ATAGSA members share their thoughts about allyship and the importance of supporting gender diversity among students and teachers.
"True allyship is about learning, listening … and being brave."
– John (he/they), high school teacher from Calgary
"Being visible is so important. I had a student tell me last year that they didn't think that as a non-binary person they could work in education, but now they have the confidence to do so because they had a non-binary teacher. These moments of recognition and future possibility are so important!"
– Sarah (they/them), high school teacher from Treaty 7
"I am not out at work because I feel that I would be treated very differently in the community that I work in."
– Q (she/her), junior/senior high teacher from rural Alberta
"Ask for pronouns. Use those pronouns. And when you mess up, apologize and move on."
– D (he/him), junior high teacher from Calgary
"Gender-diverse people are born into a diaspora. We grow up around family and friends who rarely understand us in our entirety. This isn't their fault, especially given that we often must do a lot of growing up before we even fully understand ourselves. We often recognize from a young age that we are different in some way. Feeling different means feeling alone, and feeling alone means feeling scared. Scared students will struggle to learn, thrive, and grow to meet their full potential. As teachers and administrators, we must try to make our schools explicitly safe places for students to be their entire selves."
– M (she/her), high school teacher from Calgary
ATAGSA—Formed in 2022, the ATAGSA holds monthly meetings where members share stories, resources and supports. Contact atagsa@ata.ab.ca to be added to the email list and receive updates.
