Crafting a narrative of teaching

I totally dug this morning's literacy dig.  The space to think about the portrayal of teachers, learning, and teaching through popular culture was a way important convo to have...it got us thinking more about how we are perceived by society, and it even got me thinking a little about how messages from different strands of media work collectively to create an image of teaching that fits into a political narrative that bashes teaching.

Specifically, I noticed that the bad teacher narrative that pervades the political conversation on a local and national level is based on the belief that teachers could be good if they just try harder, care more, and dedicate more of their life to teaching. That's crap....on a couple of levels.  For one, I can't say that I know of many teachers who are holding back, not completely committing themselves to the profession.  Burn-out seems to be the norm. I've grown to accept it.

And Second, it doesn't create an image of what good teaching actually looks like.  As I've come to see it, good teaching isn't about happy endings as it is as finding new beginnings through ongoing inquiry and questioning. And it's not an individual quest, it's collaborative.

These two points aren't huge revelations.  I'm sure that most teachers are aware of the truth in them on some level, and even though it has only been a couple of days, I feel like what has come out of SI both is evidence to the truth of these points and a statement to the kind of spaces that teachers need to thrive. Strict guidelines and competition stifles teachers growth as learners. Open space to collaborate and think cultivates it.

So, I'm left wondering how the image of teaching engaging as learners, collaborators, and writers gets worked into the mainstream. Crafting and sharing our personal stories, our counter-narrative is a big part of it, but it's just a part.  I'm curious about the other pieces....