A Letter to a First Year K-8 Classroom Teacher

Authors

  • Reyila Hadeer Michigan State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63997/jct.v40i2.987

Keywords:

currere, curriculum, knowledge base for teaching, theory practice relationship, teacher burnout, teacher empowerment

Abstract

The author writes a reflective letter to Rey, her earlier self as a first-year classroom teacher, exploring how her understanding of curriculum has evolved. In a warm and conversational tone, she revisits the basic notion of curriculum before introducing the ideas of American scholar Madeleine R. Grumet and her expansive view of curriculum. Through this dialogue, she explores whether broadening the concept of curriculum makes teaching clearer or more complex, while also acknowledging insights from non-Western traditions. This essay invites beginning teachers to consider a more expansive, relational approach to curriculum, emphasizing how theory and practice intertwine in the everyday work of teaching.

Author Biography

Reyila Hadeer, Michigan State University

Reyila Hadeer is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education at Michigan State University. She has worked with youth, adult learners, and teachers in both formal and informal educational settings in China and the U.S. She has been conducting experiential works focusing on the curriculum situated at the counterpoint of school and life from global and non-western critical indigenous perspectives. Her current research draws on visual inquiry and narrative inquiry to explore an expansive notion of curriculum and how it relates to larger curriculum reform.

Self-portrait of the author standing on a railway track at night, looking back on a journey shaped by displacement.

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Published

2025-09-29

Issue

Vol. 40 No. 2 (2025): Journal of Curriculum Theorizing

Section

Engaging Texts

License

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