I began working for the charter district I currently serve five years ago. Since then, my views on education have transformed radically.
I began teaching in order to give to a community that I was removed from and had no personal connection to. My values were limited and self-concerned and it manifested in my teaching. Over time, I’ve come to view teaching primarily as healing through critical and imaginative thought; thinking that could reestablish systems that serve students who are perpetually marginalized and minimized for their test scores/access to resources.
Therefore, I’m trying to be the teacher I needed and had to become for myself. As a trans person, it’s imperative that queer students at my school have safe space, access to healthcare, and a plan after high school. I need them to know their lives are valuable and that they will not be filled with struggle alone. This happens through my pedagogy, but it mainly happens in hallways and talks at lunchtime. I need to be available for them in the ways that I needed an adult to show up.
