Two gay men talk about teaching: talking and thinking across generations

Written as a conversation, this article is a dialogue between two gay male teachers and education scholars of different generations about their experiences in classrooms, in academia, and in life. Together, they unpack the tensions between simultaneously embodying the positions of gay man and teacher while reflecting upon their experiences having navigated said tensions both pedagogically in their time as classroom teachers and theoretically in their time as writers and academics. They explore the gendered assumptions placed on teachers and how ideas about gay men intersect and diverge with normative expectations of teachers. Moreover, they consider how their lived experiences specific to their identity as gay men have made them more compassionate and committed educators.