Investigating Lines: A Narrative Inquiry into Artfulness and Teaching

• In Event: Creative K-12 Pedagogies

Abstract

This paper uses narrative inquiry to engage in the longstanding discourse of critical pedagogy. In particular, this paper explores the tension between the personal and the professional in teaching practices, anchored in the authors’ artfulness both in their teaching as well as in their personal lives. The authors’ ground their work in the foundational texts of Bitter Milk by Madeleine Grumet (1989) and Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire (1970) along with more contemporary and diverse theories and approaches to critical pedagogy, such as Sandy Grande (2004/2015) and Savannah Shange (2019). The authors propose that artfulness is necessary for the pursuit of critical pedagogical work and that artful teaching practices, although beneficial to students and communities, are not inherently beneficial for the teachers who engage in them. Thus, this paper opens up dialogue on how to sustain teachers who attempt and aspire to enact transformative practices in education.

Authors

• Melissa Surrette, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

• Isabel Besser Verastegui, University of Minnesota

• Riley Noel Coduto, University of Minnesota