‘Such a Space to Cross’: Lessons Learned(?) from Teaching During a Pandemic

Abstract

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 Pandemic dramatically impacted the classroom experiences of teachers and students across the globe. This reflexive autobiographical article critically examines the ramifications of this extraordinary event on the experiences of teaching and learning for the teacher-writer and her secondary English and literature students. Through a process of narrative inquiry , the text weaves together stories of praxis during and after the extended lockdowns experienced in Victoria, Australia, with exploration of spatial and geographical metaphors through which the teacher seeks to derive meaning from her experiences of teaching while physically distanced from her students and colleagues. These reflections are theorised using Doreen Massey’s conceptualisation of space as both social and political and Michel de Certeau’s metaphor of the city map in order to illuminate the impacts of the altered learning landscape on the teacher’s professional identity during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic. In this way, the essay also offers a critical reflection on the consequences of reification in school communities that are inevitably shaped by standards-based reforms and institutional power.