I have tried to realise some of these ambitions by making my classroom a safe (and equal) space in which all my students can take risks. Sometimes it seems that the biggest risk they can imagine is to say something out loud. I know that they are afraid of saying the wrong thing and being laughed at. But I want them to speak despite this fear. Because I worry that if students are quiet about their ideas in class perhaps they will be quiet about other things too. Things they should not be quiet about. If they cannot talk in class, how will they speak out if they [or others] get harassed, or discriminated against, or hurt?
From Emilie Pine’s Notes to Self (Tramp Press, 2018), p. 161
Text in square brackets added.