Dear Janus:

“Allowing people in middle school through college to have emotional first aid classes and lgbtq awareness… with more awareness for lgbtq and trans people, there will be less prejudice and fears as people begin to value the people around them“- I like the idea of providing emotional first aid classes in schools! And I agree that every person should be valued regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, disability, etc., and regardless of educational, professional and financial position, if any.

In regard to lgbtq awareness classes in middle school: there are many parents who are interested in their children following binary roles as far as gender and sexual orientation (with some flexibility, let’s say,  such as it’s okay for girls to climb trees and for boys to cry), and they worry that if their school age children are exposed-  in a positive way-  to a variety of possibilities in regard to gender and sexual orientation, that they will consider non-binary options. What would you say to these parents?

anita