How can we begin to address the ways in which the systems that we teach our curriculum are homophobic, transphobic, biphobic, and oppressive towards queen and trans people? The most obvious answer is education; we must first become aware of and then understand those ways in order to change them. Understanding how the curriculum was initially developed to be oppressing, and seeing where it is still oppressive is an important first step. I belive that identifying the ways in which our curriculum is oppressive includes discussion with queer students and teachers. While it is our responsibility to examine our own practices and make our curriculum more inclusive, discussion is essential to help us ensure that our practices adapt for the better. 

What does integrating queerness into curriculum studies mean to me; what will it look, sound, and feel like in my classroom? Queerness in curriculum is more than just considering LGBQT+ people, it is also about the ways in which education seems “stuck”. For example, one person speaking at the front to a group of students in rows who take notes is considered normal, but is not always the best practice. In my classroom, queering the curriculum can also include having classes outside, having student discussion, and incorporating more projects or assignments that focus on bigger-picture learning and perhaps fewer exams. I will (hopefully) be teaching science; in my classroom, it will be important to discuss the contributions to science made by the people who are not often acknowledged: women, people of colour, and queer and trans people. By making these people important in my classroom, my students will have a better understanding and acceptance of queerness in the world and in science.

Which rule/discourse should the teacher follow: providing the duty of care for all students, or maintaining a classroom free from any notion of sexuality? I think that the classroom being free of sexuality dismisses the identities of our students. Ignoring something like that won’t make any of the difficulties of queering the curriculum go away, and will lead to further oppression and marginalization of queer students. Ignoring any notion of sexuality can also create an atmosphere of intolerance and would not promote ally-ship. While providing the duty of care for all students can be a difficult task, it is important to at least try to do so. One of the main reasons we are becoming educators is to help foster new generations and prepare them for the world; the world is not free of any notion of sexuality, and the classroom should not be free of it either.