Rainbow ball workshop
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April 10, 2015 @ 8:30 am - 2:00 pm
The University of Maine at Machias and the Washington County Education Consortium are hosting a series of three free workshops on Friday, April 10, as part of the 8th annual Rainbow Ball Weekend on campus.
The workshops are geared towards professional development for educators and human service workers who want to better support lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) youth while creating safer environments for all young people. The workshops are from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the UMM Performing Arts Center. Registration is at 8 a.m.
The first workshop, Love Conquers all: Raising a Transgender Child, With Dr. Wayne Maines, will be held from 8:30 to 11 a.m. The Maines family has learned that bullying; harassment, discrimination and the fear of the unknown can cause people to close their minds. At a young age their daughter Nicole proudly told her classmates and soon after the world that she is transgender. From that point on she has been sharing her story of accepting change, starting with her father. On January 30, 2014, the Maines family won the highest transgender rights case in the country. Maine’s highest court ruled that denying a transgender girl the use of the girls’ restroom at her school violated her rights under Maine’s Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination against transgender people.
The second workshop, The Benefits of Gay, Straight and Trans Alliances in Schools, with Dr. Peter Rees, a retired educator, and Lin Gould of Mount Desert Island High School, will be held from 10:15-11:45 a.m. This workshop involves sharing experiences with the extra challenges experienced by LGBT students and others who are presumed to be LGBT even though they are not. Moral, legal, educational and public health considerations will be discussed. Information will be provided on how participants can assist students in forming a GSA or GSTA. Printed materials will be provided.
Lunch will be provided by the University of Maine at Machias from 12-12:30pm
The final workshop, How Gender Identity Develops and Is Expressed, with Jenn Burlton, the Executive Director of TransActive Gender Center of Portland, Oregon, will be held from 12:30-2 p.m.
To register, contact Kay Richmond of the Washington County Education Consortium at [email protected]. There is Contact Hour/CEU documentation for teachers for $10. For more information, contact Meghan Duff at 263-5590 or [email protected].