Papers by J.B. Mayo Jr
In this article, the author recounts some of the events that occurred on September 11, 2001, when... more In this article, the author recounts some of the events that occurred on September 11, 2001, when four doomed airlines crashed after being hijacked by 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists, resulting in the deaths of 2,977 people in New York, New York, at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and on an empty field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It is at this latter location, where United Flight 93 crashed killing everyone onboard, including 31-year-old Mark Bingham, an openly gay businessman and member of a small group of people who, it is believed, wrested control from the hijackers and brought the plane down. In the years post-September 11, Bingham has become known as a modernday hero by the various queer communities, while also garnering a high level of notoriety among many mainstream people as well. The author maintains, however, that Bingham's hero status simultaneously contributes to the dismissal and erasure of countless other queer people, primarily Black, Brown, and transgender, who have also performed heroic acts throughout modern U.S. history. Without diminishing the actions Bingham and the others took on board United Flight 93, the author questions why this particular gay man is remembered, while countless other queer/trans people of color remain largely unknown.
Whitepaper, 2018
Through practitioner inquiry, social studies educators and researchers can address pressing issue... more Through practitioner inquiry, social studies educators and researchers can address pressing issues in the field, including improving social studies practice and realizing the democratic potential of social studies education. Practitioner research fundamentally shifts the culture of contemporary school reform and offers an antidote to educational reform efforts that de-professionalize teachers and teacher educators.
Queer teacher to queer teacher: reflections, questions, and hopes from current and aspiring educators
Teaching Education
Child & Youth Services, 2015
Critical pedagogy empowers Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) advisers facilitate reflective, activist-o... more Critical pedagogy empowers Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) advisers facilitate reflective, activist-oriented learning. Its use in school clubs has broad implications for both teachers and youth workers. Informed by critical multiculturalism, this study draws on ethnographic fieldwork from one school year and in-depth interviews with GSA participants. Data reveal that the GSA adviserâs understanding of critical pedagogy is characterized by expanding studentsâ knowledge, facilitating studentsâ activism, and encouraging studentsâ reflection on significant interactions with peers and family. The author concludes these pedagogical practices help create long-term GSAs, where engaged student learning and activism promote a âthird spaceâ in youth development work.
International Journal of Educational Reform, 2014
Educational Researcher, 2013
Critical pedagogy, combined with partnerships with adults at school, enabled the Gay-Straight All... more Critical pedagogy, combined with partnerships with adults at school, enabled the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) advisor to create the foundation for reflective, activist-oriented learning at one Midwestern high school. Underreported in current literature, the use of critical pedagogy in school clubs and/or organizations has broad implications for teachers and teacher educators. Informed by the tenets of critical multiculturalism, this study draws on ethnographic fieldwork from one school year and in-depth interviews with students and the GSA advisor. Data reveal that the GSA advisor's unique conception of critical pedagogy is characterized by expanding students' knowledge, facilitating students' activism, and encouraging students' reflection on significant interactions with peers and family. The author concludes that these pedagogical practices play a key role in creating a long-term GSA, where engaged student learning combined with activism promote a "third space" in teacher development.
Theory & Research in Social Education, 2013
The author explores significant points of intersection between foundational tenets of the social ... more The author explores significant points of intersection between foundational tenets of the social studies and the lessons learned by students in the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) at one Midwestern high school. He suggests new ways social studies researchers and teachers might conceptualize the ideas and themes promoted in GSAs and apply them directly to social studies content and/or standards. The research is informed by Judith Butler's articulation of "performativity" of gender and Queer Theory and draws on ethnographic fieldwork conducted over the course of 1 school year as well as in-depth interviews with GSA members. Findings suggest students' attention to gender scripts combined with the knowledge they gained from selected lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT), and queer-focused topics have strong implications for changing the landscape of social education. The author concludes that social studies education has an opportunity to broaden students' understanding of social education, to undo parts of the harmful impact on students' lives created by the hidden curriculum, and increase the relevance of the social studies in the lives of all students based on lessons learned in the GSA.
Journal of International Social Studies, 2013
This article highlights some of the cultural barriers that exist for Hmong people who identify as... more This article highlights some of the cultural barriers that exist for Hmong people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ), while placing these barriers in an historical context. It uncovers differences and similarities found between the experiences of queer Hmong youth and the larger population of queer youth living in the United States. Despite the perception that a traditional Hmong culture holds no place for queer Hmong Americans, individuals are finding spaces for acceptance and slowly moving the larger Hmong community to a place of understanding and tolerance. A vital part of this movement is Shades of Yellow (SOY), an organization that supports queer Hmong. The life stories of three of its members inform this study, offering a more nuanced look at the experiences of queer Hmong living in the Midwest. Though few social studies researchers have broached this topic, the new social historians of the 1960s, who centered their research on broad social movements and the contributions of those formerly excluded from the grand historical narrative of progress, opened the door to this conversation within the field.
