Lake County Gazette

A presentation from a Libertyville High School freshman health class teaches students about LGBTQ+ identities and promotes the Gay Straight Alliance Club (GSA).

In January, the freshman Health class shared a presentation from the McLennan Center for Youth Services which covers lessons of LGBTQ identities and beliefs. The 29-page document stresses to students that this lesson is for informational purposes only, and that all of their personal beliefs and opinions are valid, however the lesson will be free of opinions. The presentation also ensures students that what happens in the lesson will stay in the class, and that they should all practice and encourage respect for one another.

The presentation included lessons on how to deal with asking for, misusing, correcting, and sharing proper pronouns for students or their classmates and shared the dimensions of gender, sex, gender identity, and provided defintions for terms like cisgender and transgender, gay, lesbian, and heterosexual. Students were also presented with situations to consider and determine how they would react or treat fellow students. The slides were stamped with the logo of the McLennan Center for Youth Services, an organization in the area that strives “to meet the social and emotional well-being needs of children and teens so that they can grow up happy, healthy and hopeful.”

The end of the slideshow promotes the high school’s Gay Straight Alliance Club, which is sponsored by ELA teacher Dyan Naslund. The GSA Club has been active in the school for around ten years, and holds regular meetings for students. They discuss local and national events, programs to run in their school, and any other topics students choose. The club also runs events to raise awareness, such as No Name Calling Week, National Day of Silence, and Transgender Memorial Week.

"It takes a lot of courage to come out to anyone, and our hope is that GSA provides a place where someone can see and hear other students’ experiences and use them to help make the very personal decision to come out," Naslund previously said in a blog post. "Again, all students are welcome, and we encourage anyone who is interested or curious about what we do to come to a meeting and find out. It’s a very positive environment and a place that is highly supportive of everyone’s unique qualities."

Health class is a state requirement for all freshmen, and Libertyville High School’s curriculum guide says the class, which is a one-semester course that can be taken in lieu of a semester of physical education, “emphasizes wellness, responsible decision-making, and planning for a healthy lifestyle. Topics the students examine include mental, emotional, and social wellness, prevention education, safety, substance education, nutrition, healthy weight, sexual health, stress and stress management, healthy relationships, identity, and CPR.”