Coming to know in the ‘eye of the storm’: A beginning teacher's introduction to different versions of teacher community

Through the metaphor, “learning to teach in the ‘eye of the storm’”, a beginning teacher's experiences of teaching in one of America's diverse urban campuses become known. Three themes of global significance emerge: (1) the similarities and differences between professional learning communities and knowledge communities; (2) the morphing of ‘the eye of the storm’ into ‘a perfect storm’; and (3) the connections between shifting teacher identities and shifting school landscapes. The narrative inquiry foreshadows how the teacher's ‘story to live by’ became ‘a story to leave by’ as she worked in a urban school district riddled with massive change.

► Different versions of teacher community exist in school contexts. ► They rely on different conceptions of knowledge/views of teachers. ► Beginning teachers experience tensions between different versions of community. ► ‘Stories to live by’ and ‘Stories to leave by’ take shape in school milieus. ► Entry-level teachers struggle to deal with complexities.