WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.040 I just get to exist really as who I am. 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:12.720 Welcome to Queering Education, where we challenge what school is and build what it should be. 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:14.320 I'm Brian Stanton. 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:22.399 This is a Teaching While Queer podcast about inclusive teaching, queer pedagogy, and showing up authentically in every classroom. 00:00:22.719 --> 00:00:24.879 Alright, let's do the work. 00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:35.600 Welcome to Queering Education, where we challenge what school is and build what it should be. 00:00:35.759 --> 00:00:37.200 I'm Brian Stanton. 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:45.759 This is a Teaching While Queer podcast about inclusive teaching, queer pedagogy, and showing up authentically in every classroom. 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:48.479 Alright, let's do the work. 00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:52.799 Hello everyone, and welcome back to Queering Education. 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:58.240 This is our first episode under the newly branded Queering Education name. 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:01.280 This is a Teaching While Queer podcast. 00:01:01.520 --> 00:01:03.200 I'm your host, Brian Stanton. 00:01:03.280 --> 00:01:04.719 My pronouns are they them. 00:01:05.040 --> 00:01:21.680 And today's episode highlights how queer educators, especially early career and graduate instructors, can build inclusive, humane classrooms that center access, kindness, and student well-being, even within uncertain or uneven support systems. 00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:25.040 I'm joined today by Amelia, a PhD student. 00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:25.840 Hi, Amelia. 00:01:25.920 --> 00:01:26.560 How's it going? 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:28.480 I am doing absolutely wonderful. 00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:29.519 Thank you for having me. 00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:32.079 I'm so glad that we got to have this time together. 00:01:32.239 --> 00:01:36.239 Can you please take a second to introduce yourself to everybody who's listening? 00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:38.319 Yeah, so my name's Amelia. 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:40.959 I go by uh she her from my pronouns. 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:45.760 I'm currently a graduate teaching assistant at the University of California, Davis. 00:01:45.920 --> 00:01:56.400 I'm a first-year PhD student, so I'm still getting into a lot of teaching, but it's wonderful to start learning about this entire field and all the possibilities. 00:01:56.879 --> 00:02:05.920 I'm excited to jump into that conversation with you because um one of the things that we're doing with our educator conference this year, it's getting a whole rebrand. 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:10.560 Um, last year it was the Teaching Well Queer, Queer Educators Conference, very long name. 00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:14.479 Uh this year it is uh queering education. 00:02:14.639 --> 00:02:19.280 And one of the cool things about it is that we're having a branch that's specifically for queer research. 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:25.360 So it's all those PhD students, all those people who are doing active research in the queer realm of academia. 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:29.680 Like it's your opportunity to get your research out in front of people. 00:02:29.840 --> 00:02:42.639 And I'm super stoked to be able to have that because there are not many opportunities that are specifically focused on the uh queerness of the research realm. 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:45.360 Uh so um more to come with that. 00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:49.280 There will be lots of information about our conference coming out in the next few weeks. 00:02:49.439 --> 00:02:51.840 Um but let's talk a little bit about you. 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:54.560 So you're currently a graduate teaching assistant. 00:02:55.039 --> 00:03:05.520 And um do you find that you're shoved into education because of that, or did you want to do something that would put you in front of people teaching them? 00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:15.280 So I in my undergrad, I originally wanted to go into music education, and I ended up not doing that, and that was about 2009-ish. 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:25.360 And just a few years ago, I started doing my master's, and I was like, I really enjoy connecting with people, and that was where I discovered a lot about myself. 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:30.400 And so this has been a whole discovery process about refining passions. 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:43.199 So I came back to the classroom once I started my PhD this past September, and so here I've been this year at least, I've had one class each quarter. 00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:52.080 And it's it's been wonderful to just kind of see what it's like to develop what my teaching style is and how to connect with students. 00:03:52.960 --> 00:03:54.240 And so, yeah. 00:03:54.879 --> 00:04:00.479 How do you find that your teaching style is compared to what you've experienced as a student? 