Using a young readers' novel called "The Misfits" as its centerpiece, middle schools nationwide will participate in a "No Name-Calling Week" initiative starting January 24. The program, now in its second year, has the backing of groups from the Girl Scouts to Amnesty International but has also drawn complaints that it overemphasizes harassment of gay youths.
The initiative was developed by the New York-based Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), which seeks to ensure that schools safely accommodate students of all sexual orientations.
GLSEN is unsure how many schools will participate in this week's event, but says 5,100 educators from 36 states have registered, up from 4,000 last year. Participation in a related writing-music-art contest rose from 100 students last year to 1,600 this year.
Ms. Sue Anna Yeh, 13, who attends First Colony Middle School in Sugar Land, Texas, wrote a poem about "No Name-Calling Week." Her poem won first prize in the contest selected to the event. An except of her poem reads: