Linguistics and Education 38 (2017) 33–43 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Linguistics and Education journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/linged With regret: The genre of teachers’ public resignation letters Alyssa Hadley Dunn ∗ , Matthew Deroo, Jennifer VanDerHeide Michigan State University, United States a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: In recent years, in blogs and online news sites, a novel genre has emerged. Understanding this genre—the Received 17 March 2016 public teacher resignation letter—is the primary investigation explored here. Through examination of Received in revised form 19 January 2017 22 viral public resignation letters, and utilizing Genre Theory and moves analysis, research questions Accepted 2 February 2017 included: (1) What are the common features of this genre, as demonstrated in the teacher-writers’ moves and submoves? (2) When describing the state of education today, what particular sub-moves do teacher- Keywords: writers utilize, and to what ends? Findings indicate remarkable similarity between the moves teacher- Genre theory writers make in their letters, including, for example, building expertise and ethos, explaining the state Teacher-writers Resignation letters of education today, and identifying abandonment. Authors also made use of sub-moves like metaphors, Neoliberal emotional appeals, and language of defiance and resistance. Our analysis reveals (1) how the teachers Policies are writing and what work their letters do, (2) what they’re writing about and what this reveals about Moves analysis current neoliberal policies, and (3) where we see implications of their writing for various audiences. © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. “Never before had I felt so powerless and controlled.” (Schwartz, one. Others appear in the middle of a year, in November or March, 2014) notoriously known to teachers as the most difficult months. Amidst an abundance of scholarly literature and popular media about the “I am no longer willing to operate under the old rules while teacher shortage and why teachers leave, a unique and novel genre the weight of our educational bureaucracy crushes our country.” has emerged, one which acts as a testament to the current state of (Edgerton, 2012) public education and makes use of teachers’ identities as writers. Understanding this genre–the public teacher resignation letter- is 1. Introduction the primary investigation explored here. Within the past five years in the United States, many teach- Ellie Rubenstein’s (2013) voice breaks—but just barely—as she ers have taken to posting their resignation letters online, primarily speaks into the camera, a sheer white curtain blowing behind her, through blogs or as op-eds on local or national news websites. Con- filling the scene with a bright light that belies the sadness and grav- sequently, these letters become widely disseminated and reveal ity of what she is about to say. She is reading her resignation letter, a contemporary shift in public discourse where conversations tendered after over fifteen years of teaching. Rubenstein’s video, become more visible, spreadable, and searchable (Boyd, 2014). posted on YouTube at the same time as it was delivered in hard copy These letters come from beginning and veteran teachers, urban and to administrators, is titled “In Pursuit of Happiness.” For Ruben- suburban teachers, and teachers in all regions of the country. As a stein, happiness means finding a way to contribute to education whole, these letters provide vital insights into what makes teachers outside of the traditional classroom, a space that has come to her leave and the choices they make when announcing their decision in to feel stifling and controlling, where “everything [she] loved about a public forum. Such letters also demonstrate the “writerly” aspect teaching is extinct.” of teachers’ identities, and, as Whitney, Zuidema, and Fredricksen Rubenstein is not alone in these feelings or in her distribution (2014) state, we also “see writing as integral to teaching prac- of her resignation letter in this way. Many such letters appear tice and professional development, as a way for teachers to claim between May and June, as one school year comes to a close and authority in decisions about education, and as a means to include teachers begin making employment decisions about the following their voices in debates that affect their work” (p. 181). To better understand the emerging genre of teachers’ public resignation letters, one must first understand a related body of ∗ Corresponding author at: College of Education, Michigan State University, 620 literature on teacher attrition. Research has continuously shown Farm Lane, Erickson Hall, Room 331, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States. that many teachers in the U.S., especially those working in high- E-mail address: ahdunn@msu.edu (A.H. Dunn). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2017.02.003 0898-5898/© 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 34 A.H. Dunn et al. / Linguistics and Education 38 (2017) 33–43 needs areas, leave within five years of hire (Ingersoll, 2003). This Finally, we offer new ways of understanding this genre and the challenge of retention is of greater concern than the challenge teacher-writers’ aims as part of our discussion and conclusion. of recruitment, as enough teachers are being prepared, but they are not staying in the profession, costing schools and districts upwards of $2.2 billion each year (Alliance for Excellent Educa- 2. Genre as typified social action tion, 2014; Ingersoll & May, 2011). Teachers’ reasons for leaving have little to do with the reasons most frequently touted by edu- We frame these resignation letters as sites of action (Bawarshi, cation reformers, such as pay or student behavior. Rather, teachers 2003) of the genre of teacher resignation letters. For several most often report that working conditions contribute most to their decades, genre theorists have argued that genre is not a template turnover, including lack of resources, curricular autonomy, respect of common features of a particular type of writing but rather is for their time, respect for the profession, administrative support, “the action it is used to accomplish” (Miller, 1984). Writing, then, and time free from bureaucratic paperwork (Byrd-Blake et al., 2010; is action to do work in the world, and genres are typified versions National Center for Education Statistics, 2014; National Education of that action. As education and literacy researchers, this idea res- Association, 2003; Santoro, 2011). At the same time, as they face onates