In Conversation with the authors of Pride and Progress: Making Schools LGBT+ Inclusive Spaces

In honour of Pride Month, we spoke to Jo Brassington and Dr Adam Brett, the authors of the newly published Pride and Progress: Making Schools LGBT+ Inclusive Spaces.

What does pride mean to you?

JO: For me, Pride is about freedom. I spent so much of my life, as many LGBTQ+ people do, hiding. Society taught me shame from a very young age, and that shame became silence and that silence became suppression. I suppressed and hid huge parts of myself from everybody, including at times from myself. I don't hide anymore - I am free. I've freed myself from the shame that pushed me into suppression, and finally, I am proud of the person I am. My pride is my freedom - and I never take it for granted. 

ADAM: To me, Pride means taking something that was used as an insult - something you were taught to feel shame about - and wearing it as a badge of honour. It’s about recognising the wonderful and joyous things that being LGBT+ can bring into your life.

What led you to write this book?

JO: We are both educators, and we founded Pride & Progress with this mission statement: 

‘We are living in a unique and pivotal moment for inclusive education. Now, for the first time ever, educators are strongly encouraged and enabled to make education, and our educational spaces, inclusive of LGBT+ lives. This requires a complete reimagining of what education could, and should, look like: an education that reflects the diverse society, allowing all people to see themselves and to feel they belong.  Join us as we amplify the voices of these LGBT+ educators and allies, share their stories of pride and progress, and celebrate the true power of diversity in education.’

This book is the continuation of that mission. It brings together years of conversations, pulls out ten key themes, and presents them as an alternative blueprint for more LGBTQ+ inclusive educational spaces. The book combines theory, academic research, and the lived experience of LGBTQ+ educators and allies to explore how we can meaningfully reimagine our schools to make them more inclusive and equitable spaces. 

ADAM: This book was the culmination of all the work Jo and I have done in LGBT+ inclusion over the last few years. The book was a real labour of love and it felt special to be able to distil all our learning and thinking in a text that could benefit others. The podcast and book gave us the important opportunity to centre the voices of a broad range of LGBT+ lives, and we can’t wait for people to read their stories!

What would you tell your younger self at school?

JO: I would tell them to open the door. 

As a young person I was living in a prison and mistaking it for the world - I thought that was all there was, and all there ever would be. I limited my own life - standing facing a closed door which I never tried to open because everybody and everything around me told me that door was locked. So I would tell myself to open the door, because it isn't locked, it never was. I would tell myself that on the other side of that door is a world more beautiful than you have ever been given permission to imagine. On the other side of that door is a life of freedom, love, community, and connection. On the other side of that door is a life made beautiful by all of the things you are trying to hide from. Open the door, I promise you won't regret it. 

ADAM: That nothing in your lifetime will ever top The Spice Girls (and that one day you will be proud to be LGBT+ and may even be a role model for others).

Find out more Pride and Progress: Making Schools LGBT+ Inclusive Spaces.

To celebrate Pride Month and the release of the book, we're offering you 25% off by purchasing your copy before the 30th June with code PRIDE23 at https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/pride-and-progress-making-schools-lgbt-inclusive-spaces/book284743

Book Details
Pride and Progress: Making Schools LGBT+ Inclusive Spaces
Adam Brett and Jo Brassington
May 2023
ISBN: 9781529619058

About the Authors:

Photo credit: Spencer Cooper (they/them)
Instagram: @TheGayPhotographer
Twitter: @Spencooper

Jo Brassington is a non-binary educator, currently teaching in primary schools. For their whole career, Jo has been interested in how their identity as an LGBT+ educator intersects with their professional identity as a teacher. Along with Adam, they co-founded the Pride and Progress platform and podcast to elevate the voices of LGBT+ educators, and make our educational spaces more inclusive. Jo has delivered guest talks and training for several schools, universities, LGBT+ organisations and charities.

Dr Adam Brett is a secondary teacher, ITT course leader and LGBT+ researcher. Adam has taught in secondary schools for 13 years and recently completed his education doctorate, exploring the ways in which LGBT+ teachers experience their school environments. Adam’s continued research is inspired by his own experience of growing up gay under Section 28, and he is interested in the ways in which heteronormativity can be disrupted to create more inclusive spaces for all.