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:04.319 Well, that that that's a good question. 00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:11.520 So a lot of times, especially in my undergrad, um, there there was a huge difference. 00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:13.919 There wasn't a whole lot of representation. 00:04:14.159 --> 00:04:21.759 I was a completely different person back then, so I wasn't paying attention to even that to queer identity in general. 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:28.399 Uh going to college in the south, um you you don't notice a whole lot of it. 00:04:28.639 --> 00:04:30.560 It's kept under wraps. 00:04:31.279 --> 00:04:38.000 And when you do find queer educators, you it's like they they get shunned. 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:45.120 And then coming out here to California to do my doctorate, it's a completely different world. 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:49.920 I mean, faculty have signs, you know, everybody's welcome here. 00:04:50.639 --> 00:04:53.839 And it is it's a completely different level of support. 00:04:54.240 --> 00:05:02.560 So being on both sides of this now, it's it's so refreshing to see that there is support for people. 00:05:03.279 --> 00:05:04.639 Yeah, absolutely. 00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:19.600 I think that um it's an interesting thing because there are pockets of conservatism in progressive spaces, there's pockets of progressive ideology in conservative spaces. 00:05:19.920 --> 00:05:33.920 And I grew up in Southern California and my like my perception of Davis, not UC Davis, but Davis, the surrounding city, um, is that it's super conservative. 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:52.879 So um for me, it's like it's it's interesting to hear that it's so like at least on campus, that everything is so supportive, because my perception for a very long time um was that that was like the conservative pocket of of um California or one of the conservative pockets of California. 00:05:52.959 --> 00:06:00.000 And there's another conservative pocket in San Diego where I was um prior to moving out of the state. 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:07.360 And so it it's interesting to me because I think that people look at the map, right? 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:14.319 They see the map of the US and then they see, you know, red and blue, and it's like the whole state. 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:42.720 And my favorite map when I'm looking at elections are the actual counties because I live in New York City and I can see that there's portions of my county, which is the Bronx, um, or there's portions of my borough that are Republican, there's portions of Queens and Brooklyn that are Republican, and so it's like it's so interesting when you look at things more through a microscope, you get a better picture as opposed to my perception of things. 00:06:42.959 --> 00:06:50.480 So I encourage all of you out there to to analyze through a microscope, zoom in, zoom in and see what's out there. 00:06:50.959 --> 00:06:51.600 Exactly. 00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:57.680 And like my experience here in Davis has been really joyful. 00:06:57.920 --> 00:07:01.439 Um I walk around exactly as who I am. 00:07:01.680 --> 00:07:09.920 Nobody questions that I'm a transgender woman, nobody questions that I'm bisexual, I just get to exist freely as who I am. 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:26.959 So while the overall I political ideology may be conservative, there's still a certain level of actual acceptance that I can exist autonomously, and I think that is quite a bit refreshing. 00:07:27.839 --> 00:07:28.480 Absolutely. 00:07:28.720 --> 00:08:26.000 I also think that there's something to be said about just kindness, and I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna quote Steven Sondheim because I'm a musical theater nut, and you know, there's a line from Into the Woods that is basically nice is different than good, but I think there is something to be said about kindness, and I'll put it this way I have I have worked in Southern California, I've worked in um like the middle of Texas, because San Antonio is not really the south of Texas, it's like right in the middle, middle of Texas, and then I've worked in New York City, and I have I have experienced kindness for the sake of just being kind because I was raised right, and then I've also experienced genuine kindness, and it comes from the places that you don't expect, like Los Angeles and New York City get a bad rap of being places where people are um are rude. 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:37.360 And I would like to counter that with we are loud, but like if you look lost on the street, we're gonna help you figure out where you're going, and then we're gonna ask you to move. 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:43.039 Um, you know, get out of the way, but we're gonna help you get out of the way. 00:08:43.279 --> 00:08:52.559 Um and so I think that there are places where kindness, just the idea that you can respect someone, is important. 00:08:52.960 --> 00:09:08.720 And I think I'm not trying to say that, you know, agree to disagree about humanity and human experiences is something that we should be debating, but I do think that there is something to be said about respecting the humanity in people, regardless of what your beliefs are. 00:09:08.960 --> 00:09:17.039 And I think that's what that's part of what you're experiencing, and I'm sure it was not the same experience in the South. 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:18.000 You know what I mean? 