The Social Studies, 2013
The authors encourage teachers to make use of existing, standard social studies curriculum to unc... more The authors encourage teachers to make use of existing, standard social studies curriculum to uncover and to make visible the normative assumptions that underlie American cultural beliefs about gender and sexuality. The article provides an overview of how some cultures within the various Native American nations conceptualize gender and sexuality in ways that challenge Western norms. An example lesson plan addressing Two Spirit history is included as well as reflections from teachers who have taught the curriculum in their classrooms.
Journal of Social Studies Research, 2012
Native Americans and standard social studies curriculum. Two Spirit is a Pan-Indian term describi... more Native Americans and standard social studies curriculum. Two Spirit is a Pan-Indian term describing Native Americans who believe they embody both masculine and feminine characteristics/traits in one physical body. Findings from this research expand the field's conception of multiple perspectives and diversity, while creating opportunities for nuanced understandings of gender expression and gender that go beyond the male/female dichotomy currently accepted as the norm. The authors utilize historical research and a semistructured, in-depth interview with a current Ojibwe leader to better understand and theorize Native Americans' acceptance of diverse ways of being. The authors conclude that modern-day social studies teachers and students have much to learn from this traditional Native worldview. Specifically, the authors believe that encouraging students to adopt more inclusive perspectives on gender expression and to recognize the plausibility of multiple genders may lead to more advanced, social learning. Combined with reinforcement from responsible adults at school, this recognition would lessen a variety of presentday social ills, including the incidence of teen suicide caused by homophobia.
The Journal of Multiculturalism in Education, Dec 2011
In this article, the author acknowledges the daily challenges faced by gay male teachers in a lar... more In this article, the author acknowledges the daily challenges faced by gay male teachers in a large southern state, particularly those that expose their students' homophobic bias and willingness to openly challenge the teacher's authority based on the teacher's perceived sexual orientation. The central focus, however, is the teachers' perceived advantages of being gay, despite the many incidents of harassment and regardless of the degree to which their sexual orientation is known to students and colleagues. In-depth interviews reveal participants' perceived special talents in the classroom setting, including a heightened sensitivity to gender issues, a greater understanding of students labeled as "other," and more generalized empathy toward all students. Further, this article highlights gay teachers' employment of critical multiculturalism and reveals implications for what this means for gay teachers, more broadly, and their students in the secondary classroom.
The Ohio Social Studies Review, 2010
The High School Journal, 2008
In this article, the author examines two sets of complex relationships at school: one between gay... more In this article, the author examines two sets of complex relationships at school: one between gay teachers and their students and another between the same gay teachers and their colleagues at school. Some researchers have maintained that gay teachers fail to advocate for gay and questioning youth because they fear showing support for these students places their jobs in jeopardy. The author found, however, that the gay teachers in this study responded to gay students' needs and demonstrated support in a variety of ways, despite working in school environments that were often hostile toward the GLBT community. The author also discusses an array of relationships found between gay teachers and their heterosexual colleagues at school. These relationships uncovered no particular pattern, but reinforced the idea that gay teachers must negotiate each faculty interaction and make decisions about revealing their sexual orientation accordingly. The author closes with recommendations for school administrators and teacher educators, and strongly suggests that all faculty members take responsibility for the well being of gay and questioning students.
Theory & Research in Social Education, 2007
Multicultural Perspectives, 2007
In this article, the author examines the transition from segregation to full integration in two V... more In this article, the author examines the transition from segregation to full integration in two Virginia school districts, 1965â1970. He begins with short participant profiles and reveals how personal connections uncovered new voices in the school desegregation process. Next, the author gives an overview of political events in Virginia following Brown v. Board of Education (1954). The focus then shifts to the classroom experiences of ten Black teachers who integrated faculties in Powhatan County and the city of Charlottesville school districts. The author closes by predicting how the teachers in this study would react to the current school environments.
Book Chapters by J.B. Mayo Jr
GLBTQ Issues in the Social Studies
Contemporary Social Studies: An Essential Reader, 2012
Social Justice Enacted: Critical Civic Engagement in the Gay Straight Alliance
Critical Civic Literacy: A Reader, 2011
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Papers by J.B. Mayo Jr
Book Chapters by J.B. Mayo Jr