It's Elementary

''It's Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues in School'' is a 1996 American documentary film directed by Debra Chasnoff and Helen S. Cohen. It provides educators with information on how to teach elementary schoolchildren to be tolerant of gay and lesbian people. It earned awards from several American film festivals, was broadcast on public television stations, and was obtained by more than 3,000 institutions for educational use. The film was noted as the "first of its kind" and was generally well received, although there was backlash from conservatives.

The documentary received little support from PBS, owing to backlash from the American Family Association, Best Documentary at the Reeling Film Festival, and the Silver Spire from the San Francisco International Film Festival, among other awards. The film had two sequels: ''That's a Family!'' and ''It's Still Elementary''.

Background

Debra Chasnoff wanted to direct an educational video series that deals with teaching children about issues involving people who are homosexual, but she learned that there was not much information about the topic that was aimed towards educators. She said, "The current conservative political climate, which is incredibly hostile to the mere mention of homosexuality, has made many teachers afraid of talking to kids about gays and lesbians".

The lack of available information motivated Chasnoff to continue trying to complete the film. Chasnoff and producer Helen Cohen talked to American teachers who already had curricula involving gay people. It was hard for them to gain entry into the schools, as multiple staff and parents did not want to be recorded. Some of the parents kept their children away from the school during filming. The schools are in San Francisco and New York City, as well as Madison, Wisconsin, and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Chasnoff said in 1999, "Sadly, part of the reason I think the film is being picked up is because of the time. Our campaign falls within the same window of time that the Matthew Shepard murder and trial are going on, the murder of Billy Jack Gaither, and now Colorado", referring to the homophobic language that had been used to harass the perpetrators of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.

Synopsis

Directed by Chasnoff and Cohen, the film was described by the book ''Voices of Transgender Children in Early Childhood Education'' as "the first of its kind" to provide educators with information on how to prevent discrimination against people who are gay. It focuses on the education of elementary schoolchildren to not be intolerant of those who are gay or lesbian. In the film, first-grade through eighth-grade students talk about LGBTQ subjects. The younger children were often more accepting of those who are LGBTQ. The film has two versions: one of which is just under 40 minutes long, and the other of which is 78 minutes long. The cut version was created as a training version.

The teachers that were surveyed had various teaching methods of educating about homosexuality. The educators included a fourth-grade teacher who "encourages her students to brainstorm on the words 'gay' and 'lesbian', and to talk about the roots of their associations, assumptions, and attitudes". An eighth-grade teacher dismantled stereotypes about people who are gay or lesbian while also having their students interview a gay man and a lesbian woman. A principal of an elementary school held a photography event at the school named "Love Makes a Family", in which "families with gay and lesbian couples at the heads of households" are depicted. A girl with lesbian parents read a Mother's Day essay about her mothers. A fifth-grade teacher noticed that her students have no issues with pictures and stories of children and their gay parents. A Puerto Rican teacher stated that her heritage was part of her not being open to LGBTQ matters.

Release

''It's Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues in School'' was released in several film festivals. The film was released on VHS in 1996 by New Day Films, and it was released on DVD in 2008 by the same distributor. The DVD includes closed captioning, Spanish subtitles, educator resources, and special features like deleted scenes, an interview with the director, and the sequel ''It's Still Elementary''. Also included is a 136-page guide about how to use the film within school systems and communities. The June 8, 1999 issue of ''The Advocate'' reported that the film would be broadcast on at least 60 PBS stations. Chasnoff and Cohen started a campaign to motivate people to ask local television stations for the film to be aired.

In 1999, PBS refused to televise the film on its national affiliate stations, but the broadcaster sold the airing rights to other stations by using an independent company. At the time of a June 7, 1999 article in ''The Baltimore Sun'', 89 public television stations decided to air the film, 80 of them refused to carry it, and 53 of them had not made a decision. The film did not receive much support from PBS for its first television broadcast because of backlash from the American Family Association

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