Oh my god, my Shark Tank presentation was so bad. It was a little bitty baby step ahead of crashing and burning. I stammered through it, forgot what I was going to say at several points, and got quite a lot of blank stares, though that last one wasn't entirely unintentional.
But you know what? I'm better for it. Practice makes perfect, as they say, and though my public speaking skills right near are nowhere as good as I'd like them to be, I'd like to think I'm getting better. Slowly. Oh-so-slowly.
Besides that, I did more research on MOGAI-positive movements and found so many cool things. I'll be the first to admit I was leaning towards my bias when I googled 'ace(1) recognition movement', but I found the dates of this year's Ace Week (October 19th-25th, for the curious) and I also found a more generalized day that promotes awareness and the fight against the constant microaggressions levied against MOGAI people, especially in school.
GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, asks students to take part in the Day of Silence(2,3) every year. It is a day in which students stay silent for their whole school day, and even in their outside life, in order to represent the forced silence of the MOGAI community. I plan to bring this day to the school administration and encourage students to participate. Of course, this may be disruptive to classes, but it may also present opportunities for learning for the participant's peers, family, and teachers.
But that's in the future. Right now, I'm still searching for a mentor, trying to add detail to my written proposal, wondering about how exactly I'm going to sketch out a proper event at the end of the year.
That's why by next Friday, I plan to go to Time Out Youth, Charlotte's major MOGAI safe space, several times so that I can interact more with both adults and my peers there. I'm almost certain I can find a mentor there, and besides, video game night is always fun. They're also probably a good place to bounce ideas off of for my year-long project.
In addition to all this, GLSEN is giving away 2,000 Safe Space equipment boxes for schools to ensure the comfort of MOGAI students going into their new school year. I've entered their contest (drawing? I believe it's along those lines, it wasn't too clear) and I hope to get one for our school as well as letting friends at other schools know about this initiative. I'll put the link to the giveaway/contest/drawing/whatever is as link 4 down with the others, if you're interested.
Keeping my fellow students informed and comfortable in their learning environment is a top priority for me, and that can happen- it's just going to take a little work. That's work I'm willing to put in, but I'd be grateful if some others- student or teacher- stepped forward to help me pitch my idea, or even to be a sounding board for what I'm going to say.
References & Resources:
Hey- I've googled a little bit, but I can't find it. What does a Safe Space Kit include? You can answer here or tweet @thomasson_engl
ReplyDeleteA Safe Space kid includes 10 Safe Space Stickers, a Safe Space poster, and a guidebook giving concrete strategies for supporting LGBT students. That's said on the giveaway link. :)
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