True Story 4.17
Trainee teacher decides between two contrasting districts
The setting for this story
Nathaly, a young European American woman, was about to finish her teacher education program at a college in the American Southeast. She was pondering offers to hire her to teach an elementary grade from two quite different school districts in the same region. In this story, Nathaly presents the dilemma she faced.
A story of misaligned minds23
I had been born and raised in this area of the country, known variously as the “Rural South” and the “Black Belt,” referring to the dark, fertile soil. I grew up in a very small town. It’s only about 90 minutes away from one of the school districts that made me an offer, also in a very small town. The other district that made me an offer was in a medium-sized city, also in this region.
In the small town that had made me an offer, around 150 years ago people were relying on slave labor to farm indigo and cotton. After emancipation, the town appeared poised to grow and become significant – until the 1917 boll weevil invasion sunk it economically. Nonetheless, most families remained, nurturing their old traditions and relationships.
Because I had gone through all twelve school years in a similar town, I knew that the funds to support teaching would be limited. And I realized that this town wasn’t close to any college where I could get additional training and support. On the other hand, I was used to maintaining strong ties with others in a community. And I wanted to support rural students the way a special teacher had once supported me.
The district in the medium-sized city was similar to the suburban districts where I was sent by my teacher education program for field placements. They had the type of classroom contexts that invariably were discussed in my teacher education classes. In their schools, most students were white and all teachers had access to a wide range of resources. Universities were nearby. The pay was better. Such a placement was considered ideal by most of my classmates. But to me, those were schools from which faculty members, after work, went home to their separate worlds.
Well, as you probably guessed, I accepted the offer from the very small town.
But things didn’t work out as I had anticipated. I didn’t hit the ground running with the respect of students, the support of parents, and the encouragement of colleagues. To my surprise and dismay, I was an outsider. Everyone was polite. No one was warm.
Nathaly’s question
My hopes for working here were based on my experience growing up in a similar small town not far from here. What went wrong?
Critique of story 4.17
Nathaly’s question contains the answer she’s seeking. The small town where she grew up was demographically similar, but it wasn’t this small town. No one knew Nathaly here. No one knew anything about her. No one had any basis to trust her.
It didn’t take Nathaly long to figure things out.
“I had to prove myself,” she wrote. “At this school, everyone knows everyone. Everyone expects teachers to know family connections and student histories; I knew none of this. People didn’t see how I fit in. My colleagues saw me as an out-of-place white sorority girl. Even my motives were questioned. I was a stranger. Trust wasn’t free. It had to be earned.”
So Nathaly put effort into building relationships and learning family trees. She began to attend nearly all local events although most occurred during evenings and weekends. In a few months, colleagues accepted her and parents viewed her as part of their educational family.
For thought
Throughout this chapter, I have emphasized that most Americans share values, norms, and expectations that are mainly individualistic. This story is a reminder why I use phrases like “most Americans” and “mainly individualistic.” Many communities and other local groups of people in our nation continue to value a more cohesive, communitarian way of life.
When Nathaly was pondering which district to select, she probably wasn’t thinking in terms such as “individualistic” and “communitarian.” But because she’d spent her childhood in a communitarian locale, she knew how much she treasured strong ties with neighbors.
Nathaly as a youngster had been readily accepted into an established set of communitarian relationships; thus, Nathaly as an adult didn’t realize how much time and effort is needed for an outsider to become an accepted and trusted member of an existing communitarian group – and then as a new insider to maintain that acceptance and those relationships.
Related stories
Stories 4.11 and 4.16 also provide examples of how communitarian relationships affect students’, teachers’, and parents’ participation in the process of schooling.
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Endnotes:
23 Burton & Johnson, 380–383; quotes from 382, lightly edited and shortened. This article strongly implies, but never states, that most of the inhabitants of the town were Black.
Full citations are available at misalignedminds.info/References.