Unheard Frequencies: Performing and Reimagining the Oppressive Construct of Time in Urban Schooling

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 22
  In Roundtable Session: What Do Teachers Need? Staying in the Profession

Abstract

The construct of time is central to the experiences of teachers and students. However, the ways that time functions in urban schools are rarely systematically examined. This performance ethnography resulted from a secondary analysis of data from a grounded theory inquiry which analyzed 5,897 daily reflections of 38 novice teachers in an urban school district caught in a standardized test cheating scandal. Teachers’ grappled with the construct of time across a year of teaching during the era of high-stakes accountability. These experiences are presented as five acts intended to elicit thought and dialogue about the current status of public education. Finally, using phrases from participants’ writing, a “found poem,” re-imagines more just possibilities for time in urban schools.

Authors

• Anne E. Martin, Georgia State University

• Teresa R. Fisher-Ari, Georgia State University

• Kara M. Kavanagh, James Madison University