From the Editors’ Desk
Stories Shape Us
Teacher education programs are jam-packed with coursework in pedagogy, child development, educational philosophy, field work, and other research-based methods, and the texts used in these courses typically draw from a rigorous body of education research. Stories—personal narrative accounts written by teachers—can be seen as a nice supplement to a research-based curriculum. But teachers’ stories should not be viewed as an extension only if time allows. Rather, these stories are essential to understanding complex relationships, issues, and dilemmas facing teachers, and should be incorporated into the required curriculum. Melissa Livingston, a PhD student and instructor for teacher education courses at Oregon State University, and a Kaleidoscope Associate Editor, is doing just that.
“I decided to use Kaleidoscope articles rather than a traditional ‘scholarly’ source for a few reasons. First, they are written in a more accessible way. By that I mean Kaleidoscope articles are grounded in authors’ lived experiences, which makes them more digestible and relatable. Second, the length is perfect: long enough to read well, but short enough that students can actually get through them. Even with course materials that I know are really valuable, student teachers are overloaded—if I can get the point across with a shorter article, that’s the best bet. Finally, the fact that articles are written by practitioners who are still ‘in the trenches’ gives them a level of credibility that is harder to demonstrate from research-based articles. It was clear that discussions based on these articles were actually grounded in the reading! Further, students told me they actually liked to read these articles—not something I hear about learning materials! I strongly recommend other teacher educators consider incorporating Kaleidoscope articles into their courses. The writing is always strong, the messages or lessons are always succinct and powerful, and the level of relatability is high. Plus, it’s worth it to take some time to go through the archives. There is so much great stuff in there!” (M. Livingston, personal communication, February 6, 2025).
Stories have the power to teach us, but also to make us feel, both the good and the bad.
Stories engage the reader, allowing them to enter into different perspectives, glean important information, and transform the new knowledge into a living idea. Stories have the power to teach us, but also to make us feel, both the good and the bad. The stories in this issue of Kaleidoscope bring new life into the classroom. Claudia Bachmann-Bouchard tells the story of drawing out multilingual learners in the classroom, while Kelly Gregor has a similar experience utilizing pets. In “Hierarchy of Teacher Needs,” Matthew Dudak and Justin Ragland reflect on teacher burnout and provide suggestions for how administrators can help. Amber Luczak shares a poem illustrating how stories are passed down to new generations through teaching and Tom Snarsky describes a way to share stories in a community. Kasey DiSessa reminds us that although we seem like the main character, our students’ stories interweave with our own. In “I Will Teach You How to Pet The Bumblebees,” Carl Armstrong tells the decades-long story of a prairie restoration project, reminding us that we can’t predict how a story will end.
Read these teachers’ stories and see how they can change you.
Citation
Oakley, E. (2025). From the editors’ desk: Stories shape us. Kaleidoscope: Educator Voices and Perspectives, 11(2), https://knowlesteachers.org/resource/from-the-editors-desk-stories-shape-us.