This means teaching about the treatment of American Indian and indigenous Alaskan and Hawaiian and Mexican people at the hands of European colonists. It also means discussing the history in some cultures of brutality against gay people. And it means examining current events as examples of prejudice and hate violence, such as the murders of James Byrd and Matthew Shepard. Harassment depends upon peer pressure . We must teach about heroes who have stood up against the bigotry of their peers.
Harassment depends upon being able to dehumanize the target.
We can replace children's stereotyped ideas with accurate information about various peoples of color, people with disabilities, people of different faiths and of both genders, and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Introducing students to real people is important, too. Information takes form when an actual human being can be imagined. In the older grades, we can provide literature by and about historical figures who are believed to have loved same-gender partners. We can discuss modern-day public figures who are openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender.