Hope Andromeda Kitts
Abstract
Teachers are generally perceived as self-sacrificing, kind and generous do-gooders. Though well-intentioned, this commonsense perception leaves oppressive assumptions unexamined and ultimately undermines teachers’ professional agency. I explore this phenomena and its implications reflectively and in relation to scholarship on critical pedagogy and teacher identity. To realize teaching as liberatory, I suggest programs of teacher education engage students in exploring the complexity of their motivations to become teachers. Though taboo, questioning teachers’ relationship to power, control, and punishment refuses to shield these tendencies from the light of examination, for the benefit of children and society more broadly.
Recommended Citation
Kitts, H. A. (2026). Behind the veil of the infallible teacher persona. Midwest Journal of Education, 3(2), 108-114. https://doi.org/10.69670/mje.3.2.9
DOI
Corresponding Author
Hope Kitts, Assistant Professor
University of Minnesota Duluth
412 Library Drive, Duluth, MN 55812
Email: [email protected] ORCid: 0000-0003-1789-8980.