Educators are often overworked, underpaid and at the crosshairs of every cultural debate. Teachers dedicate themselves to creating safe, nurturing environments for students, but are themselves subjected to levels of personal scrutiny practically unseen in other professions. In some careers, keeping a picture of your loved ones on your desk isn’t worth a second thought. For teachers with nontraditional families, it can come with the risk of becoming a political football.

Informed by her firsthand experience as a nonmonogamous educator, Ashley Speed examines the typical objections raised about nonmonogamous people teaching children, how to refute them and how to navigate some of the difficulties of being a nonmonogamous teacher in today’s stormy political waters. It also offers practical advice for administrators and parents who want to support nonmonogamous teachers, and tips for teachers on how to make their classrooms friendly for kids from nonmonogamous families.

Ashley Speed is an AMI-certified Montessori guide with over a decade of classroom experience. She has presented at Montessori conferences on children’s literacy, creating queer-friendly classroom environments, sex ed and more. She has designed and sold inclusive classroom materials since 2016.

Ashley Speed's profile page