When “Inclusion” Means Erasure: Decolonizing Holiday Practices in Schools | Ep. 185 (with Bryan Stanton)

This episode is for educators — especially queer teachers, principals, and school leaders — who care deeply about real inclusion and belonging. Bryan Stanton (they/them) unpacks how well-intentioned “inclusive” classroom practices often end up reinforcing Christian dominance, sidelining Jewish, Muslim, Pagan, and secular families. Together, we’ll examine how public schools perpetuate cultural erasure under the banner of “neutrality,” and what authentic pluralism can look like in action.

You’ll Learn:

• How “inclusive” school traditions often reinforce Christian cultural norms
• Why neutrality isn’t neutral — and how law, culture, and faith intersect in public schools
• What exclusion looks like for Jewish, Muslim, Pagan, and secular students
• How queer educators can model pluralistic inclusion rooted in justice and empathy
• Concrete strategies for creating classrooms that honor all identities and beliefs

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Keywords: inclusive education, queer educators, religious diversity in schools, pluralism in classrooms, decolonizing education, Christian dominance in schools, LGBTQ teachers, holiday inclusion

This podcast explores the challenges and successes of queer representation in education, tackling topics like burnout, tokenism, doxing, and the role of advocacy in building inclusive classrooms, safe spaces, and anti-bullying strategies. It centers support for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, asexual, aromantic, agender, two-spirit, and non-binary teachers, and addresses how gender identity in schools can be honored to combat isolation and foster community.

The podcast explores the challenges and successes of Queer representation in education, addressing issues such as burnout, tokenism, doxing, and the importance of advocacy in creating inclusive classrooms, safe spaces, and anti-bullying strategies, with a focus on supporting gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, asexual, aromantic, agender, two-spirit, and non-binary teachers and gender identity in schools to combat the feeling of isolation and lack of community.

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