Two educators reflect on their immigration experience through creative writing

Abstract

Following Dewey’s philosophy of experience that all our life events inform how we evolve, both personally and professionally, two educators reflect on their immigration experiences. Being uprooted from one’s place of birth to another, at an oftentimes turbulent stage of development, young people face challenges in finding their sense of belonging. We engage in creative writing to reflect on our respective experiences of immigration to Canada to support our scholarship of teaching and learning. Using Dewey’s three criteria of experience: continuity, relationship, and situation, and Connelly and Clandinin’s Narrative inquiry self-study framework, we delve deeper into understanding how the transplantation from one continent to another continues to impact who we are today as persons and professionals. This critical reflection is of further value to us as educators, because we also want to gain a greater appreciation for our students’ experiences, most of whom have lived the stories of immigration. In this way, we hope to more effectively support and encourage our students, not only to survive, but to thrive in their new landscape. We trust our work will, likewise, be of service to educators worldwide who want to engage in their own inquiry of personally significant life events, and thus support the same in their students.