Transgender Students Essay

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Transgender students and their inclusion into our classrooms is a rising issue that has been very difficult to address. Alongside this, the bullying aspect concerning transgender students has become an even more significant factor in our education system. For the purpose of this paper I have chosen to explore just how bullying has affected the lives of transgender students. In doing so it is imperative that one defines exactly what bullying consists of. I will also give various insights on the individuals who are participating in this bullying as well as details about potential locations that it can occur. One of the rising forms of bullying that has been heavily displayed in the media is that of cyber-bullying. After examining all of this information the next objective is to identify methods (if any) that our schools are using to prevent transgender bullying. Lastly, I will discuss how all of these aspects have an everlasting effect on the lives of transgender students and their academic achievement.
To begin with, by definition bullying is any unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance (). Given this definition it is important for individuals to understand that bullying does not have to be a physical action. Bullying can also include any verbal threats that someone makes against another individual or even going as far as ostracizing someone from a group. It is also essential for individuals to understand the various roles that bullying includes. Just because a person is not considered to be the “bully” or the individual being “bullied” doesn’t necessarily mean that they are not an active participant in the bullying of transgender students. For example, if someone ...

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...id they have already received counseling for the effects of bullying. ()
In addition to this, there are various policies in place that strictly prohibit the discrimination of any individual based on their sexual orientation. These policies are important because it makes things such as bullying punishable by law, which ultimately protects transgender students. For example, you have the “Hate Crime” law which protects individuals from being victimized due to their race, religion, gender identity, etc. It wasn’t until 2009 that this hate crime law was extended to the transgender community. Although there has been steady progress in the protection of transgender students, we still have a long way to go. Recent studies have shown that only about 13 states possessed laws which banned any discrimination against individuals based on their gender identity.
In conclusion,

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