Early Career English Teachers in Action

"This collection of beginning teacher stories provides authentic narrative voices that share the positive, neutral, and negative realities of teaching. The vicarious experience serves as a means to help pre-service teachers envision their roles and the many choices, from overall career choices to the miniscule daily decisions, they will make as teachers. and to meet contemporary and future challenges as public intellectuals, advocates for their students and communities, and pedagogical leaders who can usher in a new progressive era of education." Lisa Schade Eckert, Northern Michigan University, USA. From the Foreword "This is a gem of a book. It will stay on teachers shelves long after they have emerged through their teacher preparation programs and first years of teaching as an invaluable resource for thinking about their lives as teachers, their teaching, and the students and issues that confront them." Melanie Sperling, University of California, Riverside, USA

Robert Rozema is Associate Professor of English (Secondary Education), Grand Valley State University, USA. Before coming to Grand Valley, he taught high school English for eight years. Lindsay Ellis is Associate Professor of English, Grand Valley State University. USA. She directs the Lake Michigan Writing Project.

Contents Foreword, Lisa Schade Eckert Preface Acknowledgments Chapter 1: Introduction Why English School Teachers? Robert Rozema Why Teacher Narratives? Lindsay Ellis Chapter 2: School Culture Introduction, Robert Rozema Lessons from the Scrap Yard, Jeremy Battaglia The Rules, Adam Kennedy Lessons from the Slum, David Jagusch Life Skills, Blaine Sullivan Chapter 3: School Climate Introduction, Robert Rozema Loving and Leaving, Tami Teshima Why the Hell Would You Teach There? Kristyn Konal Chapter 4: Curriculum Introduction, Lindsay Ellis Kibera Sings, David Jagusch Going Gradeless, Sierra Holmes The Meaning of Success, Adam Kennedy Chapter 5: Teacher Identity Introduction, Lindsay Ellis Absorbing Fear, Rejecting Fear, Bree Gannon Integrity, Amanda Brown Breaking My Rule, Lindsay Stoetzel First Love, Sara VanIttersum Holding their Stories, Tracy Meinzer Chapter 6: Student Behavior Introduction, Robert Rozema The Exceptions, Adam Kennedy Finding Your Focus, Jeremy Battaglia Innocence and Experience, Amanda Brown The Heart of Teaching, Tracy Meinzer Contributors