John also mentioned a lack of representation. It would be hard to employ a person of every ethnicity and culture, but variety is nice. His school had one type of teacher: white, straight, and middle class. For anyone who is different it would be hard to connect to the teachers because they simply do not know what it is like to be different. Many adolescents have a “personal fable” mentality, meaning that they have the ultimate unique experience (REFERENCE). While this can be good, making a student feel unique, it can also make them feel isolated. Schools should be aware of the “personal fable” mentality adolescents seem to have and be sensitive to it. John’s “personal fable” was not just him thinking he had an ultimate unique experience. It was a unique experience. With representation present in faculty and staff, John would be reassured that his sexuality is ok, and his experiences, although terrible, will not deter him from success. Another consideration John made for educators is to follow through with the zero-tolerance policy. Everyone has their own opinions, but school is a place to be non-biased. John never saw any of his tormentors disciplined. Disciplining harassers would have reaffirmed that he was not wrong in being who he was, and that the people telling him so were wrong. But instead, everything pointed to him being in the
John also mentioned a lack of representation. It would be hard to employ a person of every ethnicity and culture, but variety is nice. His school had one type of teacher: white, straight, and middle class. For anyone who is different it would be hard to connect to the teachers because they simply do not know what it is like to be different. Many adolescents have a “personal fable” mentality, meaning that they have the ultimate unique experience (REFERENCE). While this can be good, making a student feel unique, it can also make them feel isolated. Schools should be aware of the “personal fable” mentality adolescents seem to have and be sensitive to it. John’s “personal fable” was not just him thinking he had an ultimate unique experience. It was a unique experience. With representation present in faculty and staff, John would be reassured that his sexuality is ok, and his experiences, although terrible, will not deter him from success. Another consideration John made for educators is to follow through with the zero-tolerance policy. Everyone has their own opinions, but school is a place to be non-biased. John never saw any of his tormentors disciplined. Disciplining harassers would have reaffirmed that he was not wrong in being who he was, and that the people telling him so were wrong. But instead, everything pointed to him being in the