with our beliefs that discourse is social action (Fairclough, more responsibility for raising test scores and “saving” schools from 1992) and writing is a situated literacy practice, embedded in social, failure, teachers are forced to use scripted curriculum and/or strict cultural, and historical contexts (Brandt, 2001; Street, 1984). From guidelines and benchmarks (Kumashiro, 2009). These recent pol- this perspective, we acknowledge that our understanding and use icy moves may be at odds with teachers’ personal and professional of genre theory here collapses the various strands of influence with commitments, and as a result, may push teachers out of the class- which genre scholars align themselves (see Bawarshi & Reiff, 2010), room at equally high or higher rates than in years past. Though noting that Swales has argued that the various strands of genre this study takes place in a U.S. context, the phenomenon of teacher theory have somewhat “coalesced” (Swales, 2009, p. 4). attrition due to oppressive policies and practices is not confined to Genre scholars argued for a conceptualization of genre as typ- this country. Indeed, research continues to demonstrate the global ified social action to work against ongoing notions of genres advance of neoliberal ideology across the world (i.e. Hill & Kumar, as pre-existing containers of static forms of writing that writ- 2009). ers mimic. Instead, genre theory recognizes the individuality and While other research that has explored these same resignation agency of writers who choose what rhetorical moves to make letters focused on the reasons they leave and what has happened within a particular rhetorical context but do so in ways that are typ- to the authors since the time of writing, this study takes a differ- ical of other writers who are writing to accomplish similar work. ent approach, focusing on the rhetorical moves emerging in this As Devitt (2004) argued, new genre. Because we view these letters as teachers’ social action Discourse exists only when individuals act, and their actions will in the world through writing, we draw on genre theory to better always be grounded in their uniqueness as well as their social understand how these teachers use writing to try to make a dif- experience... But for existing genres to exist at all, people must ference in education for teachers and students. Miller (1984), in have perceived similarities among disparate situations (p. 21). her article in which she defined genre as collective “social action,” argued that studying the genres that groups of writers use can “tell The occurrence of a genre signals that a recurring situation us something theoretically important about discourse” (pg. 155). exists and that people are organizing the action that they are taking By examining these letters via genre theory and an analysis of the through writing. The teachers in this study taught in various social particular moves and sub-moves the authors made, we hope to bet- and geographic contexts but, through the writing of these resigna- ter understand the work these writers were hoping to accomplish tion letters, make sense of similar experiences and work toward through writing, and in so doing, we might learn more about the common social action. work there is to do to participate in this social action. Specifically, Similar to the research of Schaefer, Downey, and Clandinin the research questions for this study included: (2014), we see the letters as “stories to leave by” (p. 9). The teachers, then, are also storytellers, or writers. Though there exists a body of research about teachers-as-writers (such as Cremin & Baker, 2010; (1) What are the common features of this genre, as demonstrated Dawson, 2011; Woodard, 2015), this research focuses mainly on in the teacher-writers moves and sub-moves? English teachers. Yet our sample of teacher-writers includes edu- (2) When describing the state of education today, what particular cators of all grade levels and content areas, demonstrating the need sub-moves do teacher-writers utilize, and to what ends? for additional inquiry into the habits and practices of all types of teachers who use writing for a particular purpose, be it professional We argue that the genre can be characterized by five common development (Fleischer, 2004) or social action (Author A, under features, found in each of the analyzed texts: introducing resig- review). In considering teacher-writers’ positionality as de facto nation as a purpose of the letter, building expertise and ethos, speakers for their profession, by virtue of many resignation letters explaining the state of education today, identifying abandonment, going “viral,” our views align with those of Whitney et al. (2014), and closing the letter We also found that, when discussing the con- who argue that: temporary educational climate in the longest portion of each letter, Teachers’ authority to speak and write publicly about educa- teacher-writers employed specific linguistic sub-moves such as tional matters is grounded in their knowledge, which in turn metaphors, dichotomies, portraits, expressive language, emotional is inextricably bound to their practice. They are uniquely posi- appeals, and questions as defiance and resistance. Interestingly, tioned: They are fully immersed in the classroom, and thus, their though the authors did not speak to each other before writing or knowledge is locally situated and contextualized; yet, teachers use each other’s letters as models, and though they varied in length, can also act as observers who view the classroom from differ- audience, and form, all of the letters employed the same moves, ing angles, making connections with others’ understandings of suggesting that the genre and its features emerged naturally. teaching and learning in order both to draw from and contribute In the sections that follow, we frame our research through Genre to the wider knowledge base (p. 61). Theory, paying particular attention to how authors incorporate spe- cific features and moves to achieve specific aims. Then we describe Overall, just as teachers assert their views in the written texts our methodology and findings organized by research question. presented here, we, too, take a political stance by considering these  A.H. Dunn et al. / Linguistics and Education 38 (2017) 33–43 35 texts as worthy of analysis. By arguing that teachers’ voices offer sections and naming the functions of the sections as moves. We vital insight into the current educational environment, we seek chose this initial group of letters because each letter was seemingly to position educators views as both worthy of consideration and quite different on the surface, some written