Episode Details

What happens when education moves beyond textbooks, fixed classrooms, and predetermined paths?

In this episode of Queering Education, Bryan Stanton sits down with architect, educator, and self-described queer nomad Rutvik Sanke to explore how identity, architecture, community, and indigenous ways of knowing can reshape the way we think about teaching and learning.

Rutvik reflects on their experiences within education in India, from rigid academic structures to learning environments rooted in curiosity, movement, performance, craft, and community. They share why they resist scripted classrooms, how their queer identity naturally informs their teaching practice, and why education should prepare students not only for a profession, but also for meaningful participation in the communities around them.

In this episode, you will:

• Explore how Rutvik uses architecture, textiles, performance, and community-based learning to challenge traditional ideas of what a classroom should be.
• Consider how simply showing up as an openly queer educator can influence pedagogy, relationships, and the sense of safety students experience.
• Learn why Rutvik believes education should be collaborative, evolving, and connected to the real needs of students and their communities.

The conversation also examines dignity for educators, the limitations of institutional systems, the value of indigenous knowledge, and the importance of maintaining relationships with students long after they leave the classroom.

At its heart, this episode invites us to reconsider where learning happens, who gets to define it, and what becomes possible when educators allow curiosity, identity, and community to become part of the curriculum.

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Queering Education is a Teaching While Queer podcast centering LGBTQ+ educators and the real-world realities of teaching while queer. We explore queer representation in education, including burnout, tokenism, doxing, visibility, boundaries, and advocacy for inclusive classrooms, safe schools, and anti-bullying practices.

This podcast supports gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, asexual, aromantic, agender, and two-spirit teachers, and addresses how gender identity in schools can be honored to reduce isolation, protect educators, and build community.

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Keywords: Teaching While Queer, queer educators, LGBTQ teachers, inclusive education, gender identity in schools, safe classrooms, anti-bullying strategies, educator burnout, LGBTQ advocacy, queer visibility in education