Priest, Prostitute, Plumber? The Construction of Teachers as Saints

Teachers are never free from metaphor. Whether or not they consciously design and choose their own comparisons, teachers' work is continually constructed in metaphorical terms, perhaps more so than any other profession. Like Kristy, whose course of study was determined by a television ad lastin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:English education 2009-10, Vol.42 (1), p.61-90
Main Author: Carter, Catherine
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambiguity (Context)
Art teachers
Artists
Attitudes
Beginning Teachers
Beliefs
Candidates
Career Guidance
Classroom Environment
Clergy
Community Relations
Education
English teacher education
English Teachers
Figurative Language
Frost, Robert (1874-1963)
Mass Media Effects
Metaphor
Movies
Oral Reading
Pedagogy
Personality traits
Plumbing
Poetry
Popular Culture
Priests
Saints
Self Concept
Sex workers
Social Responsibility
Teacher Improvement
Teacher Recruitment
Teacher Shortage
Teachers
Teaching (Occupation)
Teaching Conditions
Teaching Methods
Television Commercials
Working conditions
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Summary:Teachers are never free from metaphor. Whether or not they consciously design and choose their own comparisons, teachers' work is continually constructed in metaphorical terms, perhaps more so than any other profession. Like Kristy, whose course of study was determined by a television ad lasting less than a minute, teachers and potential teachers are inevitably influenced by popular culture constructions of what they do. The predominant cultural metaphors about teaching--teacher as saint, teacher as clergy, teaching as religious vocation--reflect the external conditions of English teachers' lives, such as pay, work conditions, and community perception of teaching, and may also help to shape those conditions. In this article, the author reminds educators that "metaphor is not a decorative adornment to language, but a central mode of thought, both reflecting and affecting concepts of the world and actions in it" as she examines the metaphors that construct teaching and both reflect and perpetuate the conflicted nature of the work. (Contains 8 notes.)
ISSN:0007-8204
1943-2216