as formal letters, oth- worthy of inclusion in future policy debates. ers written in bulleted lists. Our hope was that, in working through different examples, we would determine a list of moves that would 3. Methodology represent the sample. We found that our initial list of moves actu- ally accounted for the function of the sections in the other letters, This research employed a qualitative design, drawing on meth- despite their seemingly different structures. A discussion of these ods of genre analysis (Swales, 1990; Upton & Cohen, 2009). moves follows in the findings section. Analyzing a genre can make material the textual features of a genre, We then returned to these same letters to identify the steps the work the writers hope to accomplish, and “the relevant and per- authors took to make these moves. Using the same method, we tinent social circumstances and particular demands they engender” highlighted the various rhetorical strategies the teacher-writers (Swales, 2009, p. 14). One method of genre analysis is a move anal- used within the moves, naming them, and adding these strategies ysis (Swales, 1990), which parses a text into a sequence of moves, to a list. Rather than call these strategies “steps” as is typical in a each move a chunk of text with a particular function. Bazerman genre analysis, we chose to call them sub-moves, as the authors (2004) has argued that a focus on the features of a genre can over- often used these rhetorical strategies in layered and nuanced ways simplify genre into a list of features rather than a complex set of rather than in sequences. Again, we worked together through the actions writers take to accomplish something in the world. In our remaining four letters to identify and label rhetorical strategies, analysis of these resignation letters, we aim to use the analysis of adding to our list until we had no new strategies to add. A discussion the features as a means to make sense of the work these teacher- of these sub-moves follows in the findings section. After coming writers hope to accomplish with their writing. to agreement on our list of moves and sub-moves, we divided up the remaining 15 letters across the three researchers to parse and 3.1. Data collection code separately. We then met together again to share our analyses, revising the identification of moves and sub-moves as we came to A graduate research assistant and the first author each inde- agreement. To address inter-rater reliability, we reviewed the let- pendently conducted a comprehensive internet search to find as ters coded by the other researchers’ to verify that our tools were many resignation letters as possible. Data were collected between operationalized consistently. October 2014 and January 2015. We restricted letters to those Because one of the moves, explaining the state of education published online since 2012, representing a three-year time span. today, was the primary move of every resignation letter and was The final data set used for this manuscript includes 22 letters. comprised of a large number of the sub-moves, we undertook a Table 1 below describes demographic data about each teacher- second round of coding of the sub-moves. After re-analysis of the writer based upon available information shared within the letter. sub-moves within that move, we grouped the sub-moves according For example, in some letters we were able to determine the specific to their common functions. For example, we had several sub-moves content area or city where the teacher taught, in others we were that made use of dichotomies in order to highlight the differ- only able to identify more general information like the grade band ences between what teaching was meant to be and what it has or state. While many writers did not disclose their gender or race, become, so we grouped these sub-moves together under the cate- and we do wish to make assumptions about these demographics, gory “dichotomies.” In determining these categories of sub-moves, our sample does represent a wide range of geographic areas and we hoped to gain a more fine-grained understanding of the work types (urban, suburban, rural), years of teaching experience, and these teachers were hoping to accomplish through their letters. content areas. It is important to acknowledge that the letters represent a par- ticular type of teacher-leaver. They are not only those who leave, but those who leave and make a public statement using this par- ticular genre. Given the variety of resignation letters we were able to find across contexts, we argue when grouped collectively, these letters can be viewed as representative. In other words, the com- 3.3. Researchers’ perspectives ments included in the letters echo the feelings of many teachers today to reveal an emerging phenomenon. At the same time, the As former high school English teachers who spent a great deal of unique population and small sample represented here also limit time teaching writing and assisting students in the use of rhetori- the generalizability of our findings. cal strategies in their own writing, we were drawn to how teachers themselves would take up various rhetorical strategies to explain 3.2. Data analysis to varied audience(s) of their need to leave the profession and make arguments to validate their doing so. As teacher-leavers ourselves, Following the method outlined in Upton and Cohen (2009), the as a scholar of teacher recruitment and retention (Dunn, 2013, three authors began by determining the potential set of moves that 2015; Dunn & Downey, in press; Dunn & Durrance, 2014), and a comprise the rhetorical structure of the letters. Together, we read scholar of school-based argument writing (Newell, VanDerHeide, & one letter and parsed it into sections, determining the boundaries Wynhoff Olsen, 2015; VanDerHeide, Juzwik, & Dunn, 2016), we feel of sections by common function. For example, we noticed that a compelled to investigate this new genre as we consider the current paragraph of the letter described the teacher’s career accomplish- state of teacher attrition. For us, this body of work and the current ments, so we parsed that into a move because the function of the article are important areas of inquiry since we spend a great deal sentences within that section appeared to set up the ethos of the of time preparing pre-service teachers to enter the profession. We teacher. After parsing the letter into sections, we named each sec- desire to grapple with the challenge of raising up the next genera- tion according to the function the section appeared to be serving tion of teachers in a work environment that is considered volatile in the letter, recording a list of the functions we named. This