‘No Name-Calling’ gains steam
NEW YORK – Using a young readers’ novel called “The Misfits” as its centerpiece, middle schools nationwide will participate in a “No Name-Calling Week” initiative starting today. The program, now in its second year, has the backing of groups from the Girl Scouts to Amnesty International but has also drawn complaints that it overemphasizes harassment of gay youths.
The initiative was developed by the New York-based Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, which seeks to ensure that schools safely accommodate students of all sexual orientations. GLSEN worked with James Howe, the openly gay author of “The Misfits” and many other popular children’s books.
“Gay students aren’t the only kids targeted — this isn’t about special rights for them,” Howe said. “But the fact is that ‘faggot’ is probably the most common insult at schools.”
“The Misfits” deals with four much-taunted middle schoolers — one of them gay — who run for the student council on a platform advocating an end to nasty name-calling.
GLSEN is unsure how many schools will participate in this week’s event, but says 5,100 educators from 36 states have registered, up from 4,000 last year. Participation in a related writing-music-art contest rose from 100 students last year to 1,600 this year; the winning poem was written by Sue Anna Yeh, a 13-year-old from Sugar Land, Texas.
“No Name-Calling Week” takes aim at insults of all kinds — whether based on a child’s appearance, background or behavior. But a handful of conservative critics have zeroed in on references to harassment based on sexual orientation.
In Iowa, complaints by scores of parents about the gay themes in “The Misfits” prompted the Pleasant Valley School Board to rule that teachers could no longer read it aloud to elementary school classes, although it could remain in school libraries.
In Colorado, lawmakers last year rejected a proposal to declare a statewide “No Name-Calling Week” in conjunction with the inaugural GLSEN-backed event. House Majority Leader Keith King said he was concerned about fostering a “victim’s mentality” and argued that children should ignore taunts.
In contrast, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm issued a proclamation recognizing the event, and more than 40 national organizations have enlisted as partners, including the Girl Scouts, the national associations of elementary and secondary school principals, and the National Education Association.
James Garbarino, a Cornell University professor who has studied school bullying, said harassment based on sexual orientation “ought to be No. 1 on the list” as educators combat name-calling. Such taunting has led to violence and suicides, he said.