When professional learning is more fun than it is work! A session with @heymrsbond.com and @sheathescholar.bsky.social that was not to be missed.

They say, “Don’t meet your heroes,” but when these are your heroes, I 10/10 recommend it. Thank you, #NCTE25, for this amazing experience. It was the inspirational, chaotic, course-correct (😆) that I deeply needed. 💕💕💕 @lyricalswordz.bsky.social @sheathescholar.bsky.social @heymrsbond.com

But I keep being told that I'm overreacting when I say anti blackness and transphobia are related, and Black cis women are routinely denied womanhood due to white supremacy being "born a real woman" doesn't protect Black women.

In moments of potential despair, I often look back at LGBTQ activists, communities, and educators before me. @sheathescholar.bsky.social and I wrote about being positioned as ~*~queer elders~*~ in our work with LGBTQ youth, specifically reading about ACT UP: publicationsncte.org/content/jour....

I’ve said it before but @sheathescholar.bsky.social is a master at facilitating writing. From the materials they share, to the prompts they use…an absolute master. 🔥🔥🔥

I do not have any coping mechanisms for the next four years. I am all tapped out.

At Furious Flower 2014, Nikki Giovanni joked that she was pissed at Maya Angelou for dying so soon because Jay Z had just sent Maya some fancy liquor and they were supposed to share it. I’ll never forget that lesson on the complexities of love, grief, and humor. Forever grateful. 🖤

lol so many liberal white women are talking about how much they resonate with Elphaba in the “Defying Gravity” scene. um…who’s gonna tell them?

“It is hard to have hope in the trickle-down rewards for Black trans youth in a fight for trans whites/rights.” The Supreme Court is currently hearing a case on gender-affirming care for trans youth. May we win — in the Blackest, most liberatory way. scholarscompass.vcu.edu/jqtsie/vol1/...

we’ve got a lot to catch up on. like in July, I published this theoretical meditation in the Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education on the impossibility of Black trans safety, recognition, and futurity within our U.S. K-12 educational landscape. scholarscompass.vcu.edu/jqtsie/vol1/...

last update: there’s only 2 spots left for this winter’s workshop and I cannot wait to write in community with so many amazing educators!

last night, I told someone “I think I am a red state person…” which is to say I am wholly invested in rethinking what we mean when we describe places as “unlivable” and “impossible” for folks like me. It is also to say that I am committed to dreaming and fighting for what has always been ours.

As a person who’s spent most of the last decade in red states, I know the only way we’ll get through the next four years (and beyond) is by intentionally investing in community and care-filled organizing. And not that fake stuff either — like real, ride-or-die, “no matter what” community care.

I spent the last few days at LRA 2024 and I left feeling so incredibly grateful — particularly for the BIPOC scholars and teachers who are thinking, talking, and writing alongside me in this work.

Trans students deserve so much better than this Supreme Court.

an update: applications have been open for ~ 1 day AND half the spots are already taken for this year's workshop. if you're thinking about it, just leap. we'll be there to catch ya with open arms, great writing prompts, and the best music.

From my colleague Chase Strangio: "My presence at the Court as a transgender lawyer will have been possible because I have had access to the very medical treatment at the center of the case. Though some doubt the lifesaving properties of this care, I know them personally. And so do my clients."

If I didn't have plans for much of this time period I would be in on it as I've been multiple iterations. shea is amazing, and so is the community! <3

I cannot recommend this workshop enough. I would be joining myself if I wasn’t gonna be laid up from surgery. Give yourself the gift of shea and their brilliance this season 💜

also, hey. how's it going? you hanging in there? i'm glad you're in this world today.

each winter for the past 3 years, I've offered this personal writing workshop for educators needing a space for processing, healing, and community. applications for this winter are open now. come write and heal with us, fam. 💜 bit.ly/trulylight

I'm beyond honored and grateful to have received the #NCTE2024 National Intellectual Freedom Award this year! I'm thankful to be in coalition with so many awesome educators (including @sheathescholar.bsky.social and @thoughtsthatcarrie.bsky.social here) fighting book banning and fascism!

Proud of the heart work @sheathescholar.bsky.social @hcodymiller.bsky.social & I shared at #ncte. In Feb. I told shea I don’t think I’m ready for this but they believed in me, in us, & in our work. Plus Cody’s infectious laugh always helps even w/the beast of a topic that is grief & shoutout Hanif!

I couldn’t think of a better way to close out my Saturday than talking about reading/teaching Black YA speculative fiction, mapping, and freedom-dreaming with these brilliant and inspiring scholar-educators. 💜 @ebonyteach.bsky.social, @srtoliver.bsky.social, @thekinglamar.bsky.social

This Trans Day of Remembrance, the only message I have is: It's not enough to remember us, you need to support us while we're still here.

I bet all the NCTE folks who were looking down at Ohio last year will be missing those Ohio prices this year.

Inclusion of this group at #NCTE24 is dangerous for Palestinian presenters and a lot of Black presenters and attendees whose valid criticisms of Israel are labeled hateful. Yikes. Consider researching and signing. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

This week I’m headed to #NCTE24 to spend time thinking about what it means to read, read, teach, survive, and dream in this moment. I can’t wait to be in community with some of my favorite people. See you there, fam. ❤️

I guess all the cool kids are on blue sky for good now — and also the nerds like me, too.

For #NCTE2024, @sheathescholar.bsky.social, @thoughtsthatcarrie.bsky.social and I will be talking, processing, & grieving the last few weeks. Well discuss the hard, important work of building and embodying hope. And books! Please join us if you'd like on Friday from 9:30-10:45 in Room 157B. 💜

"whenever I find myself in a pit of guilt and despair...I make a list of the things I do, the people with whom I am in community, and the moments of tenderness, reckoning, and dreaming I've experienced in between reading and writing..."

last night my wife said, "I feel like every time you hit one deadline, another appears." so yeah – maybe academia is just a never-ending magic trick.

by this time next week, hopefully i'll be a doctoral candidate.

kicking off 2024 with @harperkeenan.bsky.social's lecture at the QualLab! thursday, january 18th noon ET registration is open now!

for the past few years, I've been leading writing workshops for educators to help us process our journeys, connect, and heal. this winter, i'm doing another "light" one with a deep focus on healing through composition. saturdays starting 12/16 more here: bit.ly/YTlight

Will I see you at NCTE next week? I sure hope so.

Jezebel’s gone. Bitch Media is gone. Autostraddle sold to a VC-backed binder company. What do we have left?

The EdResearch for Action Writers Fellowship program aims to help ed researchers whose work has strong potential for impact in the field to better communicate their research to a policymaker and practitioner audience. Applications due 12/1... please share! edresearchforaction.com/wp-content/u...

@ebonyteach.bsky.social check your fb messages!

I know NCTE23 is happening soon and we’re all excited to present and enjoy my “home” of Columbus but if you’re doing a land acknowledgement, talking about land being colonized, and don’t mention Gaza… ….what are you even doing?

tonight was the last gathering of a pilot study I did with queer and trans educators of color. we made vision boards using Slow Factory’s calling/roles charts. here’s mine. what a beautiful way to ground myself in a moment of such grief, turmoil, and injustice.

hi blue skies. i’m back. how are you?

Thankful to have had the opportunity to feature children’s books that center Blackness by Black authors in the most recent issue of NCTE’s Language Arts. . . 📚🖤