list of by those who are leaving. We also respect these teacher-writers functions became our initial list of moves. We continued to work as authors and choose to cite them and their writing as scholarly through four more letters as a research team, parsing them into work. 36 A.H. Dunn et al. / Linguistics and Education 38 (2017) 33–43 Table 1 Data Sources. Author Date Published State Content Area(s)a Years teachinga Blake, Emily July 28, 2013 North Carolina English Language Arts 4 Breaux, Abby March 10, 2013 Louisiana Middle School Science 25 Conti, Gerald April 6, 2013 New York Secondary Social Studies 40 Edgerton, Adam Kirk September 5, 2012 Massachusetts Secondary English 3 Gunderson, Aimi March 15, 2014 North Carolina Secondary English 16 Harper, Stuart January 25, 2014 Utah Secondary Science N/A Hawkins, Pauline April 7, 2014 Colorado Secondary English 11 Howard, Deborah May 6, 2013 New York Elementary School 17 Lauer, Maria(later returned to teaching) June 21, 2013 Colorado Elementary School 15 Lowe, Trisha Joy October 19, 2013 North Carolina N/A 19+ Nielsen, Kris(later returned to teaching) October 25, 2012 North Carolina, Oregon, and New Mexico Middle School Mathematics 5 Round, Stephen December 18, 2012 Rhode Island 2nd grade 13 Rubenstein, Ellie May 24, 2013 Illinois 4th grade 15 Schwartz, Leslie Contreras July 16, 2014 Texas Elementary School 1 Sluyter, Susan Feb 12, 2014 Massachusetts Kindergarten 25+ Taylor, Melissa March 14, 2014 North Carolina 5th grade 13 Waldron, Josh June 2, 2014 Virginia Secondary School 6 Weldon, James June 6, 2013 North Carolina Middle School English and Social Studies 22 Wiener, Gary July 7, 2014 New York Secondary English 33 Wilson, David Aram August 9, 2014 New Mexico Elementary School 34 Xirau, David December 2014 Massachusetts Secondary Math 7 1/2 Zentner, Eric June 1, 2014 Wisconsin Secondary English 18 a If publically available and disclosed. 4. Findings saved this move for the end of the letter, building up to the act with the other moves. Next, they both moved to build their expertise The findings from this study illuminate both the common moves and ethos as teachers and those who value public education. Both of the emerging genre of teachers’ public resignation letters and, authors employed a typical sub-move across all the letters: stating more specifically, the sub-moves that teacher-writers make when their years of experience in teaching. Through this sub-move, they explaining the state of education today. In the sections that follow, warranted their right to speak up as veteran teachers. Conti also we describe these typical moves and sub-moves. Though beyond made use of another frequently-used sub-move, an allusion to a the scope of this manuscript to highlight the quantitative occur- historical figure, in this case, Lincoln. rences of these moves within and across letters, it is important After building their expertise, these teacher-writers moved into to note that there was remarkable similarity across texts. This is the longest move of both of their letters–and the longest move in especially interesting to us because, as data from another study has all of the resignation letters–that of explaining the state of educa- shown us, the authors did not use any other letters as models, nor tion today. All of the authors used a variety of sub-moves to discuss did they speak with each other before writing, which suggests that the state of education today, which we will discuss in detail in the the moves and sub-moves of the genre appeared naturally across next section. That this move comprised the largest portion of all cases. of the letters indicates that explaining the state of education today was a primary function of these resignation letters. In both Conti 4.1. Genre features and Sluyter’s texts, this move was followed by the move of iden- tifying their feelings of abandonment. Most teacher-writers made The moves analysis revealed five primary moves that comprised this move at some point in their letter, using various metaphors the various resignation letters: the act of resigning, building exper- to indicate their feelings of being abandoned by the profession of tise and ethos, explaining the state of education today, identifying teaching. Conti (2013) likened his career to a game in which, dur- abandonment, and closing the letter. These moves were constituted ing a fourth quarter timeout, the goals were moved and all scores by several sub-moves, listed and illustrated in Table 2. were erased; another teacher-writer employed a similar metaphor Although the 22 letters varied greatly in length (a few likening her career to a movie that, halfway through, she realized paragraphs to several pages), intended audience (a particular was not what it was advertised to be. Sluyter (2014) personified administrator to an entire community), and form (formal letter her job by giving it agency in its leaving her, employing similar lan- to numbered list), all of the letters employed the same moves. guage as one would use in discussing a divorce or separation; Conti In this section, we use two teacher-writers’ letters, Gerald Conti’s as well used the phrase, “it has left me.” and Susan Sluyter’s, to illustrate how these moves and sub-moves Like all the teacher-writers, Sluyter (2014) and Conti’s (2013) coordinate across the resignation letters to provide some context final move was to conclude. While some teacher-writers concluded for the numerous examples discussed later in the article. As men- with some sort of call to action by the public, administrators, or tioned in the Methods section, we chose to use the term sub-moves policymakers, Sluyter concluded with one last appeal to her emo- rather than steps because the authors made use of sub-moves in tional state, and Conti finished with a last statement of the state layered, complex, and nuanced ways. In illustrating the moves and of education today. Conti also signed off his letter by reiterating sub-moves in these two sample letters, we chose to focus on the his expertise with his formal name and his title of Social Studies most salient sub-moves rather than all of them, as our attempt to Department Leader. Sluyter, however, signed off with her full, yet illustrate all of the sub-moves became too complex to be helpful. informal, name of Suzy Sluyter, perhaps drawing attention to the The letters with moves and the most salient sub-moves identified personal nature of this letter for her. Conti also carbon copied three appear in Figs. 1 and 2 and are explicated in more detail in text. other individuals, one of whom is “My Little Zu,” perhaps a fam- Gerald Conti (2013) and Susan Sluyter (2014) began their let- ily member; this