Voices in Time

Our efforts have centered on working with undergraduate students in the INSPIRE Living-Learning Center and helping them to do inquiry using interview methods. The power of personal narrative allows us to:

• learn history from a first-person perspective
• understand how members of one’s own community (or family) helped shape historical events
• increase our appreciation for others’ unique experiences

INSPIRE students have had the opportunity to interview Armstrong Teachers, Fulbright Distinguished Teachers, and leading educators with the Harmony-Meier Institute for Democracy and Equity in Education, among other inspiring educators. The interview questions are aimed at learning more about what it means to be an educator. The following are some examples of questions that are asked during each interview:

• What does it mean to be a learner and leader in education?
• What makes an effective educator in our diverse, technological society?
• What can teachers do to address the needs of schools and communities?
• Can you talk about a powerful/important learning experience from your childhood that made an impact on your work as an adult?
• Can you talk about a teacher who had a major impact on you personally and professionally? What specifically did this teacher do for you?
• In what ways has your work connected to issues of freedom or democracy?
• In what ways has your work connected to issues of equity?
• What do you think are the most pressing democracy and equity issues of our time?
• What is the most challenging "life lesson” that you have learned?

By recording and archiving these interviews we create primary source documents for future generations to learn about our collective history.

The archive currently includes:

• National Teacher of the Year - The National Teacher of the Year Program began in 1952 and continues as the oldest, most prestigious national honors program that focuses public attention on excellence in teaching.

• Armstrong Teachers - The Armstrong Teacher Educator Award is more than a “teacher of the year” award. In addition to recognizing educator excellence, the award provides financial support for top Indiana educators to work with current IU faculty and undergraduates in the classroom and early field experiences.
• Harmony-Meier Institute for Democracy and Equity in Education - 
  The Harmony-Meier Institute for Democracy and Equity in Education (HMI) gives voice to the ideals and ideas of progressive education where the values of democratic teaching and equitable learning opportunities are championed.
• Fulbright Distinguished Teachers - The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program for International Teachers (Fulbright DAI) brings international primary and secondary teachers to the United States for a semester-long program to pursue individual or group projects, take courses for professional development at a U.S. host university, and observe and share their expertise with U.S. colleagues. 
• Invited Guests - Educators from all over the country engage students in discussions about what it means to be an educator in our diverse world.