I Continue to Teach: The Life and Careers of Paula Grossman (1919–2003), a Trans Music Educator

Paula Miriam Grossman (1919–2003), an elementary school vocal music teacher in a small New Jersey town, made international headlines in the summer of 1971 when she announced to her school district that she was transsexual and would return to school that fall as a woman. Mrs. Grossman, an educator with thirty-one years’ experience, had taught in the Bernards Township School District for fourteen years as Mr. Paul Monroe Grossman, and was praised by community members for her music teaching. Following her transition, however, Mrs. Grossman was fired due to what school administrators claimed was the potential for psychological harm that her transition might have caused for her students. Mrs. Grossman sued to get her job back, and in so doing, became the first known person in U.S. history to sue for anti-trans discrimination. Although she never returned to the classroom, in her own words, Mrs. Grossman “continue[d] to teach, not less, but more,” as an activist, writer, and mentor in the trans community. In this article, I provide an account of Mrs. Grossman’s life and careers as a music educator, trans activist, writer, and trans mentor and provide implications for practice and future research.