Why I’m writing

For 32 years, I taught children who howled with laughter at things like:

• What do you call a bear without any teeth? (A gummy bear)

• How do you make a tissue dance? (You put a little boogie on it.)

Truth? I laughed as much as they did. It was a pretty sweet way to spend a career.

And it's because of those 32 years' worth of students that I went back into schools a year after I retired. Because…

When the Proud Boys invaded Drag [Queen] Story Hour at the San Lorenzo Library in June of 2022, it gutted me. It was Pride Month, and that library was just a few blocks from where I'd taught 3rd and 4th grades for decades.

The men were aggressive, in shirts emblazoned with pictures of AK-47s and sporting messages like “Kill Your Local Pedophile.” I was devastated to think that children from my school had witnessed such hatred; our staff worked so hard to teach and model kindness, acceptance, and inclusivity.

This was just a few months after Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law had passed. Bans of "Critical Race Theory" were spreading, aimed at blocking the teaching of true Black History. I read of teachers targeted for supporting LGBTQ+ students, and of librarians attacked for diverse book collections. It was unthinkable to me that, on the heels of the horrendous year-plus of remote teaching/learning, educators were now being scapegoated for doing their jobs.

Wanting to hear their stories, I decided to meet with educators in places where culture wars have infiltrated the classroom. So I hit the road, and for a year and a half, I took trips around California, interviewing librarians and teachers about the ways they and their students have experienced anti-LGBTQ+ actions, efforts to white-wash teaching of Black history, and book bans.

Not enough people know what it’s really like to be an educator. As we face a second Trump presidency, it’s more critical than ever that we all understand what the work of being a teacher is, what some teachers are enduring, and what we all stand to lose as more educators are pushed from this essential work.

The Teacher Tightrope is my free newsletter about teaching during education culture wars. It includes a spectrum of classroom stories (from funny/sweet to angering/painful), as well as inspiration and tools for teachers and education-adjacent people. And as a thank-you for subscribing, you’ll get immediate access to one of my essays that has never been on line. (It’s a sweet one!)

I hope you’ll subscribe. See you on The Teacher Tightrope!

—Sue

What you’ll get as a subscriber

• Free access to pieces I've written but never placed on line

  • You’ll immediately receive a PDF of “Slide Ranch” when you subscribe.

• Chances to win a bookstore gift card

• Q and A -- Send questions to me (teaching- or writing-related), and I'll answer some here.

• Your own school stories -- Send me one of YOUR stories, whether you're a teacher, parent, or current-or-long-ago student, and whether it's funny, challenging, outrageous, inspiring, etc. (Please limit to 5-6 sentences; I may edit for brevity.) I'll choose one to feature each month.

• If any of the educators I interviewed would like to make a short (anonymous) audio clip answering a question I pose, I’ll share it here. (Contact me if that’s you!)

• And more!

Subscribing means you’ll receive an email when I post a new issue, probably once or twice a month. (You can unsubscribe at any time.) That’s it!

But before I go…

• Why can't zoo animals take tests? (Too many cheetahs.)