Societal Narratives of Teachers as Nonpersons as an Expression of Society's Excessively Entitled Attitude

Abstract

In this chapter, we explore the ways in which media postpandemic responses communicate clearly the excessive entitlement reflected in the public discourse about teachers. During the pandemic, we noted many parent posts on social media lauding teachers. They expressed gratitude for the challenges teachers faced in teaching students on distance platforms and moving learning forward. Yet, we noted that the media reports following the pandemic were noticed a shift in the discourse following the pandemic. Thus, we became interested in exploring how teachers were represented in public discourse following the pandemic. Since the public discourse on teachers has consistently reflected a deficit orientation, given the praise of teachers during the pandemic, we wondered if this acknowledgment of teachers' sacrifice and service might shift the discourse after the pandemic to more positively represent teachers. To pursue this inquiry, we collected and analyzed narratives and examples from postpandemic media representations where teachers and teacher educators were represented as nonpersons. We also collected anecdotes and research and media reports to examine the ways in which teachers were represented. We identified three themes: lack of teachers' voices, the teacher shortage, and loss of learning. Our analysis identifies how teachers and teacher educators are positioned within society and the impact of treating teachers as nonpersons on teachers and the teaching profession. Such depictions fail to represent the vital role of teachers in the progress of society.

Citation

Lay, C.D., Pinnegar, E. and Pinnegar, S. (2024), "Societal Narratives of Teachers as Nonpersons as an Expression of Society's Excessively Entitled Attitude", Ratnam, T. and Craig, C.J. (Ed.) After Excessive Teacher and Faculty Entitlement (Advances in Research on Teaching, Vol. 47), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 183-194. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-368720240000047012