ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the book's focus on exploring the complexities and joys of the career-long process of becoming a teacher. The chapter also discusses the importance of story as a mechanism for understanding how the journey of becoming a teacher shapes the human beings who answer the call to teach. Trevor Stewart narrates the chapter and shares a story from his own first year of teaching about the importance of connection and collaboration as teachers learn to navigate the common sources of tension they encounter in schools. After providing profiles of each of the authors and the two teachers, Rachel and Emelio, whose stories dramatize the struggle, elation, and development that occurs as teachers enter the profession, Trevor outlines the structure of the book. Finally, Rachel shares a story about and a reflection upon her first semester as an English teacher that illuminates emotional and professional tensions new teachers experience.
