To address the intrinsically homophonic, transphobic, biphobic and oppressive ways systems are taught within our curriculum we as an education community need to teach ourselves and understand the importance of queering the curriculum. We need to be leaders, advocates and allies. As Heather Sykes states in her article, “Repopulating curriculum studies, for me, means that the privileged voices (and violences) of White heteronormativity need to seek anticolonial, ethical encounters”. She brings up what is a huge barrier to queering the curriculum, whiteness. To progress into an inclusive curriculum, white privilege needs to be openly acknowledged and challenged in our everyday common sense practices. Conversations involving students, teachers, administration and school boards can actively keep queering the curriculum a priority and dismantling the systems that do not aid the progression of it.

Integrating queerness into curriculum studies for me means inclusion. Living through and by inclusion in practices, classrooms, teachings, curriculum and life. It is also about acceptance and support to each individual who enters my inclusive space. It will look different in each dynamic of students, but changing common sense practices like sitting in rows, lecture style teaching, etc; must be to avoid in order to create a positive space and queer curriculum. Integrating queerness will sound loud in the classroom. Jacq kept highlighting in their lecture queering the curriculum is disruptive and challenges the norm. So, disruptive behaviours are far from sitting in a desk and listening to the teacher talk up front, it is screaming for change. 

I think there is a balance between care and maintaining a classroom free from any notion of sexuality. Maintaining a classroom free from any notion of sexuality in turn demonstrates care. It is stated, “Care is not only a core value of the profession, it is infused in a teacher’s identity”, which means teachers are going to care regardless and can continue to dismantle sexuality notions. It is stated, “School standards of silence, omission, and the lack of curricular representations of LGBT lives are institutional failures to care”. Queering the curriculum is uncomfortable. But, by changing equal care to equitable care to support queer students and queer the classroom. In the big picture, the teacher fulfills caring by making the classroom more inclusive and open to caring for everyone. And this can all be done while challenging gender and sexuality norms.

Deepening The Discussion: Gender and Sexual Diversity (2015). Saskatchewan Ministry of Education.

Heather Sykes (2011) Queering Curriculum Studies, Journal of Curriculum and
Pedagogy, 8:1, 29-31, DOI: 10.1080/15505170.2011.572517

Karleen Pendleton Jiménez (2009) Queering classrooms, curricula, and care:
stories from those who dare, Sex Education, 9:2, 169-179, DOI: 10.1080/14681810902829638