Post #10 – Homophobia, Transphobia, Biphobia and Oppressive Teachings in our Curriculum and Pedagogy

How might we begin to address how the systems we teach our curriculum are intrinsically homophobic, transphobic, biphobic and oppressive towards queer and trans people?

As teachers and often the only adult in the classroom, we play the biggest role in creating a welcoming environment for all of our students. A part of this is addressing homophobia and oppressive ideas in our teaching, pedagogy, and curriculum. First, I believe there needs to be more conversations, including the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Putting an emphasis on positive and correct language use is also important. We also need to include more positive representation and role models in our classrooms of 2SLGBTQIA+ people. Having conversations and positive representation lets students know that their sexuality and gender are okay. It can help students feel comfortable being themselves and let them know every aspect of their identity is okay and welcome. Although this does not fix the problem, it is a start to creating a better environment. Addressing homophobia, transphobia, biphobia and oppressive teachings in our curriculum and pedagogy is a huge task and will not change quickly. It will be a long process involving many changes, reflecting, and reconsidering. As a future Educator, I will play a role in this journey to make education more inclusive for everyone.