George

The event that I attended was the Author Talk, where Alex Gino came to discuss their experiences and how the book was generated from them. The discussion was very free flowing; Alex would respond to questions from the audience, which guided the talk. These ranged anywhere from asking why the book was not titled Melissa, to questions about Alex’s experience as non-binary, and most notably what we should do as educators to ensure that we are welcoming to all our students. The part that was most significant for me was when, while talking about the censorship of books, Alex said “It is not protection if you are protecting children from themselves.” This really resonated with me, because this phrase demonstrates that these characteristics are not brought about from external factors, but rather are integral to the children themselves. Many are quick to blame outside forces for thoughts or feelings that they deem to be deviant, but “protecting” through censorship only denies young people the right to be who they are. 

This event most closely aligned to the social justice and sustainability pillar of the Education department’s mission statement. Equity was the focus of the author talk; Alex emphasized that a teacher should not feel as though they must “prepare” for an incoming transgender student, but should instead already have a space that is welcoming and equitable for all students regardless of whether there is a transgender student or not. It is clear from Alex’s talk that as a nation and as a society, we are still struggling to be an accepting community, but that as educators we are in a unique position to lead this project. As they stated, as teachers we must “amplify” diverse voices to be conscious of and respond to their needs.   

As I stated above, one of my biggest takeaways is the need to let our students be who they are. It is not our right as educators to tell them what is off-limits in terms of their development, and by doing so, we force them to be someone who they are not. This is well demonstrated in George, where gender-specific parts in the play and rigid educators confine Melissa into a category that does not represent who she is. Also notable from the talk, and specifically about the book, was Alex’s thoughts on the parents that he created. When asked why they did not write about Melissa coming out to her mother, they stated that “The mom had some grieving to do,” because it would not be an easy transition to begin thinking about her child as a girl. For Alex, it would be too easy for Melissa and her mother to reconcile immediately, and they “did not want to take it easy on the adults” of the story, since it is largely due to their actions that Melissa has difficulty expressing who she really is. I found it really powerful that Alex avoided the common trope of having the story end with a huge reconciliation. Instead, they opted to indicate with the ending that this was only the beginning of Melissa’s transition. 

As a teacher, Alex provided so much in terms of practices that would generate equity in my classroom. One of the biggest themes of the talk was to always be learning more about those that are different than you. Literature is a great way to do this, and that is why Alex wrote George, not only so that transgender children will have representation but also to educate those who are not transgender. Alex stresses that although one cannot “show someone else’s visibility,” their perspective can at least be understood. This will be reflected when as a teacher, one gives every student the right to choose their own pronouns and not have it be chosen for them. This can easily be done by simply stating your own pronouns. Understanding can also be achieved by discussing gender at an early age; Alex believes that no child is too young to have that conversation, and we will ultimately create a more understanding world if everyone has exposure to equitable education. Finally, and directly related to our class content, is the need for diverse literature. We have emphasized throughout the entirety of our classes that choice is needed in order for adolescents to engage with a book, as well as representation. Texts should reflect diverse experiences, so as to reflect the students reading them and to encourage understanding of those that are different than us. If our texts meet these standards, we will not only have engaged readers but also an equitable reflection of our increasingly diverse student body.