Six Promises for Queer Educators in 2026 | Ep. 187 (with Bryan Stanton)

In this New Year continuation of the December 25th reflection, host Bryan Stanton (they/them) turns from reflection to direction.

This solo episode names six promises—practices, boundaries, and strategies—for queer educators in 2026, and closes with a powerful New Year’s blessing rooted in the realities of today’s classrooms.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to define success beyond survival.
• Ways to bring queer truth into curriculum safely and meaningfully.
• What sustainable visibility looks like for educators under scrutiny.
• How to interrupt bias and harm in real time.
• Why joy, boundaries, and community are professional practices.
• A closing blessing of hope, protection, and belonging for the year ahead.

If this message resonates, share this episode with one educator who needs it, and leave a review to help Teaching While Queer reach others who teach while surviving and thriving.

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Keywords:

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.

boundaries, visibility, curriculum, student support, policy climate, joy as resistance, burnout recovery, community care, reflection, identity safety, belonging, professional sustainability, K–12, higher ed, admin, arts educator, Healing, burnout, and sustainability, Newly out at work, Student support & classroom practice, Hostile policy climate / crisis weeks

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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