Using Dance and Social Justice to Create Queer Inclusive Classrooms | Ep. 209 (with Micah Gary-Fryer)
How can LGBTQ-inclusive teaching and queer pedagogy help students find their voice? In this episode of Queering Education, Bryan Stanton sits down with dance educator Micah Gary-Fryer to explore how movement, social justice, and arts education create more inclusive classrooms where students feel seen, valued, and empowered.
Drawing from more than two decades in education and the performing arts, Micah shares how dance can become a powerful tool for student expression, body confidence, community building, and social justice learning. From immigration stories to student-created performance art, this conversation highlights what happens when educators trust students to connect their lived experiences with meaningful creative work. The discussion also explores the evolving experiences of LGBTQ educators and what today's teachers can learn from the generations who helped pave the way.
In this episode, you'll learn:
- How dance and movement can support student voice and identity development
- Ways arts education can strengthen LGBTQ-inclusive teaching practices
- Why social justice-centered projects help students connect learning to real life
- Strategies for building body confidence and belonging in the classroom
- How queer educators can bridge generations of advocacy and progress
- What today's students can teach us about authenticity, expression, and resilience
If this conversation resonates with you, follow Queering Education, share it with a colleague, and help more educators build classrooms where every student belongs.
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