sub-move, juxtaposed with the formality of his ters with the act of resigning, briefly stating their intentions to leave their positions. Most authors began in this way, but some  A.H. Dunn et al. / Linguistics and Education 38 (2017) 33–43 37 Table 2 Commmon Moves in Teachers’ Resignation Letters. Move Definition Sub-moves Act of resigning Teachers state that they are leaving the profession. Building Expertise and Teachers make claims that demonstrate their knowledge base −Number of years teaching Ethos as professionals and establish credibility with their reader. −Historical figure/allusion −Sense of community/place/space −Foregrounding relationships–students, family, community Explaining State of Teachers discuss the current climate of teaching and learning. −Foregrounding relationships–students, family, community Education Today −Contrast between Reality and Possibility (expectations) −Contrast between neoliberal policies and liberatory/student centered education −Strong language- adjectives and verbs −Sense of community/place/space −Financial constraints −Portrait of students −Contrast between testing/studenting and learning −Representing collective experience −Feelings of complicity with a broken system −Rhetorical questions −Pointing to district mission −Emotional appeals −Act of defiance −Changes over time −Metaphor −Portraits of teachers suffering −Lack of recognition and respect −Abuse of identity Identifying Teachers identify how shifts in the profession have lead to −Portraits of teachers suffering Abandonment feelings of desertion (physically, psychologically). −Lack of recognition and respect −Abuse of identity Concluding/Closing Teachers wrap up their letters and draw conclusions. −Formality of names and titles −Call to action signature line, also nods to the personal aspect of this decision for Table 3 Sub-Moves Used to Describe State of Education. him. Grouped Sub-Moves Work They Are Doing. . . This sub-move is included. . . 4.2. Explaining and interrogating the state of education today Metaphors To illustrate the sad state and negative impacts of the current One of the central components of teachers’ letters was the move state of education on teaching devoted to explaining the state of education today. In most letters, and learning and on teachers and students this move was the longest and most detailed. Thus, our second Dichotomies To show that the profession is research question asked, when describing the state of education not what it is supposed to be today, what particular sub-moves do authors utilize and to what ends? • Contrast between reality and possibility and that teachers are not In Table 3 below, we categorize elements of this section into sub- (expectations) engaged in what they were moves and then analyze the work those sub-moves are doing, or • Contrast between neoliberal policies and prepared–or want–to do as liberatory/student centered education educators the apparent purposes of such moves within each letter. • Contrast between testing/studenting and learning • Contrast between district mission and 4.2.1. Metaphors current circumstances Though metaphorical language ran throughout the letters, most • Changes over time metaphors appeared as part of the move on the state of education Portraits and relational descriptions To humanize the teaching today. For example, several authors compared their teaching roles profession and move the focus to a game of hoops to jump through (Conti, 2013; Harper, 2014; • Portraits of teachers suffering of teaching away from data Waldron, 2014), with Waldron calling it “a game I no longer wish • Portrait of students to play” and Harper arguing these hoops have been “set on fire.” • Representations of the collective experience Our analysis revealed that the work of metaphors in this genre • Relationships–students, family, community • Sense of community/place/space was to illustrate the sad state and negative impacts of the current • Lack of recognition and respect state of education on teaching and learning and on teachers and • Abuse of identity students. For readers who may not have been familiar with cur- • Financial constraints rent policies, such as testing, value-added evaluation measures, or Expressive language and emotional appeals To convince readers to care the Common Core State Standards, using metaphors offered read- about the teachers’ cause and ers powerful insights into how teachers were feeling about what why the cause matters such policies were doing to school environments and those work- Defiance and resistance through language and To spur audience engagement ing and learning within them. As Rubenstein (2013) described, for questioning and advocacy/participation instance, “I’m being forced to function as a cog in a wheel and this • Act of defiance wheel is not turning in the right direction.” Other metaphors that • Rhetorical questions appeared in the letters painted similarly troubling images of the • Feelings of complicity with a broken system state of education: decay (Harper), an ebbing tide (Zenter, 2014), being ruled by dictators (Rubenstein), a machine (Edgerton, 2012), 38 A.H. Dunn et al. / Linguistics and Education 38 (2017) 33–43 Fig. 1. Moves Analysis of Sluyter’s Resignation Letter. prison (Nielsen, 2012), a pressure cooker (Weiner, 2014), death three decades ago.” Likewise, Rubenstein (2013) recalls, “over the (Weiner, 2014), and pollution (Lowe, 2013). past 15 years, I’ve experienced the depressing, gradual downfall and misdirection of education that has slowly eaten away at my 4.2.2. Dichotomies love of teaching.” Sluyter also shares a troubling portrait of these A second category of sub-moves is dichotomies. These con- changes, noting: trasting images are used to show that the profession is not what I have watched as my job requirements swung away from a it is supposed to be and that teachers are not doing what they focus on the children, their individual learning styles, emotional were prepared–or want–to do as educators. One frequently appear- needs, and their individual families, interests and strengths to a ing dichotomy is the contrast between reality and possibility, or focus on testing, assessing, and scoring young children, thereby between reality and teachers’ expectations. Xirau (2014) explains ramping up the academic demands and pressures on them. this well, describing how authentic teaching is in opposition to “the restrictive standards, unattainable objectives, and insanely burden- Another dichotomy is the divergence between current neolib- some administrative minutiae that are imposed upon us every day.” eral policies and student-centered or critical education. Harper He argues: “I became a teacher to serve