About this Event
Join two dynamic educators – and – for another amazing summer of reading, discussion, and unpacking identity and liberatory teaching strategies in community! Rainbow Summer is for educators and caregivers seeking to build community, read fantastic books, build their advocacy toolkit, and explore ways to discuss gender and sexuality (along with other identity markers) with youth. This space is welcome to all educators and caregivers (broadly defined). Space is limited!
What?
A summer book club for educators and caregivers interested in…
- Learning more about how to teach/talk about gender and sexuality in classrooms
- Preparing to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and protections in their communities
- Reading amazing YA books and discussing them with educators
- Building community
- Preparing assignments/curriculum based on summer reading books
- Learning how to make the case for LGBTQ+ books in curriculum and libraries
When?
Core Meetings will occur every other Monday beginning June 13, 2021 (6/13, 6/27, 7/11, 7/25, 8/8). We will meet from 6pm to 8pm ET / 5pm to 7pm CT.
- Meeting 1: Introductions and Building Our Space
- Meeting 2: Ellie Engle Saves Herself by Leah Johnson
- Meeting 3: Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian
- Meeting 4: We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds
- Meeting 5: Lakelore by Anna-Marie MacLemore
In addition to Core Meetings, participants will be invited to virtual community co-working sessions throughout the summer. These sessions are optional but might be helpful for participants who want to plan, ask questions, or connect further in community. Dates for co-working will be announced soon!
To end our summer together, we'll host a live community gathering on Thursday, August 15, 2024, with a panel of scholars, youth, educators, authors, and activists discussing "The State of Affirming LGBTQ+ Youth in This Moment."
Where?
Rainbow Summer will occur virtually with guiding questions and resources delivered on a virtual platform and meetings held on Zoom.
How?
Throughout the summer, community members will read four amazing LGBTQ+ YA titles along with selections from a non-fiction text tailored for young readers, A Queer History of the United States. With each book, facilitators will provide guiding questions, journal prompts, and paired texts for further exploration. As a group, the community will gather five times to discuss assigned books, reflections, and how we might discuss book themes/topics with youth and colleagues.
The cost of Rainbow Summer participation is $200 with two additional options available for those struggling with financial hardship and those who may want to contribute more to support Jess and shea’s work. The cost of participation does not include books. When you register, we’ll send you a link to our official independent, LGBTQ+-owned bookstore partner offering a special Rainbow Summer package for participants!
Why?
In 2024, more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have already been introduced and/or enacted in state legislatures around the country. These bills, coupled with an increase in book bans and censorship related to identity and diversity in schools, affect today's youth and their families in our communities. Now more than ever, it is necessary for us to have the language, knowledge, and resources to support and affirm LGBTQ+ youth. LGBTQ+ Young Adult literature provides a wonderful entry point into unpacking identity and building inclusive communities rooted in affirmation, critical analysis, and allyship. More importantly, LGBTQ+ YA texts allow educators and students alike to reckon with societal norms for gender and sexuality. Let’s be honest – sometimes educators and caregivers avoid teaching LGBTQ+ YA, discussing gender and sexuality, and unpacking identity because we haven’t done it ourselves. With this space, we hope to allow folks to do just that!
Who?
shea wesley martin (they/them) is a former English/Language Arts teacher and current doctoral candidate in the Department of Teaching and Learning at The Ohio State University. Primarily interested in the (im)possibilities of schooling in the United States, their current research examines how race, gender, sexuality, and place impact the literacy practices of queer and trans youth of color. A nationally recognized educator and organizer, shea is the 2022 recipient of ALAN’s Bill Konigsberg Award for Acts and Activism for Equity and Inclusion through Young Adult Literature and the 2023 NCTE LGBTQIA+ Advocacy & Leadership Award. Their work appears in multiple scholarly and creative outlets, including Research on Diversity in Youth Literature and Radical Teacher. Learn more about shea's work here.
Jess Lifshitz (she/her) is a fourth and fifth-grade literacy teacher dedicated to finding ways to teach students how to use reading and writing as a way to better understand the world they are living in and fight to make that world a better and more just place to live. A previous Heinemann fellow and nationally recognized elementary educator, Jess is a former member of the advisory board for the Center for AntiRacist Education. A leader in all her forms, Jess has been teaching in elementary classrooms for 19 years. Find Jess on Twitter.
shea and Jess will be joined by phenomenal student facilitators and special guests throughout the summer!
Event Venue
Online
USD 100.00 to USD 250.00
