This year, queer educators didn’t just survive — we built something that can outlast the moment. 🌈 In this reflective solo episode, host Bryan Stanton (they/them) revisits the major themes that shaped 2025 for LGBTQ+ teachers: quiet resistance, authentic storytelling, and the radical act of joy. From the Teaching While Queer Educators Conference to episodes that redefined advocacy, Bryan invites listeners to pause, reflect, and name the impact they’ve made — even when no one was watching.

This episode is for every LGBTQ+ educator, school counselor, or ally who needs a reminder that strategy and community—not perfection—are what sustain us.

You’ll learn:

• How “quiet power” became a model for queer resistance in 2025
• Why self-care isn’t enough — and what true institutional support looks like
• The revolutionary lessons from the Teaching While Queer Educators Conference
• How storytelling is strategy, not an afterthought
• Why joy is a professional and political act

About Our Host:

Bryan Stanton (they/them) is the founder and host of Teaching While Queer, an educator, theatre artist, and advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusion in schools. Their work centers on helping educators find sustainable, justice-rooted ways to show up fully—without erasing themselves in the process.

Call to Action:

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts

💬 Share this episode with one educator who needs it

🖥️ Visit teachingwhilequeer.org

📱 Follow @TeachingWhileQueer

Keywords: queer educators, LGBTQ teachers, inclusive classrooms, quiet resistance, teacher burnout, queer storytelling, educator community, queer joy in education

Support the podcast and spread the message with merch from Equalitees.Me!

This podcast explores the challenges and successes of queer representation in education, tackling topics like burnout, tokenism, doxing, and the role of advocacy in building inclusive classrooms, safe spaces, and anti-bullying strategies. It centers support for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, asexual, aromantic, agender, two-spirit, and non-binary teachers, and addresses how gender identity in schools can be honored to combat isolation and foster community.

The podcast explores the challenges and successes of Queer representation in education, addressing issues such as burnout, tokenism, doxing, and the importance of advocacy in creating inclusive classrooms, safe spaces, and anti-bullying strategies, with a focus on supporting gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, asexual, aromantic, agender, two-spirit, and non-binary teachers and gender identity in schools to combat the feeling of isolation and lack of community.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is for educators — especially queer teachers, principals, and school leaders — who care deeply about real inclusion and belonging. Bryan Stanton (they/them) unpacks how well-intentioned “inclusive” classroom practices often end up reinforcing Christian dominance, sidelining Jewish, Muslim, Pagan, and secular families. Together, we’ll examine how public schools perpetuate cultural erasure under the banner of “neutrality,” and what authentic pluralism can look like in action.

You’ll Learn:

• How “inclusive” school traditions often reinforce Christian cultural norms
• Why neutrality isn’t neutral — and how law, culture, and faith intersect in public schools
• What exclusion looks like for Jewish, Muslim, Pagan, and secular students
• How queer educators can model pluralistic inclusion rooted in justice and empathy
• Concrete strategies for creating classrooms that honor all identities and beliefs

Call to Action:

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts

💬 Subscribe & leave a review to support queer educators

🌐 Visit teachingwhilequeer.org

📱 Follow @TeachingWhileQueer

Support the podcast and spread the message with merch from Equalitees.Me!

Keywords: inclusive education, queer educators, religious diversity in schools, pluralism in classrooms, decolonizing education, Christian dominance in schools, LGBTQ teachers, holiday inclusion

This podcast explores the challenges and successes of queer representation in education, tackling topics like burnout, tokenism, doxing, and the role of advocacy in building inclusive classrooms, safe spaces, and anti-bullying strategies. It centers support for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, asexual, aromantic, agender, two-spirit, and non-binary teachers, and addresses how gender identity in schools can be honored to combat isolation and foster community.

The podcast explores the challenges and successes of Queer representation in education, addressing issues such as burnout, tokenism, doxing, and the importance of advocacy in creating inclusive classrooms, safe spaces, and anti-bullying strategies, with a focus on supporting gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, asexual, aromantic, agender, two-spirit, and non-binary teachers and gender identity in schools to combat the feeling of isolation and lack of community.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For music and performing arts educators striving to create affirming spaces for every student — this episode is for you. Bryan (they/them) sits down with Dr. Justin Caithaml) (they/them), Assistant Professor of Music Education at the University of Bridgeport, to explore how gender, sexuality, and policy intersect in the music classroom. Together, they unpack how queer educators can balance authenticity, safety, and advocacy — both for themselves and their students.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to design inclusive classroom “policies” — from pronouns to physical space to performance practices
• Why separating imagined harm from actual harm matters for LGBTQ+ policy decisions
• Ways administrators can better protect and empower queer educators
• How music and theatre can model gender expansiveness and disrupt harmful binaries
• Why “being bold” and visible creates space for the next generation of queer educators
• 
  

About Our Guest:

🎵 Dr. Justin Caithaml (they/them) is an Assistant Professor of Music & Music Education at the University of Bridgeport. A nonbinary and bisexual scholar, their research explores the intersections of gender, sexuality, discourse, and policy in music education. Their work advocates for affirming practices that allow both teachers and students to thrive authentically within educational systems.

Listen & Connect:

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts

💌 Subscribe and leave a review to support queer educator storytelling

🌐 Visit teachingwhilequeer.org

📱 Follow @TeachingWhileQueer

🛍 Support the podcast and spread the message with merch from Equalitees.Me!

• Book: Honoring Trans and Gender Expansive Students in Music Education by Joshua Palkki & Matthew Garrett
• Book: Who’s Afraid of Gender? by Judith Butler (2024)
• Article: Jones, Hard and Soft Policies in Music Education
• Dr. Caithaml’s Research: University of Bridgeport Faculty Page

queer music education, inclusive classrooms, LGBTQ teachers, gender-affirming schools, performing arts equity, nonbinary educators, educational policy reform

This podcast explores the challenges and successes of queer representation in education, tackling topics like burnout, tokenism, doxing, and the role of advocacy in building inclusive classrooms, safe spaces, and anti-bullying strategies. It centers support for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, asexual, aromantic, agender, two-spirit, and non-binary teachers, and addresses how gender identity in schools can be honored to combat isolation and foster community.

The podcast explores the challenges and successes of Queer representation in education, addressing issues such as burnout, tokenism, doxing, and the importance of advocacy in creating inclusive classrooms, safe spaces, and anti-bullying strategies, with a focus on supporting gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, asexual, aromantic, agender, two-spirit, and non-binary teachers and gender identity in schools to combat the feeling of isolation and lack of community.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.