Do YOU have a story to tell about your teaching job made more challenging by the increase in far-right extremism?
If so – please keep reading!
I retired a year ago (June of 2021), after 32 years of teaching mostly 3rd and 4th in a Title I public elementary school in the Bay Area. I’m also a writer, and am formulating an idea for a new writing project about the current reality of teaching in CA public schools.
My school was just a few blocks from the public library where Proud Boys stormed in (June, 2022) and disrupted “Drag Queen Story Hour,” a Pride Month library event for little kids and their parents. This really hit home. Some of my former students were likely there when it happened.
But I still don’t feel finished. The intruders spoke of the need to protect children, and I can’t stop thinking about how people on opposite sides of the “protection divide” have different ideas about which kids need to be protected, and what they need to be protected from.
The forces of far-right extremism are squeezing educators, and public education. Between book-banning, a muzzling of teachers in discussing LGBTQ+ issues, and the efforts to whitewash history and stop teaching about systemic racism in the U.S., far-right forces are making an already difficult job nearly impossible. They're increasingly blurring the line separating Church and State. In some areas of California, far-right candidates are winning school board elections. There have been incidents of harassment of some of California’s LGBTQ+ teachers. Our state is not immune.
Yet—teachers still must teach actual children, some of whom are LGBTQ+, children of color, Muslim/other non-Christian, immigrants, non-English-speakers, etc. That tension is what I want to explore, and to write about.
So, I want to drive all around California, and interview teachers (only public schools—no charter or private) who have experienced this tension of the “protection divide” in their work as an educator. I'm looking for teachers— or people who left teaching—who have a story to tell.
I want to interview teachers in every corner of our state. To people of color, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, differently-abled teachers, etc. – your voices are particularly welcomed.
Does this intrigue you? Do you have a story to tell? Hit the “Contact” tab and send me a note!
Here’s what you can expect from me, if you’re interested:
Here are some links to a few pieces of my writing that can give you a sense of my writer’s voice, and my perspective.
All the White People
*About our third-grade classroom discussion (mostly children of color, and lots of immigrants) the morning after the 2016 Presidential election.
Shithead
(Most but not all of this piece is here. The conclusion is behind a pay wall.)
*About how all teachers are shitheads. We constantly fail because the expectations are so out of control.
All Children Deserve Protection—Not Just Straight, White, Cisgender Kids
*Op-Ed in SF Chronicle about Proud Boys invading Drag Queen Story Hour at a local library
Blog Post – “Back-to-School Edition”
*Visiting kids at their homes at start of ’20-’21 school year of distance teaching. Good sample of how I write about kids.
Prompts that might spark your memory of a "protection divide" story:
As a teacher in California, you have likely experienced this tension of the “protection divide” to some degree, a tension that has spread like a California wildfire across many areas of the U.S.
If, after reading all of this, you’re interested in being interviewed by me, please hit the “Contact” tab, and send me a note! I’ll get back to you promptly.
To those who are currently teaching—hope your year is going well!
Sue Granzella
If so – please keep reading!
I retired a year ago (June of 2021), after 32 years of teaching mostly 3rd and 4th in a Title I public elementary school in the Bay Area. I’m also a writer, and am formulating an idea for a new writing project about the current reality of teaching in CA public schools.
My school was just a few blocks from the public library where Proud Boys stormed in (June, 2022) and disrupted “Drag Queen Story Hour,” a Pride Month library event for little kids and their parents. This really hit home. Some of my former students were likely there when it happened.
- Within a few days of the event, I held a one-woman demonstration at the library. Then I wrote a blog post about a traumatized lesbian librarian I met there. Finally, I had an Op-Ed published in the San Francisco Chronicle, entitled “All Children Deserve Protection – Not Just Straight, White, Cisgender Kids.” (Click HERE to read it.)
But I still don’t feel finished. The intruders spoke of the need to protect children, and I can’t stop thinking about how people on opposite sides of the “protection divide” have different ideas about which kids need to be protected, and what they need to be protected from.
The forces of far-right extremism are squeezing educators, and public education. Between book-banning, a muzzling of teachers in discussing LGBTQ+ issues, and the efforts to whitewash history and stop teaching about systemic racism in the U.S., far-right forces are making an already difficult job nearly impossible. They're increasingly blurring the line separating Church and State. In some areas of California, far-right candidates are winning school board elections. There have been incidents of harassment of some of California’s LGBTQ+ teachers. Our state is not immune.
