Blog Assignment #4

1) Briefly describe Dan and Terri's story and their family.  

Dan and Terry created the "It Get's Better" project because of all the suicides that gay and lesbian teens were committing. Dan and Terry are married and they were both bullied in school for being gay. Terry was bullied throughout high school but he never came out to his parents so when he was bullied his parents couldn't really help. Dan came out to his parents and they did not accept it. His mother even called a priest because she was so concerned about her son. When the priest came, he admitted that he was gay himself and that he would prefer that Dan live his authentic life. Eventually, he came around.

2) What is their relationship with their families of origin (parents and siblings).

Dan's mom was not accepting at first and she called a priest. Terry's parents tried to help him with his bullying but they didn't know that he was gay. Terry's brother was also bullied but he said that he had his mom and dad to cry to at night because they knew why he was crying.

3) What family have they created?

Dan and Terry are married and have a son who is 13, named DJ. Dan and Terry say that they are lucky that DJ has parents like them because he would probably be a bully who would bully someone like his parents.

Believe it or not only a few short decades ago there were no representative data on same-sex couples or gay teens. Now the U.S. Census counts same-sex cohabiting and married couples, 37 states allow gay marriage, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has collected data on gay teens greater likelihood to experience violent acts against them as well as greater likelihood of committing suicide.

 Go to this link at the CDC:http://www.cdc.gov/lgbthealth/youth.htm (Links to an external site.)

Read the first few pages of this website.

4) Describe a statistic regarding the likelihood of gay and transgender experiencing violent acts.

19% to 29% of gay and lesbian students and 18% to 28% of bisexual students experienced dating violence in the prior year.

5) What is the likelihood that gay and transgender teens attempt suicide.

LGBTQ youth in grades 7-12 are twice as likely to 

attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers.

6) According to the website, what are two things a school can do to prevent violence and/or suicide against gay/transgender teens.

Schools can encourage respect for all students and prohibit bullying, harassment, and violence against all students. Schools can also encourage school district and school staff to develop and publicize trainings on how to create safe and supportive school environments for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, and encourage staff to attend these trainings.

7) If you were a teacher of a school administrator or counselor, briefly describe a program or action(s) you might create to prevent violence against gay/transgender or straight teens. Perhaps consider how you might unite gay and straight teens to work toward positive change.

I would have a club for students to come together regardless of their sexual orientation so they can learn from each other and experience each others lives. I feel like the best way to prevent something is by learning. By learning, you don't even think about sexual orientations anymore and then you develop friendships and other students will see the alliance between them.