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:25.039 Um because there's a reason that the phrase bless your heart sounds so nice. 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:30.320 Um for those who are not Southerners, it's like a backhanded compliment. 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:34.000 It's uh it is a it is not even a back-handed compliment. 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:38.159 It is definitely like there's something wrong with you, but I'm being nice. 00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:52.000 Um and so it goes back to that idea of nice is different than good, but just respecting people's humanity is so important and um something that I wish more people were doing right now. 00:09:52.559 --> 00:10:00.080 And that that idea of kindness is something that I have directly tried to foster in my classroom. 00:10:00.240 --> 00:10:09.519 Uh while people may have ideas and opinions, and some sometimes those may differ, but it's we're all here to learn. 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:20.240 As long as we're learning from each other, we're not treating each other with disrespect, and we're not walking away feeling hurt, then we're doing something. 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:23.600 And that that's the kind of environment that I'm trying to say. 00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:29.440 This, yes, this is we we can disagree, we we can have these conversations. 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:53.840 Sometimes they can be hard, and it's hard to take them not take them personally, but let's approach things with kindness first and know that this classroom is a safe place to have those conversations, especially when we're talking about music history or or the ideas of music and culture, specific musics as representations for identity. 00:10:54.240 --> 00:11:06.399 There's so many different possibilities for how music exists in the space that one person may walk away thinking that this song may not be about this, or it may be about this idea. 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:27.039 And so it's for me, I want to make sure that students can form their own opinions and that it's rooted in some sort of framework that is educationally sound first, and then they're treating everybody with kindness second. 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:30.240 And that way they're being able to do all that. 00:11:30.559 --> 00:11:33.679 Yeah, that's so so important, especially in the arts, right? 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:41.759 There's so much vulnerability that goes into playing or singing or whatever, you know, however you're expressing yourself, there's so much vulnerability that goes into it. 00:11:41.919 --> 00:11:55.120 And it ties directly into one of the strategies I gave last week's on last week's episode that was basically about, you know, how do you how do we be inclusive when there are certain states where we're we can't even use the word inclusion? 00:11:55.279 --> 00:11:57.039 And part of it is that culture that you build. 00:11:57.120 --> 00:12:04.720 It's building a culture where you are respecting the other people in the room, the humanity that's in the room, regardless of who people are, without even having to name it. 00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:09.440 You know, you don't have to say, you know, we we don't use gay here. 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:12.080 We say, you know, we don't insult people. 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:20.720 Um we are not um putting people down, find another phrase, uh, find what are you actually trying to express? 00:12:20.879 --> 00:12:40.799 Um, you know, and then you're building vocabulary, you know, and you can frame it as a as a a curricular thing, but in an artistic setting, it is hard to get good music or good performance or even a good rehearsal out of people who feel like they're in a volatile space. 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:58.240 Um I I work with middle schoolers, and so they like to do quote unquote roasting, um, which is really just throwing a lot of shade that they think is not going to hurt anybody, but then it inevitably always does. 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:08.000 Um, and so one of the things that I have to constantly remind folks about is that, like in this space, when we are rehearsing, we are one team, we are one ensemble. 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:16.639 Um, anything that we've got going on on the outside, any opinions we have of other people that stays on the outside, in this space, we're just here to create. 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:29.440 And if we can't get to a culture where creation is important or discovery is important, then it's going to be hard to have those like really beautiful performances. 00:13:29.600 --> 00:13:36.960 And I think the same thing can go for other other curricular areas because education really should be about discovery, right? 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:48.559 And if we are not providing a space where students can be vulnerable asking questions and vulnerable um with what they're discovering in the curriculum, then what what are they learning? 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:50.320 Exactly. 00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:59.360 And that that ties in directly with um some research that I've been really interested in most recently about trauma and for pedagogy. 