Being Your Own Advocate

Being Your Own Advocate invites pre-service, practicing, and veteran teachers to live within those tenuous and exiting first years of teaching. The personal stories of six novice art teachers highlight the need for and inevitability of advocacy in the early years (years 1-3) of their careers. This work is based on a longitudinal study that asked participants to create a weekly video diary, reflecting on their teaching experiences. While the study aimed to identify common issues for new art teachers and explore new ways for them to reflect on their experiences, the result was a beautiful narrative about the role of advocacy and the empowerment of new art teachers. The first part of the book introduces the context and purpose of the study laying the groundwork for important stories to surface. Part two explores the individual stories of six novice art teachers and includes imagery and reflections from over the course of two years in the field. Part three brings synthesis to the stories by addressing the need to encourage and develop advocacy in early professionals. Common issues are identified for novice art teachers as well as implications for understanding the inner workings of novice art teacher stories and how they can inform teacher education programs and professional and personal growth for new teachers of all disciplines. The final chapter offers practical resources and activities to guide future and current educators in their own journeys of empowerment.