A Courageous Conversation with a Transgender Educator (Ep. 20)

Most of us have opinions about transgender people and, perhaps, about the controversial policies affecting transgender students - like ones requiring teachers to notify parents if their students are using names that do not match their birth gender. But few of us have ever had a real, in-depth conversation with a transgender person where we have gotten a chance to hear their personal story or their perspectives on policies affecting students.

This is why I decided to interview Bobbie Glass, a 72-year old transgender woman from Kentucky who has been an educator for most of her career - to hear from someone whose experiences most of us really know next to nothing. No matter your views on the subject, I promise you will learn something new and be moved by Bobbie’s personal story. I suspect you may also reconsider your perspectives on the role educators play with trans students and with the way other students treat those who differ from the norm.

If you enjoyed this episode you might also want to listen to Monica Guzman’s podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-can-we-disagree-better/id1709364674?i=1000633976565) with Spencer Cox, the Republican governor of Utah, and Troy Williams, the head of a LGBTQ rights organization in Utah. They discuss how civil dialogue and empathy led one of America’s most conservative states to pass legislation supporting Utah’s transgender residents.  You can also hear my interview with Monica about the culture wars in education at https://www.schoolconversations.org/episodes/monica-guzman.

Let us know what you think with a text message.