GIB Newsletter: Back-to-School edition! [Sep]

Hello, Gender-Inclusive Biology community!

Many folks have returned to school, and no matter if you are teaching online, in a hybrid model, or fully in person, it's clear that this school year is unlike any that most of us have ever experienced. Below are a few resources and ideas to hold up as this school year unfolds!

Names and online platforms

One major barrier that trans students can encounter is systems which don't allow them to display their chosen name if it is different than the one in their official school records. This list is a first crack at providing some insight into some online tools used by K-12 educators that provide choice in what name students display to others in the classroom as well as those that make it difficult or impossible to choose your display name. Have something to add or change? Comment in the doc!

Deadname Remover

This new Chrome extension created by and for trans people automatically replaces a person's deadname on any website with the name they enter through the plugin. This doesn't change the name on the website itself, but for students in non-affirming districts that use systems that don't allow them to change their name, this can reduce the stress and anxiety caused by seeing their deadname on a regular basis.

Official statements to support gender-inclusive teaching

As family members are more frequently a part of our classroom meetings during online learning, teachers may receive increased pushback against gender-inclusive moves used in our classroom. Here are a few policy statements that can help back you up if you end up receiving some pushback from community members or administration at your school:

NSTA statement on Gender Equity in Science Education

NABT statement on Equity in Science Education

NGSS Appendix D: All Standards, All Students

We also make a point to include references to sources in peer-reviewed journals for as many of our website resources as possible, so look to those for backup as well as needed!

LGBTQ curriculum kits for educators Hope in a Box provides LGBTQ-affirming books, curriculum guides, and community-building to middle and high school educators around the country. They prioritize rural public schools, though anyone can apply. You can also purchase a kit directly from them or donate funds to support a kit being sent to another school.

Articles about supporting LGBTQ students during distance learning

Supporting LGBTQ students During Social Distancing

NEA & HRC: A Checklist for supporting LGBTQ+ students during COVID-19

Upcoming appearances

Northwest Teaching for Social Justice Conference Saturday October 17th

NABT conference Friday-Saturday November 6-7

Colorado Science Conference Saturday November 14th

Take care and stay safe out there!

Sam, River, and Lewis

Happy New Year from Gender-Inclusive Biology! [Jan]

Happy New Year from Gender-Inclusive Biology!

Welcome to our updated newsletter, filled with updates, resources, and ideas for teaching that includes ALL students and identities.

Gender-Inclusion In the News

On January 5th, the U.S. House of Representatives approved gender-neutral language in the official House rules and established a permanent Office of Diversity and Inclusion. This change in language uses inclusive words such as “parent,” “child,” and “sibling” and changes references to an individual in the third person to “themself.”

This move is one small step towards equity, but shows the impact shifting language can make! Check out our language guide that shows simple shifts teachers can make to create a more inclusive biology classroom.

Upcoming Inclusive Sex Ed Book

Many are excited about an upcoming publication, Puberty: Pick Your Path by Dr. Sydney Tam, MD, CCFP and Rakiyah Jones, DNP, FNP-BC, illustrated by Bishakh Som and kd diamond. Here’s the description shared by the publisher, Flamingo Rampant:

“This groundbreaking book introduces young people to the process of puberty, allowing any kid to learn about the changes that may come. The book describes many options for trans and nonbinary kids to explore - for the first time ever - possible routes and options through puberty and into adulthood, with age-appropriate illustrations and diagrams throughout.”

You can pre-order this and other titles in the Flamingo Rampant collection here.

Calling High School Life Science Teachers!

A call to participate in research by Elizbeth Hobbs

I am asking for your participation in a survey to insight into how Biology teachers teach social justice and socioscientific issues. I am asking high school Biology, Life Science and Environmental Science teachers to participate. It is about a 15-20 minute survey. One in four participants who gives a valid email address and submits the survey will be emailed a $10 gift card from Amazon.com within a month of submittal. The survey will not work on a mobile device, so please complete on a laptop or desktop computer. Please see the link to the survey below. Consent information is included at the beginning of the survey. Thank you!

Take the survey!

-Elizabeth Hobbs, Webster Groves High School (MO) Science Teacher

Upcoming events

The Gender-Inclusive Biology team will be presenting at the Science Educators for Equity, Diversity, and Social Justice conference January 28-February 1, 2021.

We’d love to hear from you! We have lots in store but are always looking for new ideas and hearing from folks who are looking for resources, collaboration, or support. We also welcome your feedback as we step into a new shiny email newsletter platform!

