Constructing Identity in the Time of Coronavirus: Reading as Recovery

ABSTRACT

How does a beginning teacher go about constructing a teacherly identity in a pandemic? How does one reconcile what might be with what is, as dictated by the rhetoric of a neoliberal government, which prizes the individual mind over the collective one, the product over the process, and results over relationships? This essay explores these questions through the experience of reading Jane Eyre with a Year 9 English class. Personal and professional stories form the core of this investigation that explores the complexities of finding a teacherly identity; this is a discussion about aims and values and relationships, rather than just ‘effective’ teaching strategies.

KEYWORDS:

• Coronavirus
• teacherly identity
• reading
• recovery
• change
• stories

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Louise Torres-Ryan

Louise Torres-Ryan is currently a teacher of English and Drama at an inner-city comprehensive girls’ school. This is her third year of teaching. Before this, she worked as an actor. She is interested in how these identities can co-exist and support one another in the teaching of English. Alongside this, she is completing an English Education MA at the UCL Institute of Education.