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:04.320 Um, in my own research recently, I've been digging deeply into that. 00:14:05.360 --> 00:14:22.240 And a lot of that has hit me very deeply because I've realized that there's a lot of ways in my classroom that I can include this because I don't know what a student may be walking into or what they have just come from. 00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:42.960 But if if I can approach that classroom space and give them that space that they need and let them take the space that they need, it it's much more effective for them to not put them into a space where they feel uncomfortable. 00:14:43.679 --> 00:15:16.080 And I I think that we should start thinking in those ways of meeting the students where they're at and understanding, you know, not everyone is walking in that door with the same exact experiences throughout the day or even the previous days, and understanding, hey, this classroom, we're just here to learn, we're here to question, and we're here to just help each other and support each other and not tear each other down. 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:19.840 Yeah, that's my vibe. 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:21.279 I love that so much. 00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:30.000 And and you're also on a fun, you're in the fun stage of teaching, um not jaded like us old timers. 00:15:30.159 --> 00:15:43.759 Um, and so I'm curious if you've had some moments where it completely shifted how you work with your students, that you've changed strategies or you've changed approaches because you're like you had an aha moment. 00:15:43.919 --> 00:15:47.440 And those are there are a lot of those in the first couple of years of teaching. 00:15:47.600 --> 00:15:55.360 And so I'm most interested in your response because some of us who've been around for a while might forget what those look like. 00:15:56.320 --> 00:16:03.759 Yeah, so one of the big ones is in my first quarter, um, I was teaching in an intro to music literature class. 00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:24.559 And so in that class, um, I do a lot of ADA assistance with descriptive um subtitling and where when I'm speaking, it auto-generates the subtitles for students who may have hearing because I am I I do have hearing issues. 00:16:24.960 --> 00:16:33.919 And so I'm thinking about that because that affects me, but there's other things that I may not be thinking about with other disabilities for people. 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:48.320 So as I was going through the course, I got my evaluations at the end of the quarter, and one of the comments was they love that, but they wish I would have spoken louder because I may I didn't always carry to the end of the classroom. 00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:49.600 I was like, oh. 00:16:50.399 --> 00:16:59.120 So while I was doing a lot of the things right, though just those little tweaks help bring that engagement to completion. 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:03.679 And it's worked really well in the winter quarter. 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:09.200 And I'm excited to see because I'm repeating this course for my teaching in the spring. 00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:18.400 So I'm excited to see a actual comparison of what's improved and what doesn't work and being able to actually tweak things now. 00:17:19.279 --> 00:17:21.599 Yes, we love data-driven pedagogy. 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:48.480 I also love that you found inclusive practices because I think that I have seen in my own experiences, at least when I was going through undergraduate and then I had two master's programs, like oftentimes you're either overtly intentional about your accessibility, or it's completely like waiting for the student to provide you their accommodations letter. 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:56.640 Like, and what I love about your experience is that you were like, I'm gonna provide this one accessible thing. 00:17:56.720 --> 00:18:02.240 And the students were like, but also we have an access need in that we need to hear you better, right? 00:18:02.400 --> 00:18:12.240 So then now you're like, okay, you're hitting things on multiple, multiple realms, which is a part of Universal Design for Learning, which is my research area. 00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:22.400 Um, and so I love that because having the subtitles, I I don't know about you, but as a music person, like I'm a vocalist, my undergraduate degree is in opera performance. 00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:32.640 When I listen to a textbook and read the words at the same time, I gain and retain about 85% of the information. 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:38.400 If I just read the text, I will probably retain about 40% of the information. 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:42.480 And if I just listen to it, it's like 60% of the information. 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:49.039 But if I do both at the same time, I can retain exponentially more information. 00:18:49.279 --> 00:18:54.880 And so having subtitles, like I always joke that I can't watch TV without my subtitles. 00:18:54.960 --> 00:19:10.160 I can't, I can't hear without my subtitles on, uh, which is only frustrating if I'm watching like a foreign film or foreign TV show and it has dubbing on because the dubbing and the subtitles don't match. 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:17.200 Um but I know enough because of opera, I know enough foreign languages that I'm like, I don't need this. 00:19:17.359 --> 00:19:18.880 Sadly, my husband does. 00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:23.920 Um, but I can't like watch things without my subtitles. 