Combatting Male Supremacism in 6th-12th Grades
To combat the normalization of male supremacist culture in middle and high schools, a group of Seattle-based 6-12th grade educators are inaugurating a two year-long project with IRMS, with the express purpose of developing student leadership to proactively build inclusive school culture. We believe that these efforts must be in genuine collaboration with students as it requires not just the development of content for young people but also must center and empower our students who are dedicated to ensuring a healthy culture for themselves and their communities. To do so, the team this summer (2026) completed the curriculum on male supremacism produced by IRMS for their Mentorship Program. We will then begin the process of collaborating with student leaders to teach and revise the curriculum for a high school audience. As part of that work, we will work with student leaders to pilot a variety of student-centered pedagogies including simulations, workshops, and role-play exercises. These pedagogies will be foundational to a student leadership conference for high school students in the Pacific Northwest in the Fall of 2027. It is our hope that through this culture building project, eventually, schools can become the positive formative spaces they are imagined to be, and have, on and off in their history been.
Curriculum Fellows
Sam Timinsky, Ph.D, is a Seattle-based educator and historian of Masculinity and the culture of Capitalism. He has taught for 15 years at the university, middle school, and high school levels and has more recently been increasingly spending time working on gender culture in high schools and developing programs around experiential education and simulation.
Kate Boyd, Ph.D., is a Seattle-based educator, interdisciplinary public humanities scholar, and cultural organizer. Bridging conversations between academia, the arts, and social movements, Kate’s educational philosophy is uniquely informed by over two decades of experience visioning and supporting community-based education and programming to further inclusive democracy at the local, regional, and national level.
Lauren Uhl teaches Middle School Humanities Teacher and Grade Level Coordinator. Through project-based learning, discussion, and student leadership development, she strives to empower young people to think critically, engage across differences, and actively create more inclusive communities.
Pete Cramer is a 6th grade humanities teacher and has worked in education for the past 5 years. Previously he served as a case manager at YouthCare, an organization with the mission to end youth homelessness in Seattle, Washington. He holds a BA in History with a Minor in Creative Writing (St. Mary’s College).
Catalina Martinez is an educator, DEI leader, and curriculum developer with more than 25 years of experience in independent schools. She currently serves at The Northwest School in Seattle, leading initiatives focused on belonging, restorative practices, civil discourse, and culturally responsive education. Catalina is passionate about helping school communities create inclusive environments where all students thrive.