Gay teacher

Willie Carver, Jr., the Kentucky Teacher of the Year, is questioning his future as a teacher given recent anti-LGBTQ legislative efforts. Collins had been my history teacher for the past two years. He was one of those teachers who didn’t just teach the curriculum but brought it to life. His passion for the subject was undeniable. Some LGBTQ teachers have fought efforts to silence them through visibility, turning to TikTok and other social media to reach an audience beyond their classroom.

As teachers across the country begin the school year, they face over number of anti-LGBTQ+ education laws and ramped-up attacks by conservatives. The impact of gay teachers in education is profound and far-reaching. From providing support and guidance to LGBTQ+ students to promoting inclusivity and acceptance among all students, gay teachers play a crucial role in creating a safe and welcoming school environment.

In a short time we experienced so many different lifestyles and I could probably write quite a few blog posts about it but I only have time for one. I worked with jeans and a variety of tops in a palette of blue and ivory with silver and the odd spot of colour thrown in. It was almost as cold as home when we picked up our hire car in Alicante late that night and when we woke up the next morning we were greeted by dark grey clouds.

However there were worse things to do than shelter in a cafe with tapas knowing that we had an evening ahead with our boy…. As the night went on he took us deeper and deeper into The Strip, deliberately choosing the most notorious Benidorm venues. Here we were in a nightclub called Insomnia where pirates on stilts roamed with trays of sickly free shots the colour of Pepto Bismol … you get the idea… it was all quite surreal and we had fun but would never go there again!

The following morning he gave us full kudos for agreeing to go along with him — and actually I do think that one of the best ways of staying close to your adult children is to let your hair down with them every now and then. So here we were up early in Villajoyosa, glad of the fresh air and tranquility. Boden jumper AW23; Travel jeans ; Trainers. And as his mum there was something lovely about seeing him roll up his trousers and go for a paddle.

We found it to be a really lovely, traditional Spanish seaside resort that has retained its authenticity and smallness despite being only a 20 minute drive from Alicante airport.

Collins had been my history

I now have it firmly earmarked as an easy escape for when we need a reliable short break away from the UK. There are currently only 56 pupils but the original building is being extended to cater for children from the surrounding mountain villages as they start to amalgamate resources. He seems to be really enjoying the teaching side of things, the ages range from 2 — 11 and it reminded me of the tiny rural primary school that I went to where we all felt like family.

And it was lovely exploring it with him the following morning, we even saw the cave where El Cid secured the resources for his conquests. A few minutes away is the stunning spot of Guadalest which you can see behind us here. It was back to work for the boy on Tuesday so we headed down to the coast.

I find the winter months especially hard going in the UK so we hope in the future to spend January to March in Spain somewhere which will also enable me to build my Spanish back up to complete fluency again. However we strolled down to the seafront at about 2pm for a spot of lunch and were a bit confounded. The bars and restaurants were filled with people in their 70s and 80s from Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium and the UK whose very deep tans suggested they were living there — and they were all completely smashed.

Every day. A lot of the restaurants were still closed while we were there but they seemed to be preparing to open for Easter. As we walked around we reflected on the contrast with English seaside resorts. So many of them are architecturally beautiful with their Victorian hotels that were built to last but then abandoned half a century later as the opportunity to fly to warmer climes opened up. Looking back at Calpe and its beautiful mountainscape you wonder at the short-termism of greed for immediate gain.

The silver lining was that it had been getting hotter every day, the wind had dropped and it was now warm enough for proper summer clothes. So we spent the morning crushing numbers and then headed out to lunch. How he laughed at his parents wearing shorts as is his privilege with endless sunny days ahead — but we needed all the Vitamin D we could get.

We let him choose whatever he wanted for one last meal with us and what did he go for? Long term readers may remember why Valencia is important to me because I wrote about it here when we took the boys there six years ago. Why Valencia? Well I lived there in