Alison Wood Brooks

I have so many meetings with students and the topics are all over the map, but I thought that he would be asking about, you know, a job that he'd applied for, some personal problem that he was coping with. Instead, he sort of sat down and said, I love the class. It's going so great. Thank you so much. There's just one thing. There's just one thing that I want to talk to you about.

I have so many meetings with students and the topics are all over the map, but I thought that he would be asking about, you know, a job that he'd applied for, some personal problem that he was coping with. Instead, he sort of sat down and said, I love the class. It's going so great. Thank you so much. There's just one thing. There's just one thing that I want to talk to you about.

I have so many meetings with students and the topics are all over the map, but I thought that he would be asking about, you know, a job that he'd applied for, some personal problem that he was coping with. Instead, he sort of sat down and said, I love the class. It's going so great. Thank you so much. There's just one thing. There's just one thing that I want to talk to you about.

And I was like, oh, no, geez. And he said, do you remember in class when you flashed the photo of Tom Brady up on your slides? I said, oh, yeah, that was awesome, wasn't it? And he said, yes, but you paused on this slide and you said, hey, ladies, enjoy the view. And I said, oh, yeah, I remember that. I was going for this big dramatic effect.

And I was like, oh, no, geez. And he said, do you remember in class when you flashed the photo of Tom Brady up on your slides? I said, oh, yeah, that was awesome, wasn't it? And he said, yes, but you paused on this slide and you said, hey, ladies, enjoy the view. And I said, oh, yeah, I remember that. I was going for this big dramatic effect.

And I was like, oh, no, geez. And he said, do you remember in class when you flashed the photo of Tom Brady up on your slides? I said, oh, yeah, that was awesome, wasn't it? And he said, yes, but you paused on this slide and you said, hey, ladies, enjoy the view. And I said, oh, yeah, I remember that. I was going for this big dramatic effect.

And he said, you know, framing it that way felt really heteronormative. And this was a long time ago. This was probably 2013. I don't think I had ever heard the word heteronormative before. And I said, oh my goodness, tell me more. What do you mean?

And he said, you know, framing it that way felt really heteronormative. And this was a long time ago. This was probably 2013. I don't think I had ever heard the word heteronormative before. And I said, oh my goodness, tell me more. What do you mean?

And he said, you know, framing it that way felt really heteronormative. And this was a long time ago. This was probably 2013. I don't think I had ever heard the word heteronormative before. And I said, oh my goodness, tell me more. What do you mean?

And he said, well, it kind of felt like you were only talking to the people who are heterosexual, only people who are interested in the opposite gender in the class. What about all the male students who wanted to enjoy the view?

And he said, well, it kind of felt like you were only talking to the people who are heterosexual, only people who are interested in the opposite gender in the class. What about all the male students who wanted to enjoy the view?

And he said, well, it kind of felt like you were only talking to the people who are heterosexual, only people who are interested in the opposite gender in the class. What about all the male students who wanted to enjoy the view?

It's worth pausing for a moment and asking how you would have responded in this situation. You're a teacher, and you've just put in a lot of thought and effort into creating a great presentation. A student is upset because of a phrase you used. Would you dismiss the student as being overly sensitive? Too woke? Would you even listen?

It's worth pausing for a moment and asking how you would have responded in this situation. You're a teacher, and you've just put in a lot of thought and effort into creating a great presentation. A student is upset because of a phrase you used. Would you dismiss the student as being overly sensitive? Too woke? Would you even listen?

It's worth pausing for a moment and asking how you would have responded in this situation. You're a teacher, and you've just put in a lot of thought and effort into creating a great presentation. A student is upset because of a phrase you used. Would you dismiss the student as being overly sensitive? Too woke? Would you even listen?

The point here is not what you would have actually done, but to illustrate what happens when we are confronted by difficult conversations. very often the conversation inside our heads can get so loud that we stop paying attention to the conversation outside. Allison did not tune out the student.

The point here is not what you would have actually done, but to illustrate what happens when we are confronted by difficult conversations. very often the conversation inside our heads can get so loud that we stop paying attention to the conversation outside. Allison did not tune out the student.

The point here is not what you would have actually done, but to illustrate what happens when we are confronted by difficult conversations. very often the conversation inside our heads can get so loud that we stop paying attention to the conversation outside. Allison did not tune out the student.

I thought, whoa, whoa. You're right, for sure. I definitely was coming from this sort of heteronormative perspective. And I couldn't have imagined that such a sort of a moment of levity could be experienced in that way as sort of exclusionary.

I thought, whoa, whoa. You're right, for sure. I definitely was coming from this sort of heteronormative perspective. And I couldn't have imagined that such a sort of a moment of levity could be experienced in that way as sort of exclusionary.