Re(2): RE: RE: coining phrases

Katherine Goff (Katherine_Goff who-is-at ceo.cudenver.edu)
Wed, 13 May 1998 14:11:06 -0600

phillip writes:
> yes, like you Kathie, i've noticed that this myth - and i think
>it's one of those suburban white middle-class myths like the one about the
>$500 Porsche, or drying out kittens in micro-waves, etc. - and too i've
>been startled by the outpouring of tears and the hasty passing about of
>the box of tissues - and i've noticed that all the men, all three or
>four of them - are quite dry-eyed, and i'm feeling a bit bewildered.
>because in truth i can't figure out at all exactly what this is saying
>about teachers' values and beliefs - unless, do teachers actually see
>themselves as the paragon teacher in the myth? If so, i wonder how it is
>that medical schools have survived such a rush of students - and i can't
>think of a wedding i've been at where the teacher was an honored guest -
>or is this a story about how teachers, rather than students, _aren't_
>seen, recognized, honored ..... is this what the tears are about?

I think I could write a paper deconstructing this myth.

But off the tips of my fingers, I would say that there is a lot of
blurring between the role of teacher and that of mother. Knopp Biklen, in
her book _Schoolwork: Gender and the Social Construction of Teaching_
describes how teachers and mothers (she looked at middle class elmentary
schools) act as if in competition with one another rather than the allies
the school discourse claims. (children as resource in short supply?)

As a teacher I admit that it feels gratifying to be "seen, recognized,
honored" by a student who as an adult can grant that recognition less
ambiguously and with more cultural capital than a child. And I am aware of
at least some of the problematics of speaking this way-both as an
elementary school teacher and as a mother (plus the doctoral student
identity)-so this will certainly sound confused.

A state I enjoy in small, steady doses.
Kathie

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Life's backwards,
Life's backwards,
People, turn around.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Sinead O'Connor and John Reynolds
Fire on Babylon: Universal Mother^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Katherine_Goff who-is-at ceo.cudenver.edu
http://ouray.cudenver.edu/~kegoff/index.html