More Whole

Woven Together: How Unpacking Your Teacher Identity Creates a Stronger Learning Community by Courtney E. Rose
Jossey-Bass, November 30, 2023

By affirming the unique threads that make us who we are, Woven Together confronts the notion that there is any singular mold of a teacher, classroom, student, or model for success. Our experiences, identities, memories, mindsets, and more shape our ways of navigating our work, personally and professionally. Dr. Courtney Rose cautions us not to dismiss or silence the many aspects of who we are; by doing so, she suggests, we contribute to systems and schools that dismiss or silence aspects of who our students are. Instead, she encourages us to show up more whole and humanized, allowing us to support more whole and humanized kids and communities. But this work isn’t easy, and schools and systems are not always designed to affirm and value difference. This book provides us with compelling reflection prompts and frameworks along with the encouragement needed to navigate our work with a renewed sense of self and purpose. Rose structures this book as she might structure her graduate school classes, weaving history, data, thought leadership, personal narrative, and frameworks into each chapter. Beginning with a “journey into self” in Chapter 1, Rose encourages us to consider our own foundation before journeying through other chapters, which offer explorations of various aspects of our experiences as educators. While many of the narrative examples come from public schools, any educator can benefit from the critical reflective exercises that this book offers.

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