queering our schools

 Reading “Queering Our Schools” really drives home how deeply education shapes the way young people learn to see both themselves and others. The article highlights that even as society becomes more accepting, schools still carry invisible walls that make it hard for queer students and teachers to feel safe or seen. What stood out most is how the writers connect community and empathy to real youth development—showing that when students are encouraged to express who they are, they grow not just academically but emotionally and socially. Queer studies plays a huge role in this because it asks us to question the systems that define what’s considered “normal” and whose stories get told. When teachers understand this, they can create classrooms that don’t just tolerate difference but celebrate it. It’s not only about protecting queer youth from harm, but also about teaching every student that diversity isn’t something to manage—it’s something to learn from. The same goes for teachers themselves, if educators can’t be open about their identities, how can they model authenticity and acceptance for their students? Making space for queer perspectives in schools is ultimately about shaping a generation that sees empathy, inclusion, and justice as everyday practices, not exceptions.

Reading “Queering Our Schools” really connects to what we’ve been doing in my queer studies class this semester. The class has taught me that queerness isn’t only about sexuality, it’s about identity, perception, and understanding how different experiences shape the way people see the world. The article talks about how schools should be spaces where every student and teacher can feel safe being their full selves, which ties directly into youth development and how identity forms early on. It made me think about my Mean Girls project, where I’m creating a “Turn Book” instead of a Burn Book to flip societal norms and look at the movie through a new lens. For me, queering Mean Girls doesn’t mean focusing just on sexuality, it means going beneath the surface and seeing how gender, power, and conformity affect each character differently. Both the article and this project make me realize that queering something is really about opening your perspective, understanding that not everything has one right answer, and learning to see through experiences beyond your own.