Teach Me Something I Don’t Know: One First-Year Teacher’s Experience as an Educator in the US Schooling System
type: CreativeWork
description: 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: 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.
author: Daifotis, Valerie
keywords: education, elementary, social justice, reflection, teacher, Elementary Education and Teaching
date published: 2020-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:39:50Z
provider: Claremont Graduate University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Claremont Graduate University