One of the many things that can be so wrong about assemblies in schools is that the pupils get used to being talked at by teachers and guest speakers in a way that suggests that these experts are all knowing and that the pupils are empty vessels to be filled. One important innovation that we have introduced recently at Dulwich ensures that boys have a number of opportunities to hear from their peers in assembly. Sometimes a boy will be commissioned to talk about a cause that is important to the school as a whole, but more often they’ll talk about something very personal. These assemblies entitled It Matters to Me have been particularly successful and widely appreciated. Three examples of the form follow here.
I f you reflected on the past week, you probably would have heard someone describe something pejoratively as ‘so gay’ despite the fact it is neither homosexual nor happy. This piece stems from an assembly I was lucky enough to present to the Middle and Upper Schools. The issue was raised by the LGBT charity, Stonewall, and the aim of their campaign was to eradicate homophobic language from Britain’s school playgrounds. It should be noted that in this statement, there is no mention of tackling homophobic harassment or prejudice towards homosexuality. The aim is to simply adopt a sense of mutual respect between all young people, regardless of sexual orientation. Similarly, my aim is not to lecture people on the horrors of homophobic bullying, because as a College, we experience very little of that and it doesn’t seem relevant. But what I think is an important issue that should be a topic of open discussion is using language in a way that is not suitable for the message that you are trying to portray and the negative effect that it can have. It is important to understand that using ‘gay’ pejoratively or unsuitably is homophobic: it uses ‘gay’ as a substitute to describe something stupid or dumb or, even worse, as a term of abuse. A crude example may be drawn to people saying ‘that’s so black’ to which our reaction would, quite rightly, be that of horror and shock. It is difficult to hear, but it is immediately clear to us that this is not the kind of language that should be tolerated in our society. This is the same reaction that I have when I hear someone use the phrase ‘that’s so gay’. Some people, upon reading this, will, quite correctly, say that our society is very tolerant and extremely welcoming to those of differing sexual orientation. London Gay Pride is one of the largest
“ IT MATTERS TO ME. . .”
LET’ S GET THE MEANING GAY: S TRAI GHT
Matt Lobo (Year 13)
4
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker