suggestions for LGBT-inclusive language. (Contains 1 note.)
Descriptors: Classroom Environment, Homosexuality, Social Isolation, Guidelines, Sex Fairness, Professional Associations, Language Role, Language Usage, Self Concept
National Council of Teachers of English. 1111 West Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096. Tel: 877-369-6283; Tel: 217-328-3870; Web site: http://www.ncte.org/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A