This narrative ethnography adopts an aesthetic lens to relay the
various lived experiences of a non-traditional, Midwestern public
high school during its final year in its original building.
Extending upon previous research of high school dropouts, I examine
how this one particular high school incorporated a self-paced
curriculum with a focus on "family" to address the unique learning
needs of students at risk of not graduating. By employing elements
of grounded theory, narrative inquiry, and autoethnography, I share
the stories of Walgut High School's (a pseudonym) roughly sixty
students as they struggle to navigate their respective roles in a
dominant cultural narrative to which they've never felt like they
belonged. Through the extensive and organic voices of the primary
participants-as well as my observations of my own participation in
the school culture over the course of a year-this project serves to
offer insights not only into the school experiences of marginalized
adolescents, but also into Walgut's myriad successes and failures.
In particular, this piece highlights the vitality of
unconditionally caring or "hospitable" teachers (Derrida, 2000),
while ultimately questioning the presumed utility of a high school
diploma. The story concludes not by lauding the alternative mine
created for Walgut's canaries, but by questioning the purpose and
stability of all scholastic minds. As American schools continue
making strides to accommodate and support the complex and
oftentimes contradictory needs of their students, what it means to
succeed as a teacher in (and prepare teachers for) these
diversified, inclusive learning spaces is growing increasingly
complicated. Indeed, given the shifting paradigm of American public
education, teacher preparation programs must continue to adapt
their practices and philosophies in order to equip their teacher
candidates with the skills needed not only to thrive but also find
purpose and meaning in schools similar to this project's Walgut.
While this book doesn't claim to offer any answers to the myriad
questions concerning the future of public schools, it does endeavor
to offer a springboard from which all education stakeholders can
continue engaging in healthy and productive discussions of how best
to prepare students (and teachers) for autonomous, democratic,
curious, creative, and compassionate citizenship both in and apart
from their academic communities. To this end, rather than write
from a detached, traditionally academic vantage, I have sought in
these pages to compose from a personal (albeit limited), passionate
(albeit subjective) and participatory (albeit someone marginalized)
perspective. In my pursuit of social justice for the characters of
Walgut High School, I begin first by exposing my own privileged
role in perpetuating injustice. Only through recognizing and naming
our own demons can we ever begin to exorcize the System writ large.
Thus, in this book's lack, there is possibility; in its futility,
hope.
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