In case you haven’t checked your calendars, this is “No Name-Calling Week.” That’s the designation of Jan 26-30, an observance that began five years ago by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).
While every week should be free of name-calling, anyone who has survived adolescence knows that words get tossed around campus regularly and without regard to others’ feelings.
GLSEN has gone beyond a simple observance of that fact and provided school administrators and educators with the tools to increase visibility and awareness of the issue as well as open a dialogue among students this week and into the future. Best of all, there is no charge for the lesson plans that can be downloaded on the GLSEN site.
With the incidents of “that’s so gay” and name-calling itself – even in jest — in the workplace, possibly we as communicators can also look at the lesson plans as a guide to open dialogues in our own organizations.
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