the kids and the community, (2014) notes: “Each level of the system (classroom, school, district not the greedy, idealistic inexperienced administrators, corporate and state) fails to remember that its duty is to the people, not to interests, and politicians who are destroying our beloved profes- the establishment.” Harper is critical of the current system’s adher- sion.” This dichotomy was often highlighted by describing changes ence to policies and conformity over people. One neoliberal policy over time, illustrating a difference between what currently was that appeared so often in the letters that we coded it separately and what used to be. Wilson (2014) states, for example: “If teach- is standardized testing. Teachers dichotomized testing with true ing consisted simply of a rich, high quality learning relationship learning, highlighting the conflict between lessons designed to help between teachers, students, and parents, I would probably still be students pass examinations with lessons designed to encourage teaching. . . I no longer recognize the profession I joined nearly critical thinking. Round (2012) states: “Rather than creating life-  A.H. Dunn et al. / Linguistics and Education 38 (2017) 33–43 39 Fig. 2. Moves Analysis of Conti’s Resignation Letter. long learners, our new goal is to create good test takers. Rather than that good teachers can lose focus on what really matters by trying being the recipients of a rewarding and enjoyable educational expe- to take new district requirements seriously instead of attending to rience, our students are now relegated to experiencing a confining students and their learning. Similarly, Zenter (2014) was critical and demeaning education.” of the tactics employed by his district, stating: “Our district, being Several letters pointed to testing as contradictory to real learn- very savvy in playing the game of educational politics, has excelled ing. A particularly powerful example is found in Conti’s (2013) at making itself look good, often at the expense of the students.” reflection that testing “not only strangles creativity, it smothers the development of critical thinking in our students and assumes a one-size-fits-all mentality more appropriate to the assembly line 4.2.3. Portraits and relational descriptions than to the classroom.” As Edgerton (2012) notes, “I quit teaching An additional sub-move that aimed to explain the state of educa- because I was tired of feeling powerless. Tired of the machine that tion today was providing portraits of individuals and relationships. turns art into artifice for the sake of test scores.” The work of this sub-move was to humanize the teaching profes- In some letters, this dichotomy was further spelled out by con- sion and take back the emphasis on data. Portraits of teachers were trasting district missions with current practices. Waldron (2014), a most common, including portraits that emphasized their struggles high school teacher of the year in North Carolina, noted “every year, and suffering, their lack of recognition and respect, the financial our district invents new goals, measuring sticks, time-consuming constraints they faced with low salaries and budget cuts, and the documentation, modified schedules, and evaluations.” However, way that their teaching identities were abused in the current envi- Waldron dismisses these so-called strategic adjustments. He finds ronment. These portraits represented a collective experience. That is, the portraits were not just of the letter writers themselves, but 40 A.H. Dunn et al. / Linguistics and Education 38 (2017) 33–43 Fig. 2. (Continued) of many educators. Portraits of students were also common, high- . . .inadequate pay, burdensome mandates that rob teachers of lighting stress from testing, boredom, and other negative behaviors precious time, obsession with high-stakes testing that reduces and feelings. Along with student portraits, authors emphasized children to numbers, creation and tracking of ever more teacher-student relationships, collaborations with families, and data in the name of accountability and contemptuous dis- connections to communities. Such descriptions highlighted a sense regard of classroom teachers by both the public and school of community and place, of teachers feelings like they were part administrations. . .. Oppressive and arbitrary high-stakes test- of something more than themselves, but that their place was in ing, quantifying everything about a child and his teacher that jeopardy. Table 4 below includes examples of these humanizing can be reduced to a number, feels like abuse of process. portraits and sketches. In other letters, negative, strong adjectives included: misguided and broken (Conti), ill-conceived (Conti), dangerous (Howard, 2014), hopeless (Zenter, 2014), wounded (Hawkins, 2014), strug- gling (Sluyter, 2014), erroneous, incorrect, ridiculous, inhumane, 4.2.4. Expressive language and emotional appeals insensitive (Rubenstein, 2013), burnt out and overworked (Blake, Adding to the letters’ potential for great impact is another 2013). Verbs also appeared carefully chosen to paint negative group of sub-moves: expressive language and emotional appeals. images and evoke such emotions in readers: stifled and demeaned Authors’ use of strong language and emotional word choice works (Conti), bullied and threatened (Zentner), respect erode[d] and to convince readers to care about the teachers’ cause and why the morale plummet[ed] (Zentner), forced, crushed, ground down, cause matters. Such expressive language can be found in phrases completely obliterated (Rubenstein), demonized (Blake), and dec- like Conti’s (2013) alliterative description of how critical thinking imated (Neilson). pedagogy “is not only devalued, but denigrated and perhaps, in Teacher-writers also described the array of negative emotions some quarters despised” (emphasis added). Another vivid example they experienced both while teaching and in their act of resigna- is Weldon’s (2013) description of the environment in his school, in tion. As Howard (2014) writes, “I am not leaving with joy in my which we have highlighted negatively-valenced language:  A.H. Dunn et al. / Linguistics and Education 38 (2017) 33–43 41 Table 4 sionally” (Waldron, 2014), and “great sadness and disappointment” Common Portrait Types in Teachers’ Resignation Letters. (Howard, 2014). Types of Portraits Example from Letters Teachers’ struggles and I was trying to survive in a community of 4.2.5. Defiance and resistance through language and questioning suffering colleagues who were struggling to do the A final sub-move works to spur audience engagement and par- same: to adapt and survive, to continue to hold onto