Fit to Teach: Same-Sex Desire, Gender, and School Work in the Twentieth Century

Rating:
Summary: Blount Breathes Life into Hidden Histories
Review: Although a great deal of the "history" Blount uncovers and recounts in this significant volume has transpired in the last 30 years (the lifetimes and school times of many of us) the people and the issues that she chronicles have been absent in our lessons and conversations within and about schools and schooling. Blount's book is a welcome awakening to the hidden histories and erased identities of students and school workers who manifest unconventional gender or desire persons of the same sex.

As a student who struggled through classrooms where gender was so narrowly defined that I had no place, and as an educator who was often marginalized due to my unconventional identity and ideas, I applaud this important book and the issues it brings to light. This book is a must-read for all who are interested in schools, schooling, and the history and sociology of education.


Rating:
Summary: Making the invisible visible
Review: This is the most important book yet written about same-sex desire and the institution of education in the US. Blount describes in rich detail how schools have attempted to control the sexuality of their workers--and how school workers have resisted. The research for the book is impressive: Blount traveled widely throughout the US to access archives and other original sources. The book is sure to stimulate a wide range of emotions in readers: outrage at oppression, satisfaction at successful resistance, sadness that justice continues to be withheld in too many school districts. The book is highly readable, beautifully written, and compelling. Anyone interested in the history of sexuality, education, and/or gender will find this book to be absorbing. I recommend it highly.