(We)ducation: A narrative and autoethnographic analysis of the teaching and learning process postured as an intimate relationship

This project argues that the roles of teacher and learner are no longer definable by traditional conceptualizations, and instead, the intimacy with which teachers and learners experience these roles is comparable to a deeply meaningful, multi-faceted relationship. Many of the dynamics present in the traditional conceptualization of an intimate relationship are the material and embodied dynamics also experienced by teachers and learners as they engage the educational journey. Therefore, this study seeks to identify learners' and teachers' relationship(s) with education as "intimate." Structured as a series of critical scholarly reflections based on a review of the personal and professional life documents of a learner and teacher who has served as a public educator, college professor, and graduate student, this project is written in the style of autoethnographic, narrative vignettes. The journey as a teacher and learner is chronicled, punctuating and analyzing the similarities between the process of teaching and learning and theoretical features of an intimate relationship. Each vignette recounts a conceptual intersection that is both literally and metaphorically linked to themes located in the discourse of interpersonal relations. Analysis of the vignettes reveals a three-part conclusion about the general, theoretical, and embodied relationship between teaching, learning, and intimacy. Thus, the narrative and the accompanying reflections and analyses raise and (re)frame current theoretical, pedagogical, and philosophical questions about education, pedagogy, individual and cultural/institutional change, and identity