With greater awareness of gender identity from toddlers to teens comes the responsibility of the people in their lives to recognize, honor, and celebrate these unique differences anywhere—and everywhere. With this sentiment in mind, PW spoke with three educators about some of the ways they’re creating gender inclusive classrooms and libraries where all feel welcome.
Sarah Armstrong is a reading specialist at Overlook Primary School in Duchess Court, N.Y., where gender inclusion starts with a sign that greets everyone who walks through the doors. “The sign’s message is taken from a comment that a student made the year prior and states, ‘We are professional kids who are good at stuff,’ ” Armstrong said, “So, when students come into my classroom or go anywhere in the school, they know that they are readers, writers, thinkers, mathematicians, and all kinds of things that are not gendered words.”
Armstrong believes that taking the binary out of academics is crucial. “If we give kids space to be just who they are—without telling them who they are—they can grow into these things in their own way.” Her district’s equity and equality professional development (which began with race implicit bias work) includes gender inclusion and involves everyone from the administration, classroom teachers, and assistant teachers to support staff and bus drivers. The result is a real pivot in thinking—and doing.
“We’re all undertaking a mind shift in order to treat our children as people regardless of whatever casing that they are in,” Armstrong said. “It’s a transformative approach: they’re learners, and they’re here to do their jobs as learners.”
Armstrong is a learner, too, and mindful of ways she can improve in all areas of gender inclusion. A paramount shift in her thinking occurred when she was addressing a student during a lesson.
“It happened in a Zoom class during the pandemic, when I said to a student, ‘Okay, girly...’ and she said to me, “Don’t call me ‘girly.’ I’m not comfortable with that. Call me by my name,’ ” Armstrong said. “And this really got me thinking about how labels can be dangerous—and limiting. If an 11-year-old can recognize something like this, then I think we all need to honor that.”
Armstrong has also become more aware of how she promotes reading for students across genders. “We have to stress and model that reading isn’t just for girls—that it’s also for boys,” Armstrong said. So, while presenting books, she makes sure to show titles that are representative of all genders in both fiction and nonfiction. “For example, it’s a title on firefighters—not firemen—and nurses and doctors are both men and women. This opens up options for everyone.”
This increased awareness has even impacted the colors in her classroom. “In primary ages, some may think pink is for girls—and blue is for boys. But when we take these options out—the kids gravitate to everything.”
Armstrong also asks questions about previously held gender beliefs. “At first, it was like, ‘That’s a girl color or that’s a boy color,’ and I’d say, ‘Let’s talk about that—and why is that so?’ ” Armstrong said, “My hair is blue—so my hair is boy hair? We have purposeful conversations about the whys and how we all have different ones—and we celebrate them.”
Ultimately, Armstrong believes the small steps they’re taking can help make big changes in their learners. “If we don’t put labels on them—there are no limits.”
Veteran teacher, librarian, and Ph.D candidate Kristine Wilber is also committed to creating a safe and comfortable space at Mather High School in Chicago for all who enter her library. This is especially true for her students who are exploring and/or questioning their gender identities.
She works towards facilitating greater gender inclusion by curating a book collection that is constantly weeded and updated with titles that closely reflect her students’ identities, interests, and today’s expansive YA literature. “It’s an amazing time to be alive for YA lit—because there are so many titles that feature characters who are gender fluid, non-binary, queer, or undecided,” Wilber said. “And these titles don’t make queerness the center of the plot or an issue to be settled in the text. The literature reflects queerness as part of normal everyday life!”
Wilber takes the time to get to know her students’ particular needs and interests, to better help get the right books in the right hands at the right time. “Given the easy and comfortable mood of our library space, this allows kids to talk to me and to develop a more familiar relationship than might be in a more structured classroom.” Within these idyllic surroundings free from the stressors of homework, tests, and grades, Wilber finds that her students are more comfortable to talk to her about gender.
“They start pretty shyly at first when asking about books. Kids will ask me for ‘boys dating boys’ or ‘girls dating girls’ books,” Wilber said. “We’ll talk at checkout about a particular title. And then I’ll see them in the library with ‘their person’ who they’re talking to or dating, and it becomes an okay thing in the library—but maybe, not in the hallways or in their regular classrooms.”
