This week’s readings focusing on identity, and identity within teaching in urban contexts, proves particularly relevant to me as a white teacher who teaches a demographic composed mainly of African American and Latinx students. Kirk and Okazawa’s chapter provides a clear way of understanding the many complexities surrounding identity. They argue that “identity formation is the result of a complex interplay among individual decisions and choices, particular life events, community recognition and expectations, and societal categorization, classification, and socialization” which they further analyze on three levels: the micro, the meso, and the macro/global levels. The “micro” level of identity that the chapter discusses is one that seemed the most obvious to me throughout my whole life; it is where we “feel most comfortable as ourselves”, for this identity is does not come with the added complexity of others’ expectations or preconceived notions. I have always identified, at this level, as a heterosexual, middle class, white woman and quite honestly never had to think much of it. Most of things I have learned since leaving home six years ago was most clearly articulated in the second half of this text The meso level was at first the trickiest for me to grasp, but really connected with the reference to the first generation college student who felt like she was almost stuck between two worlds. A first generation college student at an elite university myself, this really resonated with me and allowed for a deeper understanding of how different aspects of one’s identity can be contradictory or almost at odds with another.
While reading the macro and global section, I attempted to connect the thoughts and realizations I had about my own identity to how it affects my students and my relationship with them. These thoughts gained greater clarity as I read the other two texts for the week, especially as I thought about them in regards to a paper I read about a year and a half ago about successful urban teachers. While I really resonated with both, I found the Parmar and Steinberg text particularly meaningful. It was a brief yet insightful look into part of the reason they found success in an urban setting. They argue that “naming exactly who [they] are in terms of the racial, ethnic, and religious group memberships that affect our social position has been a way to carve a safe space for students.” It is important for me, as a white educator in an urban setting, to recognize and not shy away from that reality. In fact, Steinberg even says that students were grateful that she acknowledged, though not explicitly, her whiteness to them. For they said that “they knew at every moment of their lives that they were not white but they felt white people did not know that they were white.” Although it may seem counterintuitive to have these conversations with my students, especially at the middle school level, I will only be maintaining systems of inequality by shying away from them. This year, in fact, I have been much more explicit with recognizing that I am indeed white, and most of my students are not. On two separate occasions, students have commented on my whiteness, and other students have felt the need to defend me accusing those students of being rude or offensive. This actually started two somewhat brief but meaningful conversations regarding my race and my acknowledgment of that. Though I am nowhere near where I would like to be in terms of my ability to have proper conversations with my students (and quite frankly will never truly be able to as a white woman), my students know that it is something I am open to discussing.
Ultimately, this week’s reading has been incredibly insightful and thought-provoking, especially considering how relevant and crucial it is in today’s world. I only hope to continue to educate myself and be nothing but open and authentic moving forward in life and in my classroom.
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