what we could, and to affirm what we ticipation in advocacy efforts. Teachers often sadly revealed that believe to be quality teaching for an early they felt complicit with a broken system and that they were resist- childhood classroom. (Sluyter, 2014) ing this complicity by resigning. Nielsen (2012) states succinctly: Teachers’ lack of recognition My deciding factor in leaving the students, “I quit because I’m tired of being part of the problem. It’s killing me and respect school and district that I care so much about was respect. . .it is not OK to be treated the and it’s not doing anyone else any good.” Harper (2014) also notes: way educators are being treated in this district. “my hands are tied within this system. But I now know that I can (Lauer, 2013) be more productive on the outside. I will continue to promote true Teachers’ financial constraints I am not leaving for selfish reasons. I do not and correct educational principles, awareness of civic affairs, and want to be rich, have a bigger house, or a nicer our duty to be involved.” car. I just want to pay my bills and buy groceries. You are bleeding educators and it is Similarly, they used language of defiance. Schwartz (2014) getting worse. Pay your teachers. Pay them as pushed back against her administrator’s recommendations, not- professionals. Pay them what they are worth. ing: “you said that I should change the subject when things about In the end, we are not only talking about the death, murder and violence are said. I won’t. I don’t want children price of teacher salaries, but the price your children will pay as qualified teachers leave in straight lines, silent, sitting in chairs, cleaning up trash and filling the profession. (Gunderson, 2014) in bubbles.” Nielsen (2012) is defiant in his decision to leave teach- Teachers’ abused identities My sense of humor, personality, creativity, ing. He structures his resignation with a statement followed by a self-expression, passion, opinion, my voice—all parallel series of protests. He says: “I am quitting without remorse are being stepped on, crushed, and ground and without second thoughts. I quit. I quit. I quit!” He provides the down. And I have to get out before my sense of self and self-worth are completely obliterated. following reasons why: Sadly, there are many others who feel as I do. I refuse to be led by a top-down hierarchy. . .. I refuse to be an (Rubenstein, 2013) Students’ struggles I have sweet, incredible, intelligent children unpaid administrator of field tests that take advantage of chil- sitting in my classroom who are giving up on dren for the sake of profit. . ..I refuse to hear any more about their lives already. They feel that they only how important it is to differentiate our instruction as we pre- have failure in their futures because they’ve pare our kids for tests that are anything but differentiated... I been told they aren’t good enough by a standardized test; they’ve been told that they refuse to subject students to every ridiculous standardized test can’t be successful because they aren’t that the state and/or district thinks is important... I refuse to jumping through the right hoops on their have my higher-level and deep thinking lessons disrupted by educational paths. (Hawkins, 2014) meaningless assessments. Teacher-student relationships All teachers are different and that is what makes public education so special. Students Finally, authors employed rhetorical questions to drive home get the affection, nurturing, life lessons, and their points about the need for advocacy and collective resistance. education from each of them over their twelve Waldron (2014) compels society at large to start trusting teachers years· · ·I LOVE TEACHING and never thought this day would come. I love working with kids. again, and asks: “If we continue to treat our teachers like children, (Breaux, 2013) what will become of our children?” Hawkins (2014) charges “the Teacher-family relationships Ten-hour workdays felt worth it. I was making principals and superintendent [to] ask themselves the same ques- a difference in children’s and their families’ tions I have asked myself: ‘Is this good for kids? Is the state money lives. (Rubenstein, 2013) Teacher-community Our school and political leaders must help being spent wisely to keep and attract good teachers? Can the dis- relationships build a community that truly supports trict do a better job of advocating for our children and become education. A real investment from residents leaders in this educational system rather than followers?”’ across all neighborhoods and groups would change the climate immensely and allow us to truly tackle the challenges that lie ahead. 5. Discussion (Waldron, 2014) The findings above reveal several important new understand- ings about the emerging genre of teacher resignation letters, the existing literature base on teacher attrition, and the potential for heart. Rather, I will leave disappointed. Disappointed in myself for this new genre to contribute to public discourse and scholarly being unable to finish something I started so many years ago, and research. In this section, we use the above findings to discuss disappointed with the profession I have loved since I was a little (1) how the teachers are writing and what work their letters do, girl.” Zenter (2014) similarly expressed that he and his colleagues (2) what they’re writing about and what this reveals about cur- have “regret at having to leave behind their students, regret at hav- rent neoliberal policies, and (3) where we see implications of their ing to make a career decision based not on their students’ needs writing for various audiences. Finally, we advance the literature but on situations arising from politics and policies that have noth- on teacher-writers by discussing how this population of teacher- ing to do with the education and betterment of the children.” Such writers contributes new knowledge to what it means to be authors phrases pointed to the deep connection that teachers felt to the pro- of their own stories. fession and to their students and highlighted the difficulty of their First, our findings remind us of the contrast between these res- decisions to leave. Again, with consistency across the letters, the ignation letters and a more typical resignation letter. For example, emotions they felt most viscerally were: “deepest regret” (Conti, when the third author resigned from her teaching position after 2013), “deep sadness. . . deep love and a broken heart” (Sluyter, eight years at her school, her resignation letter was short and logis- 2014), “great sadness” (Taylor, 2014), “a heavy heart and with tical, stating the resignation, the reason