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:30.240 I'm like, I can't hear the TV without my subtitles on because I think that it's it's interesting. 00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:40.240 It's an accessibility tool that was generated and created to specifically help um deaf folks have more access to pop culture, right? 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:48.640 Captions were created for pop culture and then incorporated in other spaces, and now they automatically happen at the bottom of a video, if you want. 00:19:48.960 --> 00:20:08.319 And and it's something that so many people, so many people are using now just on the day to day, that I think that's a beautiful thing because it shows that accessibility isn't about making an accommodation for a specific person. 00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:12.319 It's really just about being inclusive of everybody. 00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:13.440 Um, yeah. 00:20:13.680 --> 00:20:25.839 And there's so many people, especially in this anti-DEI world that we're currently uh forced to live through, um, who are like, well, if you do this one thing for this one student, that's special treatment. 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:29.839 I'm like, no, because these resources are actually for all students. 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:36.720 And that's a shift I'm trying to work with in the educational institutions that I work with too, is like, there's a heavy focus on accommodation. 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:42.799 And I'm like, I I appreciate this, I understand this, and I love this, but what if we just made the material accessible to everybody? 00:20:42.960 --> 00:21:08.880 Um, it's not going to remove the need for all accommodations 100% of the time, but it'll reduce the extra work that educators have to do uh if we just do that front work of making it accessible from the start by having captions, doing some talking, having a visual that also gives you a pictorial description of what's happening or what you want to happen. 00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:27.680 And for those of you out there who are like hearing problems and music degrees, I just want to remind you that Beethoven wrote his most prolific piece that has been played more than any other Beethoven piece in the I don't know, centuries while he was like fully deaf. 00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:35.680 So it is not a requirement to be hearing, to be a music creator. 00:21:36.960 --> 00:21:38.480 Very, very true. 00:21:38.799 --> 00:21:55.359 And it that that's one of the things that I've really come to enjoy is this in exploring the idea versus uh equity versus um equality and how we can get everybody to the same playing field. 00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:58.799 Because we know everybody's not the same playing field. 00:21:59.440 --> 00:22:03.200 And If it's a little bit more work on my end, so what? 00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:05.680 Everybody should have the same access. 00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:14.880 And for me, it's more important for everybody to have that access, that ease of use. 00:22:15.599 --> 00:22:21.920 So that way their experience is something that means something to them. 00:22:23.279 --> 00:22:37.279 And I want them to walk away from my classroom knowing that they can feel good about their self, that their time is well spent, and that they're enjoying that time and space. 00:22:38.400 --> 00:22:39.599 Absolutely. 00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:42.319 I really do think that education needs to be enjoyable. 00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:44.640 And I wish more people realize that it's funny. 00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:47.599 I have a middle schooler that I'm close with her mom. 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:51.680 Um and her mom sent me this video yesterday. 00:22:51.839 --> 00:22:55.039 She's like, this is the reel that my daughter sends me. 00:22:55.200 --> 00:23:21.039 And it's it's a very legit video that is about the fact that like the the school to workplace, the school to labor field um pipeline and how like educational class, like classrooms are set up to be in a specific way that are teaching you about working eight, you know, nine to five job, sitting and being compliant, all of these things. 00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:23.599 And I was joking with her mom. 00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:27.200 I was like, yes, but our school isn't that. 00:23:27.519 --> 00:23:28.960 Our school is not that. 00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:35.920 Like I can see, I can see where like if she was in that setting, like that would be super frustrating. 00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:39.680 But most of us don't have like rows like that. 00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:41.680 We're in a collaborative environment. 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:49.279 Most of our project, our work is project-based as opposed to individual, like grading you on your individual skill set and whatnot. 00:23:49.359 --> 00:24:16.720 And so it's like it's an interesting thing because um in the evolution of education, we're seeing a push right now, quite literally, by the rich, the people who benefit from the school to workforce kind of road, um, that we need to go backwards. 