Yet—teachers still must teach actual children, some of whom are LGBTQ+, children of color, Muslim/other non-Christian, immigrants, non-English-speakers, etc. That tension is what I want to explore, and to write about.
So, I want to drive all around California, and interview teachers (only public schools—no charter or private) who have experienced this tension of the “protection divide” in their work as an educator. I'm looking for teachers— or people who left teaching—who have a story to tell.
I want to interview teachers in every corner of our state. To people of color, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, differently-abled teachers, etc. – your voices are particularly welcomed.
Does this intrigue you? Do you have a story to tell? Hit the “Contact” tab and send me a note!
Here’s what you can expect from me, if you’re interested:
- I WILL ABSOLUTELY NOT USE ANY INFORMATION I LEARN ABOUT YOU AS A “GOTCHA.”
- I will travel to YOU, working around your schedule.
- I will observe whatever Covid protocols you wish. I want you to feel safe.
- According to your preference, I will use either your real name, or an alias.
- Unless you prefer that I do, I won’t reveal your school district in the writing; I will refer to the geographic area very generally.
- I would love to meet on your turf – whether that’s in your classroom, on your front porch, etc. But if you prefer to meet in a public place, I’ll come up with something outdoors, and relatively private.
- If we meet at a place that sells food/drink, I pick up the check. 😊
- I will interview you at least once, and will ask for your permission to contact you later if I have more questions.
- I hope that you will allow me to record your words (I have arthritis in my hand, so writing isn’t comfortable), but will respect your desires if you ask that I take notes only by hand.
- There is no guarantee that I will include (in the finished writing) the stories/info from every single person I interview. I want to remain open to the direction that the interviews lead me. If your story fits in the ultimate direction of my compiled writing, it’ll be included.
- I will answer any questions about myself that you need me to answer in order to feel comfortable talking with me.
Here are some links to a few pieces of my writing that can give you a sense of my writer’s voice, and my perspective.
All the White People
*About our third-grade classroom discussion (mostly children of color, and lots of immigrants) the morning after the 2016 Presidential election.
Shithead
(Most but not all of this piece is here. The conclusion is behind a pay wall.)
*About how all teachers are shitheads. We constantly fail because the expectations are so out of control.
All Children Deserve Protection—Not Just Straight, White, Cisgender Kids
*Op-Ed in SF Chronicle about Proud Boys invading Drag Queen Story Hour at a local library
Blog Post – “Back-to-School Edition”
*Visiting kids at their homes at start of ’20-’21 school year of distance teaching. Good sample of how I write about kids.
Prompts that might spark your memory of a "protection divide" story:
As a teacher in California, you have likely experienced this tension of the “protection divide” to some degree, a tension that has spread like a California wildfire across many areas of the U.S.
- Perhaps you’ve faced criticism or have been disciplined for openly supporting LGBTQ+ students.
- Perhaps your honest classroom discussions about race have made your school or district admin uncomfortable.
- Maybe you’ve openly supported religious inclusivity, and had parents of a dominant religion complain about your support of diversity.
- Maybe you—like I—have dealt with backlash from parents after reading a picture book to your students about two male penguins who bonded as a couple.
- Perhaps you’ve felt pressured to omit necessary-and-uncomfortable topics during Black History Month.
- Maybe you’ve stood up for immigrant children and/or children learning English, and have been challenged for your actions.
- Maybe you’ve been directed to use “traditional pronouns” for a child who prefers other pronouns.
- Maybe you’ve been scorned for speaking up against ableism, sexism, etc.
- Maybe you are nervous about reading a book that has been banned in some states.
- Maybe you’ve noticed increasing intolerance over the years in the feedback you get from your school community.
- Maybe, for these reasons or for others, you have fear of being targeted for your actions as a teacher, for doing the hard work of educating young people in academics, and in social-emotional learning.
If, after reading all of this, you’re interested in being interviewed by me, please hit the “Contact” tab, and send me a note! I’ll get back to you promptly.
To those who are currently teaching—hope your year is going well!
Sue Granzella
