Teach Out Project Proposal

 CHOOSE A TEXT:

Review your whole blog to remind yourself about what we have read so far in class. What texts have stayed with you so far? What articles inspire you?  What topic matters most to you in terms of your own work? Are there any of these texts that you would like to share with others in your life? 

The sex and gender based systems articles really stuck out to me the most and is the theme I am choosing for my project. It was really interesting to read about RIDE and PPSD's policies on LGBTQ+ issues in education as well as read the articles "Queering Our Schools" and "Being There For Nonbinary Youth" as these felt the most personal to my life and journey with educational attainment. I really appreciated the stance that queer identities have to be integrated and protected within the classroom. 

WHO DO YOU WANT TO SHARE WITH?

Are there people in your life with whom you would really like to talk about these texts? Colleagues? Students? Family members? Friends? Children?

After the most recent class where we discussed this topic, I got pretty vulnerable about an experience I had in high school that was related to a policy surrounding gender. This made me realize I would like to further explore and research the policies put in place from the public school district in the town I was raised in and use the arguments presented in the articles to argue that the field trip lodging policy is not inclusive for gender non conforming students. I know that at the bare minimum I could have a conversation with my aunt who is a Board of Education member from my town. I would love to open up to her about this experience I had and the struggles that I and other queer youth have faced/currently face in school and see if this could warrant any policy change at the local level. 

WHAT FORMAT MIGHT WORK FOR YOU?

Individual interview? Small group discussion? Art activity? Professional development workshop? Poster for your office? Pamphlet to share? Lesson plan? Etc?

To start, I would like to have an individual interview with my aunt to discuss LGBTQ+ issues in education at broad and how they are viewed in the town I grew up in. I would urge my aunt to address these issues at a Board of Education meeting. After this conversation, I would like to see if it would be possible to have a conversation with the Principal of the high school and Superintendent of the school district I attended to see what their opinions are and if they could influence a policy change. This is conditional as to whether the policy has been updated (I haven't researched it yet) and whether the conversation with my aunt is sufficient enough for the project.