Lunch With My Younger Self: Vulnerability in Teacher Preparation

Abstract

This article is an example of how one preservice teacher (PT) uses self-reflexivity to explore the evocative nature of vulnerability regarding their own biases, prejudices, and privileges in the process of learning to become a teacher. Through poetic self-examination – in teacher education or any other field – the ability to admit honest, often brutal truths about ourselves and/or others strengthens our ability to communicate effectively. Through the process of acknowledging self-reflexive truths, educators not only learn to engage in more authentic ways, but we also better our understandings of the world around us. As educational scholar-practitioners, this self-reflexivity opens space for personal and collective learning.