Telling Our Stories

Our Educational Narratives as K-8 Teachers

As part process of supporting Bullis educators, we asked them to reflect on their stories — why did they become teachers? What sustains them? What are their goals and aspirations? As they become rock-star teachers and teacher leaders, we want to use storytelling to honor their stories and paths so their diverse points of view are showcased and so their stories become part of the education narrative.

The idea of using storytelling and connecting our pasts with our futures in teaching and the education field came out of our work at the Teach to Lead Summit (DC, summer 2015) that focused on creating teacher pathways and opportunities to lead from the classroom. Storytelling and sharing our voices became a way to tie why we became educators with where we were going.

So often the education narrative is told by non-educators — parents complaining, policymakers making broad statements, and others who feel that since they went to school, they can talk about what teaching is and isn’t.

I was inspired to use Medium and to create a publication for our teacher voices during an I3 event held a Medium. While I3 grant recipients shared some of their stories, most of the participants were administrators, non-profit organizations, and district, state, and federal employees. Where were the teacher stories?

So, although we’re not an I3 grantee, I wanted to bring teacher voices into the education conversation. I3 grantees, let us know if you need teachers to test your ideas and to give feedback. We’re all working toward the same goal — improving learning for students so that all students leave high school (and college) with the skills to be successful.

So, please join us on our journey to share our stories — of why we became teachers, why we stay in the education profession, and what excites us about teaching. Please comment, respond, and continue the conversations that our stories start.