00:24:16.880 --> 00:24:21.759 We they don't want the CEOs coming out of these high schools and and colleges. 00:24:21.839 --> 00:24:24.319 They want they just want manual labor. 00:24:24.559 --> 00:24:34.160 And I think it's funny because they're all for the word equity when it's in reference to finance, but they are not for the word equity when it's in reference to human beings. 00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:35.920 Yeah. 00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:38.720 Very, very much. 00:24:39.279 --> 00:24:45.680 Yeah, it's it's so horrible that we think in this individualistic sense. 00:24:46.319 --> 00:25:08.319 I mean, the idea of humanity is that it's a collective experience, and we've grown so far apart from each other, and it it's by being in this environment, this is one of the few times that we get to grow together, build each other up, and we're being told that we can't do that. 00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:22.240 And so it's it's this is one of those areas that for me I struggle with and think about constantly, especially what does the future look like for education? 00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:34.720 I'm constantly thinking about, you know, this idea of if we keep growing further apart, how do I make my classroom continue to try to grow together? 00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:37.119 How do I fight back against that? 00:25:37.839 --> 00:26:07.119 And for me, what I've come to the conclusion is I'm just gonna keep showing up, I'm gonna keep trying to get better at what I do, I'm gonna keep doing all the things that I can to foster, keep fostering this environment, show students that inclusivity is helpful, it is needed, so that maybe one day we can start growing together again and working together. 00:26:08.640 --> 00:26:10.559 Yeah, I love that. 00:26:10.720 --> 00:26:24.880 I have an 18-year-old who graduated last June, and she's taking a gap year, and I just feel for her because high school wasn't great, like it wasn't fun, it wasn't exciting. 00:26:25.119 --> 00:26:31.920 It wasn't the things that you and I were talking about, and you know, the education does need it needs fun, it needs play. 00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:37.440 And lucky for us, we teach subjects where it's written right into the curriculum play. 00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:48.240 Um, and so it needs those things, and so because it didn't have any of those things, like she doesn't want to go back to school, but school is where we create our social connections. 00:26:48.400 --> 00:26:54.720 Like many of the young my friends that I still have from when I was a young adult came from school. 00:26:55.039 --> 00:27:05.279 Um and and then from school, you know, I've I've made friends along the way through work, and it's those social environments, but I don't know. 00:27:05.759 --> 00:27:15.680 I'm I'm not one to quickly blame COVID because I kind of hate when people are like, oh, COVID generation, like these these kids don't know how to communicate because of COVID. 00:27:15.839 --> 00:27:19.599 And I was like, no, it's more than that, because I think it started before then. 00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:29.359 And I'll put it to you this way like my 18, 19, and 22-year-olds barely text people, like barely text. 00:27:29.839 --> 00:27:49.039 Um, whereas my 11-year-old, who, you know, was in kindergarten when COVID happened, and so should have had this, it was during that the most impactful developmental time of her life, constantly on FaceTime, constantly texting, constantly on the phone. 00:27:49.359 --> 00:27:55.920 So I think that there was something happening before COVID and it just kind of exacerbated the problem. 00:27:56.400 --> 00:28:08.000 But we build these communities in classrooms, and it teaches people how to build community and how to connect with other people. 00:28:08.079 --> 00:28:34.799 And when we don't do these things because we're focused on compliance, um, or we are too much focused on the test or whatever the situation is, then it is it is humanity that suffers because these young humans um are not learning the social skills that they need to be able to thrive once they're forced to do it on their own. 00:28:34.880 --> 00:28:38.000 Because eventually you're gonna have to walk up and meet people by yourself. 00:28:38.240 --> 00:28:40.400 You're not gonna be stuck in a room. 00:28:40.720 --> 00:28:41.359 Yep. 00:28:41.599 --> 00:28:42.240 Yep. 00:28:42.480 --> 00:28:55.920 Yeah, it's it's that that's one of the funniest things about um my first quarter teaching is I I I had done this icebreaker and I don't remember exactly what it was. 00:28:56.960 --> 00:28:58.319 I'm trying to think back. 00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:02.640 Basically, it was a get to know each other and type icebreaker. 00:29:03.039 --> 00:29:12.160 We we it was first week or second week, and it was like, okay, so what are everybody's plans for this weekend? 00:29:12.480 --> 00:29:15.680 Oh, we've got a test, so we're just saying in. 00:29:16.799 --> 00:29:24.559 So there's no rest, no relaxation, there's no camarader com camaraderie with each other. 00:29:25.440 --> 00:29:31.599 Well, I I'm thinking this because every week it it was the same thing. 00:29:31.839 --> 00:29:34.160 Just study, study, study, study. 00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:49.200 And is it I I just ended up taking a week with the students saying, you know, let's take that moment to just connect, let's talk with each other and just find out how we're all doing. 