I May Not Look Like a “Respectable” Teacher, But I’m a Good One
As part of our Education Week series, Edgar Gomez reflects on how presenting himself authentically as a teacher cultivates a more open and honest learning environment.
my
I can dress like themand get a cushy college gig after I graduate, or I can wear something that affirms my queer identity and stay broke forever.
Wait, are you allowed to say ? Is that professional?Quick, say something smart!
Ajar? Global warming? Girl, all of that is even weirder than when you said . Talk normal!
y’all
Was that too gay? Too Southern? Too Puerto Rican? Did I even pronounce that right? me
I talk like me: with a lisp, peppering every other sentence with “pero like,” clapping my hands to make points like my mom, bestowing snaps like my friends do when we hear something powerful. I teach like me: populating my syllabus with the writers whose work I admire, most of them BIPOC and/or queer and still alive.
every
My students like me in business casualbut what if I came in here with some eyeshadow on? In a skirt?
Work isn’t supposed to affirm youJust keep your head down and collect your check. Be grateful. Don’t complain.
Tell the truth.
High-Risk Homosexualin spite ofbecause
you
and
NoI don’t want to go back.Pretty Woman
High-Risk Homosexual
Edgar Gomez (he/she/they) is a Florida-born writer with roots in Nicaragua and Puerto Rico. A graduate of University of California, Riverside’s MFA program, he is a recipient of the 2019 Marcia McQuern Award for nonfiction. His words have appeared in Poets & Writers, Narratively, Catapult, Lithub, The Rumpus, Electric Lit, Plus Magazine, and elsewhere online and in print. His memoir, High-Risk Homosexual, was named a Best LGBTQ Book by Harper’s Bazaar. He lives in New York and Puerto Rico. Find him on Twitter @OtroEdgarGomez.
Enter your email address to receive notifications for author Edgar Gomez
Success!
Confirmation link sent to your email to add you to notification list for author Edgar Gomez
More by this author
How to Say I Love You in Spanish
You can’t go bigger than “te amo.” No one says “te amo mucho,” because love is already very much.
Becoming The Gay Teacher I Wish I'd Had
What I could offer wasn’t life changing—it was just a break, a little time to gather the strength to keep going.
“Passing” as Straight at Work Didn’t Protect Me from Homophobia
I privately couldn’t get over the fact that she’d even felt comfortable speaking to me that way.