Workshop by Dr. Cristian Magnus
GENDER & DIVERSITY - OUR EXPERIENCES WITH THE QUEER COACH
Dr. Cristian Magnus is a Queer Coach.
A Queer Coach is someone who helps others to achieve their goals by finding out what holds you back. This is how you start to question norms and patterns of thinking that hold you back.
Dr. Cristian Magnus was at our school from March 9 - 12 and worked with the classes 7 - 12 and the teachers. He gave two lectures with room for discussion and we were able to continue learning together in a workshop focusing on diversity and gender as well as LGBTIQ* and education management. We first received an introduction to gender, sexual diversity, heteronormativity and LGBTIQ*. Here we learned for example what LGBTIQ* stands for: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, intersexual and queer people. The asterisk (*) at the end taks into account that some people do not want to be fixed exclusively on one of the terms in their gender identity. Queer stands for a collective term for people whose gender identity and/or sexual "orientation" (whom they desire) does not correspond to the Cis (agree to the assigned gender at birth) - heteronormativity (perceive heterosexuality as the norm). Dr. Cristian Magnus also pointed out that since our birth we have been prescribed how we should behave and to which gender we belong, for example by giving girls pink toys and dolls, while boys are given blue guns.
After the lecture I also took part in a workshop in a smaller group. In this workshop we asked each other questions and thought about how far our environment would support us in different ways of life. Questions like: How would your family react if you were a lesbian and how would they react if you were straight. Through this questioning it became clear to everyone that our society is very closed and does not always say YES! to "new" things that should actually be Self-evident.
MORE IMPRESSIONS:
After our workshop, some teachers also took part in a workshop to learn how to include queer sudents/ aspects in to their lessons.
MORE IMPRESSIONS:
GAPS AT OUR SCHOOL:
After our eyes opened, we became much more aware of how we could change our school to make it more Diversity friendly. At first, the toilets came to mind. At our school we have one toilet for boys, one for girls and additionally one toilet for people with disabilities. We thought that we could also add a no- or all-gender toilet. For those who cannot and/or do not want to identify with one gender. Next thing we noticed is that our physical education classes are divided into girls and boys, so we always decide about non-cis persons and take the "agency" away from them. We also have to find a solution for this, such as simply dividing the class into two groups without dividing them into boys and girls.
More about the No- or All-Gender Toilet, can be found here.
It takes only a few minutes to fill out, but can be very important for individual students and have a Grat Impact on them and for example ther confindenc.
It is important to underline that no student should be forced to answer such questions if it make them feel uncomfortable.
But the fact that the teacher does not simply make assumptions about the gender or sexual orientation of students, but gives them the opportunity to express themselves and their wishes, ensures that everyone feels comfortable and respected in the school environment.
What did I learn?
In this workshop I learned to be more open for new things and not to call everything "odd" or "bad". Just because something is not "normal" for me, and because I grew up with norms that think that this is "wrong", it doesn't mean that it is really "wrong" or "bad". I have also noticed that I myself and those around me indirectly force people to be like that so that they fit into our society, which I found quite frightening. In summary, one should first consider, listen to other points of view and ask oneself if or why one calls something "odd" or "normal". I would like to pay more attention to this in the future and also talk to others about it.
Das sind wir
Estos somos nosotros
This is us
Mail: erinnernfgherradura@gmail.com
Instagram: @erinnernherradura
Facebook: Erinnern für die Gegenwart
Im Rahmen des Projektes "Erinnern für die Gegenwart” arbeiten wir, Schüler*innen der Deutschen Schule Alexander von Humboldt, México( Campus West), die Geschichte unserer Schule (insbesondere der Jahre 1930 bis 1950) auf.
Hierbei gehen wir der Frage nach, was "Gelebte kulturelle Diversität" am Colegio Aleman zur Zeit des Nationalsozialismus in Deutschland bedeutete.
Wie Diversität zu dieser Zeit gelebt wurde und wie wir sie heute leben (welche Handlungsoptionen haben wir für die Zukunft)?
En el marco del proyecto "Recordar para el presente" nosotros, los estudiantes del Colegio Alemán Alexander von Humboldt, México (Campus West), estamos trabajando en la historia de nuestro colegio (especialmente los años 1930 a 1950).
En este contexto investigaremos la cuestión de qué significaba "diversidad cultural vivida" en el Colegio Alemán en la época del nacionalsocialismo en Alemania.
¿Cómo se vivía la diversidad en esa época y cómo la vivimos hoy (qué opciones tenemos para el futuro)?
Within the framework of the project "Remembering for the Present" we, students of the German School Alexander von Humboldt, México (Campus West), are working on the history of our school (especially the years 1930 to 1950).
In this context we will investigate the question of what "lived cultural diversity" at the Colegio Aleman meant during the time of National Socialism in Germany.
How was diversity lived at that time and how do we live it today (what options do we have for the future)?