for resigning (that her much sorrow” (Harper, 2014), pain “both personally and profes- family was relocating to another state due to her partner’s job), and 42 A.H. Dunn et al. / Linguistics and Education 38 (2017) 33–43 thanking the district for the opportunities they offered her. That is standards and accountability (Kumashiro, 2011). These letters pro- a markedly different letter from the 22 letters analyzed here. These vide a space for teachers to question and speak back to the policies letters are constituted by a different set of moves. Although these that now drive and shape the profession. At the same time, these letters vary greatly in appearance, ranging from formal letters to letters speak to the community of teachers who work in different bulleted lists to a more autobiographical style, what makes them contexts, but share many of the same affordances and constraints all fit together as a genre of resignation letters is that they are all in their work. These letters, therefore, also serve as a testament to attempting to do the same work in the world through their writing. building camaraderie within the profession. And, in doing so, they are making the same moves and sub-moves, From a pedagogical standpoint, these letters and the work done even though none of the teacher-writers know each other. They in them serve as teachers’ final act of teaching. As they share aren’t following prescribed forms for a letter, nor are they even information and experiences with administrators, students, fellow looking to models. These teacher-writers are writing from their teachers, and the general public, they are also instructing these own lives and experiences and hoping to foster some local change groups on the types of action they need to take next. The teach- in actions, awareness, or thinking, through their words. The fact ers teach us, as well, as we bring these letters to a new scholarly that they are taking this action through writing speaks to the lack audience. Whether they intended it or not, they also join the com- of agency that they have to take action in other ways. munity of teacher-writers (Whitney et al., 2014) who are working We also note that, even though these letters were initially together–through writing blogs, letters to the editor, and tweets, intended for a local audience, we were aware of these letters among other forms–to make teachers’ narratives and arguments because they went viral on various social media sites. It may be that more visible to a nation where their voices are often silenced. the context of these letters on social media is an important aspect of this genre; social media may provide a greater potential for the work these writers can accomplish. Consequently, these letters 6. Conclusion reinforce the belief that digital tools have provided new affordances for taking action across mediated spaces to reveal how formerly As an emerging genre, we have analyzed teachers’ public res- localized discussions are now occurring in publically networked ignation letters for the moves and sub-moves that teacher-writers spaces (Boyd, 2014; Thorne & Black, 2007). The dissemination of make in their act of resigning. Finding much alignment between teachers’ resignation letters through online means has potential to what and how the teachers wrote their viral letters, we argue that allow for global awareness of the issues they raise because these this genre features a specific set of moves designed to accomplish texts are available on social media. While the internet might not particular work in the world, including to describe the state of edu- have the power to fully reverse emerging and existing challenges cation today, to build ethos and empathy for teachers and students confronting the profession, it does have the potential to make them living amidst this environment, and to spur advocacy and action visible in new, innovative, and productive ways (Boyd, 2014). for the educational community. These letters give teachers a voice, In addition to how, we also found remarkable coherence among and their arguments act as counter narratives to the public narra- what teachers wrote were the primary reasons for their res- tive that schools are failing because teachers are failing to serve the ignations. Aligning with existing literature on teacher attrition students they teach. By educating the public about what is really (Ingersoll, 2003; Ingersoll & May, 2011; Santoro, 2011), all of the happening in schools and classrooms, by connecting people emo- teacher-writers pointed to the negative impact of current poli- tionally to the plights of students and teachers, and by calling us cies and practices on their working conditions and their students’ all to action, these teachers hope to make their counter narrative learning conditions. In particular, those mentioned are reflective of strong enough to change the current narratives about education. neoliberalism, or a political and educational ideology that empha- Given the current state of teaching that these letters illumi- sizes marketization, competition, privatization, and capitalism. At nate, we seek to contribute to the existing literature and theoretical the school-level, neoliberalism appears in, among other recent frame, while also honoring the calls to action that teacher leavers moves, the Common Core State Standards, high-stakes testing, raised in their departures. Our hope is that raised awareness, voice, union busting, charter schools, voucher programs, merit pay ini- and advocacy might lead to change so that fewer teachers would tiatives, value-added models of teacher evaluation, and short-term feel the need to write their own resignation letters in the first teacher training, all of which seek to increase competition within place. We hope that this genre might make space for teachers to and across schools (Apple, 2001; Giroux, 2004; Saltman, 2007). have a voice and an impact from within the profession and that the As illuminated in the teachers’ letters, neoliberalism commodi- profession will become one in which teachers stay. fies teachers, students, and their learning, resulting in, as Chomsky argues, a valuing profit over people (Chomsky, 1999). Neoliberalism and its constraints, especially related to standardized testing and References teacher deskilling, affect education outside U.S. borders, making our Apple, M. (2001). Educating the ¨right way¨: Markets, standards, God, and inequality. findings relevant to other contexts, as well. The findings from this New York: Routledge Falmer. study thus add to the international research base on teacher attri- Bawarshi, A., & Reiff, M. J. (2010). 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