Week 12: Revival of IL Equality, and my Soul

A senior emailed me this summer inquiring about the IL Equality Club and if this club was going to continue into the 2020-2021 school year. I am the teacher-advisor of the IL Equality Club, and I was NOT enthused about spending my free time in the 2020-2021 school year advising. Why? I cannot put my finger on exactly why other than a slight feeling of burn-out, and the realization that the club was not living up to its potential. I have always envisioned a club that runs itself. My role would be proud bystander, present to bounce ideas off of and support when needed. In recent years, the club had dwindled to a few students that liked to get together for fun, but their attendance was inconsistent. I found myself waiting, waiting for students to show up, calling meetings that no one came to. Yes, so I was feeling a little burned out and didn't want to sit around and wait.

A Change in Delivery. Then 2020 happens, and we are staring at screens. The senior patiently waited, and when the school year began approached me face-to-face to ask, hey, what's up with the club? For some perspective, this student had been doing work at the state level seeking to ban conversion therapy in South Carolina. This was a big deal! And here I was, whining because we are online and I don't want to run online meetings. Geez. I told him I had not given the club the energy it deserved, and I didn't think it was going to happen. This was disappointing news, but I had not been inspired to find out how clubs were being conducted, and I really didn't want to take the time to find out. I was being super lazy.

 In the fall, a student was working on a project and had done an excellent job. The project included plans for incorporating literature into the elementary and middle school curriculum and giving greater voices to LGBTQ+ individuals throughout history. This student emailed me to inquire about the support of LGBTQ+ students at ILHS and what the club does to empower these individuals. This email was the spark I needed to realize that the club was never about me and whether or not I had the energy to fulfill the objectives of the club. Once again, I had to stop focusing on me!

The IL Equality Club. The IL Equality Club has been functioning at ILHS since the 2013 school year. It started when a transgender student approached me and asked if I would lead the group. Initially, I was reluctant, because I was concerned about my own damn self; what would people think if I started a gay club, would this be spreading the "homosexual agenda" 🤣, how could this affect my career? I had to take myself out of the equation and think, how could this benefit students? How would a club like this better assist a transgender student and navigating the hallways and classrooms at ILHS? How could this group serve ALL students at ILHS. By removing myself I was able to understand the courage it took for the student to ask me to lead the group and the sheer necessity of an LGBTQ+ advocate in a high school setting. Since our beginning, the IL Equality Club has had several iterations of its mission, but at present, for the 2020-2021 school year it is IL Equality exists in order to create a safe place for our LGBTQ+ peers and all students by spreading awareness, providing support and acceptance, and empowering our LGBTQ+ students.

My Takeaways. This experience taught me a couple of lessons. First, the IL Equality Club is about supporting others and should not be limited by my "energy". Providing a safe space for students is all the energy I need to expend, but they need to have this. Second, so much has changed since I graduated high school in 1992. This requires its own blog entry, but socially, in today's high schools, students are pretty ok with the gay agenda. Not that that is a thing, but it is acceptable for same-sex couples to exist, I would say. Third, so much has changed even since 2013. Marriage equality was passed in 2015, and since then, there are fewer reasons to create divisions between each other. Fourth, students today have zeros Fs to give about our comfort level, and I love them for that. 

Lastly, I think that's what this is all about. Seeing people as different is just dumb. It is toxic, and it is ruining America. Tribalism, us vs. them, my country is better than yours, this appeals to the uneducated masses and I will not participate in it. If this means all I have to do is revive a club and host a meeting now and then, I am in.