Seeing Through Teachers’ Eyes: Professional Ideals and Classroom Practices

What sources of inspiration help sustain teachers’ commitments, motivations, and care for their work? How do teachers use their ideals to inform their practice and their learning? The author proposes that many teachers have images of ideal classroom practice which she calls
teachers’ vision.
In this book, Karen Hammerness uses vision to shed light on the complex relationship between teachers’ ideals and the realities of school life. Through the compelling stories of four teachers, she reveals how teacher educators can help new teachers articulate, develop, and sustain their visions and assist them as they navigate the gap between their visions and their daily work. She shows us how vision can: illuminate those emotional and passionate moments in the classroom that enrich and enliven their work as teachers; explain what teachers learn about their students, their teaching, and their schools; and reveal why some teachers choose to stay in teaching and others leave the profession.