Q. "What about our transgender and gender non-binary students?"
We usually deliver our program in split gender groups (boys/girls), and although we recognise the compromise we’re asking gender non-binary students to make by choosing the space they feel most safe and comfortable in, we strongly believe that maintaining these spaces is important.
Having worked with many thousands of young people, it is our experience that among most cohorts there is great variance in their degree of gender literacy, with cisgender-heterosexual boys falling slightly behind their LGBTQI+ and cis-het female counterparts in their open-mindedness to conversations around social constructs. The purpose of our respectful relationships workshops is to encourage inclusion of all people, and to reduce violence and relational abuse. Our presenters are highly skilled in delivering content on these nuanced issues in measured and careful ways that encourage engagement and learning, and to minimise potential alienation of boys. As student and staff feedback for our program consistently shows, this formula works, and boys appreciate being given the space with their male peers to explore and discuss concepts they would not otherwise feel comfortable doing with their female peers present. Likewise, this is also true for girls who appreciate a safe space where their experience is centered and their learning isn’t hampered by boys out-speaking them or derailing the conversation. Both groups gain valuable insights in their respective safe spaces, creating cohesion as they come together for future mixed-gender discussions in the classroom.
Our program is a springboard, and by the end of our sessions all students will have reflected upon social constructs and their own attitudes toward gender and identity. Feedback for our program provided by transgender and non-binary students has always been overwhelmingly positive, and those students have expressed great appreciation for our workshops and our reasons for delivering them in this way.
If you would like to discuss further, please do not hesitate to call our CEO and Program Director, Catherine Manning, on 0417 355 644.
Having worked with many thousands of young people, it is our experience that among most cohorts there is great variance in their degree of gender literacy, with cisgender-heterosexual boys falling slightly behind their LGBTQI+ and cis-het female counterparts in their open-mindedness to conversations around social constructs. The purpose of our respectful relationships workshops is to encourage inclusion of all people, and to reduce violence and relational abuse. Our presenters are highly skilled in delivering content on these nuanced issues in measured and careful ways that encourage engagement and learning, and to minimise potential alienation of boys. As student and staff feedback for our program consistently shows, this formula works, and boys appreciate being given the space with their male peers to explore and discuss concepts they would not otherwise feel comfortable doing with their female peers present. Likewise, this is also true for girls who appreciate a safe space where their experience is centered and their learning isn’t hampered by boys out-speaking them or derailing the conversation. Both groups gain valuable insights in their respective safe spaces, creating cohesion as they come together for future mixed-gender discussions in the classroom.
Our program is a springboard, and by the end of our sessions all students will have reflected upon social constructs and their own attitudes toward gender and identity. Feedback for our program provided by transgender and non-binary students has always been overwhelmingly positive, and those students have expressed great appreciation for our workshops and our reasons for delivering them in this way.
If you would like to discuss further, please do not hesitate to call our CEO and Program Director, Catherine Manning, on 0417 355 644.