Axel S.
“But for all of the madness and microaggressions and disrespect and just utter madness that I deal with, some of the things that these children say are vastly profound, and they have very large hearts. And I am scared but very optimistic of the next generation of kids. My seniors that are graduating this year— if they heard me say this, they would never let me live it down— but they are very good people. The kids are alright. They are going to be alright.”
— Axel S.
On today’s episode of the Good Folk Podcast, we are joined by Axel S., who chats with our producer, Vic Landers, about the education system and the importance of queer educators in rural spaces.
Axel graduated with his bachelors in English and Secondary Education from UNC Greensboro in 2021, and is currently at UNCG earning his masters in English and Women's and Gender Studies. He currently works in rural North Carolina, and has worked with all high school grades and academic levels in the past 2 years. He is an advisor of the LGBTQ+ club on his high school campus, and advocates for the creation of diversity and inclusion within a community that may not be so accepting of such ideas.
Much of Axel's current work involves teaching the relearning of emotional wellbeing to teens, both through literature and through general discussion. His classroom is full to the brim of colorful posters that advocate for women in STEM, feeling your feelings, and the fine arts, promoting careers and hobbies many rural students might not have known of. Axel recognizes the positives and negatives that come with being LGBTQ+ in a rural and conservative setting, and aims to get more teens to simply consider other opinions. He also has a cat.
In a moment where teaching is one of the most contested professions in the country, educators have never been more important. Anyone who isn’t on the ground in schools every day likely has no idea what goes on behind closed doors— but every school across America is facing similar difficulties as students return back to the classroom. Teachers are overworked, underfunded, and often forced to wear many hats that far exceed their job expectations. Without teachers, the education system collapses. And without an education system, this country will fall to ruin in a matter of days.
On top of that weight on their shoulders, teachers in rural areas are facing what has been called a “tragedy”. Often overlooked by the mainstream labor movements, teachers in rural schools face classrooms without running water and ventilation systems, no textbooks or resources, and a continual loss of funding, sometimes even leading to schools shuttering. In North Carolina alone, 80 of the state’s 100 counties are classified as rural. Yet rural schools receive only 17% of state education funding. (You can learn more through a project I worked on with my students last year).
Where do rural educators go from here? How can schools support their educators from diverse backgrounds, backgrounds which are necessary to reflect the diversity of the students in their classrooms? In the words of today’s guest, Axel: “You write the lessons. Give them to me. I'll teach them, we go home. I feel like there's no other way to say it, because they— they being every party that you just said— want teaching to be in such a particular box. And it as a profession, doesn't fit in a box. Because every class, every county, every district, every school, and every room is different.”
Yes. Every classroom in every country in every state in this country faces similar issues with vastly differing circumstances. And it is long past time we remove ourselves from this idea of teaching fitting into a clean, universal box, and recognize the unique challenges, connections, hurdles, and joys of this work. I hope you enjoy this conversation.