Timothy Bellavia- LGBT History and Community Rights
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Timothy Bellavia is a fabric artist, art educator and children’s author. He received the prestigious “Innovative Educator Research Grant” from the US Office of Elementary & Secondary Education that implements teaching mathematics through music (and dolls). Timothy is also an Assistant Professor within the Graduate School of Education at Touro College and University System in New York City and a Flushing Town Hall Space Grant Awardee. He is perhaps best known for his “We Are All The Same Inside ® doll-making” workshop that celebrates our common humanity.
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
Dignity for All Students
Professional Development LGBT Workshop
“New York State’s Dignity for All Students Act or The Dignity Act seeks to provide the state’s public elementary and secondary school students with a safe and supportive environment free from discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment, and bullying on school property, a school bus and/or at a school function.” Flushing Town Hall Teaching Artist Timothy Bellavia will lead this workshop using The Dignity Act as an anchor for working with LGBT students, as he focuses on identity politics specifically within the LGBT community.
Participants will begin the PD with an anonymous baseline survey to explore their knowledge of the LGBT history, community, and rights. Timothy will introduce The Dignity Act, illustrate examples of microaggressions (Pierce 1970), and draw on his own history of positive and negative experiences in the classroom. Educators are invited to share their own experiences with LGBT students in a break-out session. Afterward, Timothy introduces his “We Are All The Same Inside ® Sage doll-making” workshop as a tool to teach tolerance that leads to acceptance. Educators are then invited to create their own doll based on a leader of the LGBT community which illustrates that despite our differences, we can celebrate our common humanity. This workshop is aligned with the Common Core Learning Standards and can be replicated in any classroom.
