This project documents my experiences before, during, and after my first year of teaching. It examines my own experiences within the education system and my entry into the teaching profession. By looking at my past with a critical social justice lens, I also explore how my positionality affects the students I teach. Finally, this project reflects on the lived experiences of my first year of teaching. This project uses a combination of anecdotal and qualitative data gathered from my past, qualitative and quantitative data from my current students, visits to three focus students’ homes, and informational interviews of school and community members. Overall, this project encouraged me to challenge my beliefs, explore and analyze my experiences, and reflect on myself as an educator. By examining my entry into and experience within the teaching profession, I have found that my greatest growth comes as a result of deep reflection and meaningful relationships.
","abstract_html":"<p>This project documents my experiences before, during, and after my first year of teaching. It examines my own experiences within the education system and my entry into the teaching profession. By looking at my past with a critical social justice lens, I also explore how my positionality affects the students I teach. Finally, this project reflects on the lived experiences of my first year of teaching. This project uses a combination of anecdotal and qualitative data gathered from my past, qualitative and quantitative data from my current students, visits to three focus students’ homes, and informational interviews of school and community members. Overall, this project encouraged me to challenge my beliefs, explore and analyze my experiences, and reflect on myself as an educator. By examining my entry into and experience within the teaching profession, I have found that my greatest growth comes as a result of deep reflection and meaningful relationships.<strong></strong></p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Daifotis, Valerie"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Education, MA","degree_level":"Restricted to Claremont Colleges Master's Thesis","degree_discipline":"School of Educational Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:39:50Z","subjects":["education","elementary","social justice","reflection","teacher","Elementary Education and Teaching"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/180","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Daifotis, Valerie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-08-05T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["School of Educational Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Restricted to Claremont Colleges Master's Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Education, MA"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["education","elementary","social justice","reflection","teacher","Elementary Education and Teaching"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/180"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This project documents my experiences before, during, and after my first year of teaching. It examines my own experiences within the education system and my entry into the teaching profession. By looking at my past with a critical social justice lens, I also explore how my positionality affects the students I teach. Finally, this project reflects on the lived experiences of my first year of teaching. This project uses a combination of anecdotal and qualitative data gathered from my past, qualitative and quantitative data from my current students, visits to three focus students’ homes, and informational interviews of school and community members. Overall, this project encouraged me to challenge my beliefs, explore and analyze my experiences, and reflect on myself as an educator. By examining my entry into and experience within the teaching profession, I have found that my greatest growth comes as a result of deep reflection and meaningful relationships.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Teach Me Something I Don’t Know: One First-Year Teacher’s Experience as an Educator in the US Schooling System"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Daifotis, Valerie"],"dc:date.available":["2020-08-05T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This project documents my experiences before, during, and after my first year of teaching. It examines my own experiences within the education system and my entry into the teaching profession. By looking at my past with a critical social justice lens, I also explore how my positionality affects the students I teach. Finally, this project reflects on the lived experiences of my first year of teaching. This project uses a combination of anecdotal and qualitative data gathered from my past, qualitative and quantitative data from my current students, visits to three focus students’ homes, and informational interviews of school and community members. Overall, this project encouraged me to challenge my beliefs, explore and analyze my experiences, and reflect on myself as an educator. By examining my entry into and experience within the teaching profession, I have found that my greatest growth comes as a result of deep reflection and meaningful relationships.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/180"],"dc:subject":["education","elementary","social justice","reflection","teacher","Elementary Education and Teaching"],"dc:title":["Teach Me Something I Don’t Know: One First-Year Teacher’s Experience as an Educator in the US Schooling System"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["School of Educational Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Restricted to Claremont Colleges Master's Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Education, MA"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:39:50Z"}