About Citizen Teacher

My name is lisa eddy. I taught public high school English Language Arts classes at a small city in SE lower Michigan for 25 years. I have taught courses in ELA9 Honors, IB Literature 11, ELA12, Theory of Knowledge, Writer’s Workshop, Mythology, Public Speaking, Drama, Reader’s Workshop, ELA10 Honors, American Literature and Composition.

Outside the classroom, at camps and workshops, I’ve taught courses in cooking; swimming; canoeing; fire-building; campfire cooking; ceremony-making; mandalas and medicine wheels; music appreciation; local plants and animals; wellness and self-care; meditation, mindful movement, and mindfulness.

In my work as a high school teacher, mentor, coach, and researcher, I sought to embody the disposition of a “citizen teacher,” as described by Todd DeStigter, in his 2001 NCTE book, Reflections of a Citizen Teacher: Literacy, Democracy, and the Forgotten Students of Addison High as an educator who is “dedicated to fostering in all students the ability to envision, create, and participate in a more humane and democratic society.”

@ Hollerfest 2018: 3 Generations of teacher-student. On the left is Cathy Fleischer, my undergrad English Methods teacher, mentor, and friend. I’m in the middle, and to my right is Matt Jones, my American Literature/Comp student–from the class of 1996–who is studying History at EMU. At the festival, I served as manager of Merchandise; Cathy and her husband volunteered in Merch; and Matt was there to play drums with Misty Lin & the Big Beautiful.  It was a magic moment!

Part of what it means for me to be a citizen teacher is to be an active participant in the public conversation about education. Since 2002, I have been a part of the EMWP Teacher Researcher Group. This professional learning community provides a workshop/support community for group members’ work as researchers and writers in education. This prestigious group is home to many leaders in the field. You can find group members in the pages of English Journal,  Language Arts Journal of Michigan (LAJM) and in many NCTE and Heinneman books, as well as in Professional Development and Community Literacy workshops in their home communities, around the state, and on the national scene. I am continuing to do research, publish, and present as a teacher researcher. I am forever fascinated by the subjects I pursue as a researcher.

Publications

My academic writing has appeared on the EMWP website, eMuse, and in Strides (an LEP publication), Language Arts Journal of Michigan, Connecticut Reading Association Journal, English Journal, and PMLA, the Modern Language Association Journal

I have recently written and performed in my first play, which includes stories from over two decades of students who respond to the question, “How would you say ‘whiteness,’ whatever that means to you, affected your K-12 educational experience?” I will be performing the play publicly in Ypsilanti, MI in October 2019.

Award Recipient

In 2009, I was honored and humbled to be the recipient of the Adrian Public Schools Education Foundation’s Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring Award.