Week 3 Discussion

Students bring similarities and differences to the classroom. At times, these factors are at odds with expectations. Students may not want to be “judged” by peers or teachers and may want to hide some of these differences. They want to fit in and be part of the group or they do not want to be punished. Typically, being different highlights one in a negative way. None of us are just one thing. Teachers must get to know their students to feel important and unique individuals.

Teachers also bring differences to the classroom. Being aware of multiple identities of all can result in a rich learning environment. These identities are always developing and through sharing/communication can bring understanding and compassion. Teachers can be integral as they accompany students on the learning journey and to help them evolve. Teachers will be positively changed, too. This fellowship or family is a goal of mine in the classroom. Embracing the multiple identities of all can help expand our humanity instead of dividing us.

1. Middle-school students are distressed and embarrassed at the baseline; they are constantly comparing themselves to the expectations of school, parents, peer and the media. Students may: avoid work, if they think they cannot get an A; decide not to play a sport or a game, if they think they might not perform well; and segregate themselves in cliques to avoid social embarrassment.

2. Privilege and marginalization have connotations that are just too politicized. My personal background had both positives and tremendous challenges. I hope that I can help students see their own strengths and encourage them to overcome their obstacles.

3. I felt a bit overwhelmed when considering all the developing identities of the over 100 students I teach. I think that you just have to try to be open and accepting as you get to know each student to the best of your ability. Students need to know that you like them as individuals and want to help them be their best.

1. In reading this text, I have been thinking a lot about the way that language identities are celebrated (or conversely marginalized) in my school community. A colleague who has done more work around this than I have recently mentioned to me that many students who speak a language other than English at home never see their heritage language written down over the course of the school day (perhaps beyond a “hello” poster in many languages). I wonder if there is a way to have our school’s physical space be more inclusive of highlighting those languages. I am curious if there are messages that I send in my classroom (purposefully or not) that would value English over other languages. It is something that I will be more attentive to this coming school year.

2. Our school has ongoing Equity Leadership Groups that continue to work on developing awareness amongst our adult community of our relatively privileged or marginalized identities. One of our richest conversations this past school year in ELG was on the topic of intersectionality. I am often vocal with my students about how my gender identity (as a woman) shows up for me in a school that educates only boys. There is an opportunity cost there, however, and I’m now curious in spending time thinking about that one specific identity if there are other ways that I am relatively privileged that I have been ignoring.

3. I continue to grapple with what it means to support and celebrate students with LGBTQ+ identities in a Catholic school. I feel fortunate to be in a space where many classroom doors and faculty laptops are adorned with pride stickers and where our CGSO (Catholic Gay Straight Organization) has a visible presence and strong membership. That said, I know there are students in our school community who are experiencing the intersection of not just a Catholic school but also a home environment where LGBTQ+ identities are not affirmed. What does it look like to best serve them?

Everyone wants to be accepted into a school and community and to experience belonging within a community. This is often missed within schools because of policies, school structures, and routines, which may cause students to be at odds with their true selves and identities. Students will hide or look down on some part of their identity based on their perceptions or experiences interacting with a particular construct, such as one’s native language or socio-economic class. Students can experience feelings of embarrassment through comments made at school or being reprimanded by a teacher who demands that English is always spoken in the classroom. This classroom expectation or rule could place a non-native English speaker into denying and hiding their language gifts of another language beyond English. Another example would be a student who attends classes in a school where they are part of a minority of students and participate in the free and reduced lunch program. These students may refuse breakfast and lunch and go hungry to hide the fact that they are different from most of the student population.

As school communities, we all begin to understand our own identities and how these identities are experienced within the classroom context with students and the broader school community, which includes other teachers, staff, families, and various stakeholders and constituents. An immediate action would be to ensure that a teacher or school leader understands who her learners are through experiencing the community, visiting the stores, neighborhoods, and homes, if possible, of the students, interviewing families and students one-on-one, taking notes, listening, and observing. We must become vulnerable with ourselves, and we will need to continue and expand these routines so that we can fully develop an understanding to better meet the needs of our students.

For me, a significant insight has been the realization of the complexity of understanding the construct of identity and the identity dynamics experienced each day in my Catholic school and its classrooms. It is a symphony that crescendos and decrescendos with each interaction. Our students’ identities are sometimes bold and strong or fragile and delicate, and the adults in my school hold so much power every second to build up or tear down a student. I have that power based on my words, interactions, and how I pay attention to or dismiss a person. This text has helped me to examine my school community and to reflect on practices to fully meet the needs of the students and live out what it means to be an All Are Welcome Catholic school.