PTI Presents at Decolonizing Education Conference

This past weekend, several members of the Proud Teacher Initiative presented a workshop at the Decolonizing Education Conference, which was organized by the Metropolitan Center for Research and Equity and the Transformation of School at NYU. The workshop was an interactive format, with opportunities for participants to reflect on their role models within their school experiences, learn about the research on queer educators in the U.S. and then role play scenarios about supporting an LGBTQ+ educator around self-disclosure within their school communities.

The workshop was attended by roughly 25-30 conference participants, and was the only workshop in a two-day conference that highlighted the unique experiences of LGBTQ+ educators. Many participants reflected that they had never had the opportunity to reflect on the importance of LGBTQ+ role models in schools, and began dialogue with themselves and other educators about including these educators in the recent conversation around the importance of representation within school communities.

Bringing these important questions to the conference format is a key aspect of the Proud Teacher Initiative’s Research and Advocacy Project. We know that the dialogue we can create in these venues of thoughtful educators will ripple out within the NYC educator community and beyond.