Wilber believes that by tying LGBTQ+ book choices with conversations about them helps her students navigate adolescence and lets them feel less different and alone. “During adolescence, kids feel so unique and like ‘I’m the only one [who]... fill in the blank,’ ” Wilber said. “It can be very stressful and isolating, particularly for students who are evolving in terms of their gender identity, and this can turn into gigantic feelings of otherness.”
Moreover, Wilber sees first-hand the changes in her students when they read a book with queer characters living everyday lives—and succeeding—and can talk about the characters and themselves. “As Fred Rogers said, ‘If it’s mentionable, it’s manageable,’ ” Wilber said. “If you talk about it, it’s going to be okay. I think books help kids find the language to speak about their experience and normalization happens.”
It is Wilber’s hope that this language and experience can extend to her students’ writing, too. Inspired by her dissertation in progress, “Writing to Gather; Gathering to Write,” she hopes to start a student-run writing center that will foster greater compassion and fair treatment for the LGBTQ+ community in her school—and the world. “To quote bell hooks,” Wilber said, “Without justice, there can be no love.”
Mary Greenlee is a fifth-grade teacher at Carpenter Community Charter in Studio City, Calif., a town with ties to the television and movie industry that launched many actors into the Hollywood spotlight. However, the only stars Greenlee is interested in are her students, and she places the spotlight on her gender inclusive classroom, where all of her students can shine. “I don’t think that I’m doing anything special or impressive,” Greenlee said. “I’m just doing what’s important, necessary, and part of being a good human for my students.”
To do this, Greenlee combined equal parts kindness, care, and what she could apply from her district’s anti-bias/implicit bias training and started by focusing on gender inclusive language. “For example, I try not to say ‘you guys’ or ‘ladies and gentlemen,’ or ‘boys and girls.’ We use ‘students’ or ‘scholars,’ ” Greenlee said. “I also try not to use any language that’s separating or portioning of students—and there’s no dichotomy in my classroom. There are no ‘boy vs. girls’ teams either.”
These gender inclusive nuances can also be found in her instruction. A National Board-certified STEM teacher, Greenlee earned her master’s degree in STEM curriculum, with an emphasis on leveling the playing field across genders. Her final masters’ project looked at gender differences in math and science education. “It was about the self-efficacy of girls plummeting after third grade, and their subsequent disengagement.”
As a result, Greenlee discovered a renewed passion for STEM in herself, and devised ways to elevate her instruction to help all of her students engage and excel in science. “The best way to do this is to teach great science lessons that get kids excited!” Greenlee said. “These include science labs and ‘team collabs’ that are interesting and accessible to all. I want everybody to have a chance to succeed—and to feel welcome.”
This extends to students exploring and affirming their gender identities through their names and pronouns, bathroom preferences, and by Greenlee honoring their individual needs and interests. It has also created a comfortable space where students can set their own agendas as to who they want to be.
One of Greenlee’s past students who was non-binary felt confident enough at year’s end to present a project about Pride Month to the class. “They created a PowerPoint to tell us all about the celebration and the different categories of LGBTQIA,” Greenlee said. “Honestly, their presentation taught me a few things.”
Greenlee believes on-going training and learning about gender is crucial for all educators, and the world we all live in. “Gender has always been important to me, but it wasn’t always on my radar,” she said. “But, today, I believe we all have to be more mindful because our kids are freer to explore their gender identity—and they’re more assertive about it.”
They also answer the age-old question of “What do you want to be when you grow up?” in an entirely different way. “They’re saying, ‘I think I’m this person—and I want to be this person—and I have an affinity to this group or this person,’ ” Greenlee said. “I think this is both dear... and important.”
While Greenlee isn’t always exactly sure how to help guide her students with their answers, she’s committed to learning together, and acknowledging and celebrating their differences as “additions—not deficits.” She trusts that other educators in her students’ paths will do the same. “You don’t have to be a great teacher to recognize kids for their gifts—and their goodness—their humanness... and to let them know: ‘I see you, I love you. Let’s see what you got... and I can help you a little bit!” Greenlee said, “And, they’ll rise up.”
