Subject: Call to Teachers
From: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 12 Sep 1994 08:43:31 -0800

This is a call for input.  Please contact
Debra Chasnoff  or Helen Cohen, Co-Producers,
 Women's Educational Media
2180 Bryant St. # 203 - San Francisco, CA 94110 - (415) 641-4616 - fax:
(415)
641-4632
email: [email-masked]

   
ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL EDUCATORS...
We Need Your Help With A Ground-breaking Documentary Film on
Preventing Homophobia Among School-Age Children

Directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Debra Chasnoff, LOOK THE OTHER
WAY is an hour-long documentary that explores how children form their
attitudes toward lesbians and gay men during the elementary school years,
and examines the role schools should play in that process. While the media
focus on right-wing hysteria about exposing children to hard core
information about gay sex, LOOK THE OTHER WAY focuses on the messages
school children are already receiving about gay people - through outright
hostility or silence. It explores how efforts to prevent violence and
sexual harassment and promote gender equity among children are undermined
by policies that restrict discussion of homophobia in school. 

Against the backdrop of increasing political controversy and increasing
levels of hate-related violence among young people, LOOK THE OTHER WAY
goes past sensationalist sound bites ("they're teaching sodomy to first
graders") to show how some teachers and school administrators across the
United States are finding age-appropriate, sensitive ways to teach
elementary and middle school children respect for all people, including
gays and lesbians.  This video will be available as a support for teachers
and parents to advocate for the inclusion of gay-sensitive,
age-appropriate material in the elementary and middle school curriculum. 

LOOK THE OTHER WAY also lays the foundation for three age-appropriate
videos and interactive CD-ROM programs geared toward elementary and early
middle school-age children which we are producing. The videos, which are
intended for use in anti-bias curricula, focus on appreciating different
kinds of families; preventing name-calling and taunting; and dispelling
stereotypes about gay people. 

*************************************

WE NEED YOUR STORIES and EXPERTISE

We are currently in pre-production, doing research for both the documentary
and children's videos, and we need information, stories, insights, and
suggestions from progressive educators around the country who are concerned
about these issues.  Specifically, we are looking for compelling stories of
how gay issues and homophobia come up in the classroom, lunchroom, and
schoolyard, and for schools where we could potentially film teachers taking
positive action to help prevent homophobia.

Do any teachers in your school integrate an awareness of lesbians and gays
into their curricula? Have you felt pressure from administrators, parents,
others NOT to discuss gay issues in the classroom?  Do you know educators
or parents we should contact? We want to hear from you! 

For information and suggestions, please contact:
Debra Chasnoff  or Helen Cohen, Co-Producers,
 Women's Educational Media
2180 Bryant St. # 203 - San Francisco, CA 94110 - (415) 641-4616 - fax:   
(415)
641-4632
email: [email-masked]