Dear Prudence,
I am a soon to be college graduate in the field of Psychology, with plans to take a gap year before I begin a Ph.D. program. I have received several job offers for this period of time, specifically, one to teach an Intro to Psych class at my old high school. The high school I attended was a very strict, conservative protestant school with VERY antiquated and offensive views on sex, love, and gender. I was viewed throughout my time as a student as a “good” kid because I got good grades, kept my mouth (mostly) shut, and appeared to be following their paradigm of pure Christian femininity to a T. They did not, and still do not know that I am gay. Attending this school as a closeted queer teen was, frankly, hell on earth for me. I was imbued literally daily with the idea that I and people like me were evil, disgusting, and were going to burn in hell for merely existing. This, as you can imagine, took a profound toll on my mental health, so much so that my senior year I was disturbingly close to suicide. Thankfully, a much more accepting college, therapy, and personal growth has led me to accept myself for who I am and grow into my own. My mental health is worlds better now, and I am grateful for the increased empathy and awareness my hard times gave me.
Throughout my experiences in high school and looking back, I have always known that if I had a little support from the adults at my school, even just one to tell me that I’m not a monster, that I’m not alone and my god didn’t hate me, my experience would have been so much better. A part of me wonders, what if I did take this job? What if I could be that one adult for some other child, and, for the others, I could teach a Psychology course structured to lessen the blow of all the evils they’re taught, and help the many students who disagree with the status quo to find their voice and stand up for themselves? Another part of me thinks this is ridiculous, and that I can’t possibly undo enough damage to make any difference, but I can’t stop thinking about how much this would have helped me and my other queer friends who attended that school. (As an example of this school’s behavior, I had one friend who was suspended and nearly expelled after a bully of his told a teacher he and another boy were dating, but another boy who did blackface on social media was only suspended for a day, and THAT was only after student and parent protests.) Should I further consider this job? And if I end up taking it, what are some ways I can covertly demonstrate to my students that I am liberal without being fired?
— Us Against Them?