00:29:49.680 --> 00:30:04.319 So that way we're not just stuck in this little bubble of go to class, go to our dorm room, or go wherever to the library to study and make the make it through the day. 00:30:05.359 --> 00:30:11.680 And I had one student come up to me a week or two later and was like, I really needed that. 00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:13.359 I was in a really bad place. 00:30:13.599 --> 00:30:31.119 And that moment just hit me so deeply that I'm trying to think of how to include just small moments like that throughout each each of these quarters because we're down to 10 weeks of education time and then it's on to the next set of classes. 00:30:31.519 --> 00:30:34.480 There's not a lot of time to prep. 00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:37.279 So it's it's a huge workload. 00:30:38.240 --> 00:30:47.119 And so I'm just trying to think of you know these little ideas to help students feel that they're seen. 00:30:48.559 --> 00:30:52.559 Yeah, I couldn't imagine teaching in a quarter system, to be honest. 00:30:52.720 --> 00:30:57.039 I've taught in trimesters, I've taught in semesters, I prefer semesters. 00:30:57.279 --> 00:31:06.480 Um, but like trying to get through a semester in a quarter, hats off to all of you folks who do it. 00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:10.160 I do not know how you do that, I cannot fathom. 00:31:10.319 --> 00:31:13.359 Um, but I fully support you all. 00:31:13.440 --> 00:31:18.559 And gosh, what's gonna happen next is I'll get hired at a school that teaches quarters, and the universe is be like, ha. 00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:27.599 So before we wrap up, I do want to find out what's bringing you queer joy right now. 00:31:29.039 --> 00:31:36.079 Oh gosh, I I am reading this wonderful book called Queering Italian Media right now. 00:31:36.640 --> 00:31:44.400 This book is all about just queer representation, the challenges with queer representation and Italian media. 00:31:44.720 --> 00:31:54.640 And it's so good because it's it's right in my field of research, and it's nice to just have a book to relax with. 00:31:55.759 --> 00:32:01.680 Not even use it for my research at the moment, but just think about, you know, what does it mean? 00:32:01.920 --> 00:32:13.839 What are these how how is queerness represented it represented in TV, song, dance in in an area where I'm not fully ingrained? 00:32:14.079 --> 00:32:23.359 And so between that, finding joy through my own voice and coming back to singing, uh, that's been a huge joy for me. 00:32:23.519 --> 00:32:35.680 So just a couple things, just keeping me grounded and trying to stay in the realm of reality while doing coursework and teaching. 00:32:35.759 --> 00:32:37.119 It's it's a lot. 00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:38.480 Yeah, absolutely. 00:32:38.640 --> 00:33:03.039 I do want to put a plug out there to trans people and non-binary folks, especially if you you are um on HRT or doing any kind of hormone uh therapy, voice lessons, even if you're not a singer, take a couple voice lessons to learn how to support your voice, because one of the things I've noticed is just how quickly your voice can go. 00:33:03.920 --> 00:33:15.920 Um if you're trying to use your instrument the way you've used it your whole life, but then you change a component through the hormones, there's expansions and growth that happen. 00:33:16.160 --> 00:33:27.200 Like just a couple of voice lessons to learn how to foundationally support your voice will go a long way in helping you speak, even if you don't want to be a professional singer. 00:33:27.359 --> 00:33:41.359 Most people don't want to be a professional singer, but take a few voice lessons because I I do think that it's a valuable tool, um, especially as you're transitioning, to keep your voice strong because your voice deserves to be heard. 00:33:41.680 --> 00:33:57.920 And I would hate for you to have the experience of being silenced because of um of you losing your voice once you've like fully blossomed into the wonderful human being that you are. 00:33:58.079 --> 00:34:04.559 So sorry to derail that, but I just want to put a little shout out that like there's so much importance in your voice. 00:34:04.720 --> 00:34:08.159 Like, if you can take a couple voice lessons. 00:34:08.320 --> 00:34:18.239 I know that there are trans voice educators who are giving voice lessons uh out, like they have scholarships for students to who are transitioning and stuff like that. 00:34:18.400 --> 00:34:28.320 Like find the tools that you need to keep yourself going because um when you align body and voice is so powerful. 00:34:28.559 --> 00:34:38.000 And I believe that in every person, like when your body and your voice fully connect, you are the most powerful part, like you are the most powerful being you can be. 00:34:38.400 --> 00:34:46.800 Um, with that being said, what do you think it is that um queer educators need to hear right now in this moment? 00:34:46.960 --> 00:34:49.760 This is your opportunity for final thoughts. 00:34:50.719 --> 00:34:57.679 Final thought would be take a breath, let the stress leave your body. 00:34:58.480 --> 00:34:59.760 You are seen. 00:35:00.400 --> 00:35:02.400 Show up to the classroom. 00:35:02.880 --> 00:35:07.440 It's a tough fight, but remember that breath. 00:35:07.920 --> 00:35:10.239 You're still breathing, you're still here. 00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:16.880 Thank you for being a part of Queering Education. 00:35:16.960 --> 00:35:19.440 This is a Teaching Well Queer podcast. 00:35:19.599 --> 00:35:24.639 Take what you need from this conversation and bring it back into your classroom and your students. 00:35:24.800 --> 00:35:26.239 I'm Brian Stanton. 00:35:26.400 --> 00:35:29.280 Until next time, keep showing up.