Happy New Year!! - Sam, River, and Lewis

Contact us!

Pathways STEM Outreach Program

This is a unique STEM outreach program for LGBTQ+ high schoolers. Please share with students who may be interested! Sam Long will lead a workshop about diversity in biology in the July session.

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Calling all LGBTQ+ high schoolers! Wanna learn about LGBTQ+ scientists, build STEM skills, and meet other students this summer? Check out the new Pathways in STEM summer outreach program at CU Boulder! All events are online over summer 2020.

Info and registration at http://bit.ly/pathwaysstem

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Resource roundup: etymology, intersex traits, centering indigenous voices [Oct]

 

Hello, educators!

First off, a warm welcome to everyone who has recently joined our list. We're glad you are here! If you are interested in joining our interactive listserv to ask and answer questions from other educators, follow this link to sign up.

This month's newsletter highlights some more resources that you might find useful in your classroom.

  • Etymology stems - This awesome guide set up by Sam Long connects the etymology of words in science to terms common in the LGBTQIA+ community. From Sam: "This year my students are very interested in word origins and why things are named the way they are. I made this partial list of root words that occur in both LGBTQIA issues and science. It is a tool to help science teachers integrate gender-inclusive themes into their teaching. It's a pretty low-lift way to blend gender diversity into a science class. Please share your thoughts and additions!" Feel free to contact him with feedback and ideas - Sam.Long.MT@gmail.com.

  • October 26th was Intersex Awareness Day, celebrated in honor of the first known public demonstration by intersex advocates against nonconsensual genital surgeries in 1996. Read more about the history and impact of this day at InterACT and GLAAD, or read 9 ways intersex youth want to be supported by grown-ups to better-support intersex youth in schools.

  • Meiosis and Intersex Traits - Teaching meiosis and/or intersex traits at a high school or college level? Matt Gilbert's Sex Chromosome Meiosis Game explores the origins of some intersex traits in a way that is clear and interactive. This can also be a good way for educators to review processes that occur during meiosis in preparation for teaching intersex traits.

  • Two-Spirit Identity and centering Indigenous voices - Thanksgiving is coming up in the U.S., and there are lots of great resources about centering racial justice and indigenous rights in discussions of Thanksgiving. Some folks might not know that there are many examples of gender diversity being honored and respected in North American indigenous cultures. Though the terms and roles in different cultures vary, the term Two-Spirit became a universal term for gender diverse Indigenous North American people in the 1990s. Read more about the history the term Two-Spirit at the Indian Health Service or Indian Country Today, or watch a video about Two-Spirit and indigenous identity at them. magazine. You can also find books for your age group centering two-spirit stories - consider 47,000 Beads by Koja Adeyoha for young readers or Love Beyond Body, Space and Time for a young adult audience.

  • Conferences - If you're in the Denver area, look for Sam & Lewis at the Colorado Science Conference on Friday, November 8th.

Take care, all, and happy Halloween!

Lewis & Sam

 

Guidelines, Bio-Inclusive Examples, & Language Checklist [Sept]

 

Greetings, friends!

For those who are in the classroom at the start of a new school year, I hope that your year is off to an awesome start. Regardless, here's to the beginning of a new season.

In the September edition of the Growing a Gender-Inclusive Biology Education newsletter, we are sending out a few great resources that can serve to support the work you are doing in the classroom.

  • Project Biodiversify - This is a phenomenal collection of resources for science educators and students put together by Ash Zemenick, Marjorie Weber, Alex Webster, and Sarah Jones. It includes several detailed slide decks with presenter notes that provide concrete examples of what moving towards inclusive language and pedagogy in the biology classroom can look like, and a collection of scientist profiles from diverse intersectional identities. They even offer in-person workshops! Definitely explore the library and pass along this resource in your professional networks.

  • SextEd Inclusive Language Checklist - This is a resource that I share frequently with educators who want guidance on navigating inclusive language for bodies, family structures, and behaviors in the classroom. Even though it is sex ed specific, there are many ways that this can be thought of in a more universal light, and I think this list does a good job of asking questions and providing examples without trying to identify a long list of "good" and "bad" words (which, of course, would be out of date as soon as it was published!).

Want to be more involved in gender-inclusive biology curriculum? Click HERE to sign up to join in on our listserv, a discussion forum where people can share ideas, classroom resources, and ask questions in a group of educators doing similar work.

Happy trails,

Lewis & Sam