Impromptu Questions and Discussions Related to Queerness
These events were unplanned and occurred in varying degrees throughout the year. Sometimes they came in one-on-one or small group conversations, although twice they became whole-class discussions. These sudden events, which were often stressful to manage as educator and facilitator, were some of the most revealing events related to understanding how students view queerness. Some students were surprisingly candid in sharing their beliefs and asking honest questions (January 31). These events demonstrated that many of my students are willing to learn about queer identities, if only they are given the educational space to do so.
These conversations also introduced the complexities of teacher positionality when trying to convince students to rethink the ways they conceptualize queerness. There were some instances where students explicitly shared that they speak or think a certain way because that’s how they were raised, implying that there would be no way for me, their white teacher, to understand that (March 1). Being able to recognize and respond to these declarations of difference was certainly a challenge. I found it was valuable to recognize that heteronormativity is not exclusive to communities of color, but part of the world everyone lives in today. However, finding ways to express that to students was difficult.
These situations also required a certain level of vulnerability as a teacher in ways that challenged me. Although there was never a time where I came out to an entire class, there were moments of sharing my personal perspective that felt very close to doing so. In retrospect, I think the level of closeness I brought to these conversations was appropriate and productive, but it did require a good deal of emotional labor.
These conversations also introduced the complexities of teacher positionality when trying to convince students to rethink the ways they conceptualize queerness. There were some instances where students explicitly shared that they speak or think a certain way because that’s how they were raised, implying that there would be no way for me, their white teacher, to understand that (March 1). Being able to recognize and respond to these declarations of difference was certainly a challenge. I found it was valuable to recognize that heteronormativity is not exclusive to communities of color, but part of the world everyone lives in today. However, finding ways to express that to students was difficult.
These situations also required a certain level of vulnerability as a teacher in ways that challenged me. Although there was never a time where I came out to an entire class, there were moments of sharing my personal perspective that felt very close to doing so. In retrospect, I think the level of closeness I brought to these conversations was appropriate and productive, but it did require a good deal of emotional labor.