"I once thought being a teacher was being a superhero. Instead of a magic lasso, I’d have a textbook; I’d step out of library stacks transformed. My students would see the 'teacher me.' I maintained the charade my first years. My classes were behaved, organized, and silent. The information was most important, and my task was deliver, assess, and raise student achievement."
"Eventually, I realized my ideas about identity were related to my teenage years—because I was different, I was not able to express myself in ways that enabled learning. If I embodied the perfect teacher stereotype, my kids wouldn’t see my learning struggles. But accepting the idea that there was one kind of good teacher required perpetuating the idea that there is one kind of good student, which I knew wasn’t true. If I believed this I would be rejecting my teen self, still there, hiding behind the dress and heels."
"Development of identity parallels intellectual development, and if we are unsure of ourselves we cannot succeed fully. My eccentricity is inspiring, and students can learn to be who they are by accepting diversity in me. Now, the first time a student says, 'Ms. Morris, you are sooo weird,' I know the real learning can begin."
--Sarah L. Morris
Berkeley Springs High School
Berkeley Springs, West Virginia
7 years of teaching
Reading Resources..
Reading across Cultures: Teaching Literature in a Diverse Society
Editor(s): Theresa Rogers, Anna O. Soter
The authors in this collection take on the complexities of reading, writing, interpreting, and critiquing literature in the context of both culturally diverse and nearly monocultural classrooms, as well as the pluralistic larger society.
Relevance of English, The: Teaching That Matters in Students' Lives
Editor(s): Robert P. Yagelski, Scott A. Leonard
Contributors to this book explore the relevance of high school and college English classes to students’ lives in a rapidly changing and increasingly technological world.