This study draws from theories of attachment to examine prospective teachers' reflections on the role of the parent in their childhood memories in shaping the imagination of their future selves. As part of a larger qualitative study, we collected and analyzed the memory narratives of teacher candidates and undergraduate students preparing to work…

In this article, I explore one lesbian teacher's ethical dilemmas and resulting disappointment related to the lack of participation by queer students in the Gay Straight Alliance she helped to create. Her dilemmas hinge on the paradoxical subject position of queer teacher in tension with the "coming out imperative" and intersecting…

Numerous scholars have illustrated how African American teachers' past experiences provide them a philosophical vision committed to teaching for social and educational change for African American students. This article draws from this body of work by looking at the diverse ways five African American male teachers used their past experiences to…

Although all teachers are expected to be "role models," discursive trajectories reaching back to the West's gay liberation pressure queer teachers to be role models in specific ways--by "coming out" and helping queer students out of their "time of difficulty." Paradoxically, discourses that construct children as…

The scholarship on historical and contemporary African-American teachers highlights the emphasis on community connections in their work. As such, the scholarship portrays African-American teachers almost exclusively as "givers" without fully considering what teachers derive from community connections. This paper describes a qualitative study in…