Luke Orlando

Reference:
Perrotti, Jeff and Westheimer, Kim. When the Drama Club is Not Enough: Lessons from

the Safe Schools Program for Gay and Lesbian Students. Beacon Press, 2001. 

Jeff Perrotti and Kim Westheimer are both former directors of the Safe Schools Program of Gay and Lesbian Students. Their book, When the Drama Club is not Enough, is a collection of testimonies regarding the Safe School's program and individual teacher and student experiences as LGBTQ+ members in the education community. It also serves as a guide for how teachers can relate to, instruct, provide care for, and support LGBTQ+ students in their classes. Organized into eight sections and three appendices, the book follows a clear organizational pattern that helps readers understand and apply the concepts presented. Each section begins with a broad topic, such as section six, "Controversy: Challenge and Opportunity" in which the problem is presented along with with testimonies and personal stories. Then it lists solutions and strategies for approaching the problem. For example, in the aforementioned section the authors relate a quote from former Christian Coalition's executive director Ralph Reed, in which he claims he would rather have 2,000 members in school board seats than one as the President of the United States. The purpose of this quote is to demonstrate the problem-- that the organized religious right is focused on gaining influence in America's schools. The authors then list a section that offers advice on "dealing with" the religious right from the Political Research Associates' publication Defending Public Education. I found this structure, and the recommendations made by the authors, incredibly refreshing. Having a resource that not only expresses a problem but actually offers clear advice and solutions is a wonderful gift as an educator. I have already used strategies I've learned in this book to address questions about LGBT+ students in my classroom, and I've introduced myself to my school's newly formed GSA at their first meeting and offered myself as a resource to the club. 

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