- DASA amended §801-a of NYS education law, expanding instruction on civility, citizenship, and character to include tolerance, respect for others, and dignity to “promote awareness and sensitivity.”
- Modified §2801 of NYS education law, which contains guidelines on school district codes of conduct, to require the inclusion of the specific issues as defined by the Dignity Act. Additionally, it requires the inclusion of information of the school’s DASA coordinator.
- Specifies a very specific time frame for the official reporting of incidences of bullying or harassment.
- Requires individual schools and districts to collect and report data pertaining to discrimination and harassment to the Department of Education annually.
So, this seems like a really good idea, right? A state law that requires school districts and administration to protect students from all of these negative behaviors that are too often dealt with in ineffective ways, or simply ignored. That is something that every teacher could get behind, right? Something that benefits the well-being of students, while improving classroom climate and learning outcomes… That’s what I had thought anyway, another case of me being too optimistic, I suppose.
The NYSED put forth a DASA training syllabus which includes a description, objectives, and an outline of the training.
The first half of the training was a lecture based on the specific components of the law and different types of bullying and harassment. The second half was group work that focused on some of the ideas of encompassed in the assignments that were completed in preparation for the course. During the lecture component of the training, many of the people surrounding me were on their phones as the lecturer explained that many of the components and changes implemented by DASA have gone largely ignored by many school districts and school officials.
The group work section involved constant active participation. We were given a packet of activities, the first entitled “Personal Survey.” After filling it out, we were asked to reflect on our responses in a "speed dating" exercise, sharing with multiple members of the group.
These activities had potential to be beneficial. Through the first activity, people got caught up in the distinction between “sex” and “gender,” as well as “sexual orientation” and “sexuality.” This could have served as an opportunity to clarify this for a number of people who were confused, however the facilitator simply stated, “Sex is biological.” still leaving many confused as to what this meant. I’m still skeptical of the distinction she made between sexual orientation and sexuality because it’s not one I’ve ever encountered. I’m more concerned about gender however, because many educators (and people in general) still have misconceptions about gender and are expected to be able to be attentive to the specific needs of their transgender students. Additionally, when reflecting on the questions, such as, “Of the identified characteristics, which do you feel has assisted you in reaching your life goals?” many were unable to think of anything that has possibly served as an advantage to them. When I responded to this by saying that, “being middle class, cisgender, and white” has allotted me privilege and access to certain opportunities,” I had to explain explicitly what I meant to the majority of people I spoke with.
During the second activity, my two group members discussed how “stupid” and “pointless” the article on creating allies was. They focused more on the colloquial phrasing than the point it was attempting to make. Instead of engaging with the ideas of the article, or even productively discussing them, they complained about being required to complete the DASA training, and DASA in general. At one point one of my group members outright said, “Fuck the DOE. Am I right?” I inquired about what his content area was, to which he informed me he doesn’t teach, but that he is the Dean of Discipline at his school, a position largely affected by DASA.
The case study activity my group was assigned defined the subject as being the victim of anti-white racism. Nobody in my group wanted to hear my explanation of how the “isms” infer a degree of political power, therefore they don’t apply to hegemonic groups, or the major difference between oppression and prejudice.
I fear that the misuse of terminology ,which happened quite frequently during the workshop only further clouded understandings. The first concern I had was when I read §11’s definition of gender, being, “Gender" shall mean actual or perceived sex and shall include a person's gender identity or expression.” While it does include gender identity and expression, the fact that in includes “actual or perceived sex”not only blurs the distinction between sex and gender, but delegitimizes non-cisnormative identities.
How are school personnel supposed to address the diverse needs of their students if they do not even understand their identities, or the social/political/economic factors affecting them? If they don’t understand why it’s necessary for them to? If a dean of discipline, whose primary job involves maintaining the safety and well-being of students, doesn’t think that DASA should have been implemented because “the bullying thing is blown out of proportion,” then how do we even begin to help our students?
In the documentary Bully, Kirk Smalley, the father of an 11 year old boy who commit suicide states, “We’re simple people, we’re nobodies. I guarantee if some politicians kids did this because he was getting picked on in a public school, there’d be changes made tomorrow. We’re nobody, but we love each other, and we loved our son.” DASA is an example of the type of change described by Smalley, and unfortunately without the active implementation required by all parties, it’s still not going to be productive enough.
If districts continue to ignore the major changes DASA requires to protocol, and teachers refuse to acknowledge that DASA training is presenting them with topics that are relevant to their students, and DASA training coordinators continue to give a completion certificate to everyone that shows up regardless, rushing through material stating, “I don’t want to be here either.” nothing is going to change. Students will continue to suffer as a result of our own ignorance and apathy.
According to the CDC, suicide is the third leading cause of death among adolescents, and those who reported being bullied are at a higher risk. The negative outcomes of bullying, as described by the CDC, “may include depression, anxiety, involvement in interpersonal/sexual violence, substance abuse, poor social functioning, poor school performance including lower grade point averages, standardized test scores, and poor attendance.” There is evidence to support that LGBTQ youth are at a significant increased risk for bullying, and the negative outcomes associated with it (Youth Bullying). The discussion of the experience of LGBTQ youth is required in the DASA training syllabus, it was not discussed during the training session I attended (nor were many of the other required topics, or objectives). I don’t understand how, with this information readily available, people who have the potential to directly affect outcomes can remain apathetic about doing so, especially when now in some states action is required by law. This leaves me wondering, what other sort of indication of a problem are some people waiting for to take action?
Additional Resources
Works Cited
Youth Bullying. Center for Disease Control, 22 Oct. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. <http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/youthviolence/bullyingresearch/>.