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Identity work in the classroom

In the previous posts, we discussed identity, how it differs, and how it affects students’ understanding. For this post, I want to emphasize some teaching strategies that will foster students’ identity in the classroom and help them develop as better learners.  Raising students’ sense of identity as readers and writers. Use words and activities that will influence students’ sense of themselves as readers and writers. One way to do that is to let them rewrite what they have read by changing what they think should be changed. This will develop their critical thinking skill and they will also get a chance to perform their identities.  Ask students to write connections between the lesson and their lives. Asking students to make connections between what they have read and their own lives will give them space to reflect on what they truly understood and on how that is connected to their lives. It will also give them an opportunity to make sense of what they...
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Being an "other"

As a Saudi person, I have never felt that I do not belong or that I am treated as an "other” in Saudi Arabia. However, after moving to the sates, I then started to develop those kinds of feelings. In Saudi Arabia, my language is the dominant language and my hijab is not questioned, but in the states, I have to use another language and many people question the way I look and dress. This experience made me interested in knowing how other people from Saudi Arabia feel about being in a totally different culture. I wanted to see how their identities affected their experiences and whether it was an obstacle to them or no. To do that, I interviewed four Saudi ladies, Rania, Manal, Tala, and Lamia, who are in the stated for studying.  Rania has been in the states for six years, she went to an English academy for two years then she started her undergraduate program at High Point University and now she is in her last semester.  Manal has been in the states for only 7 months...
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Identifying students through language

Language is a huge part of our identities. It comes from our culture and from the place we grow up in. We use different dialects, terms, expressions, etc., and that is why sometimes we might speak the same language, English for example, but we cannot understand each other.  "If literacy is more than just decoding marks on a page, if it is shaped by culture and context, then the cultures and contexts we inhabit in our lives outside the classroom will necessarily influence the way we approach literacy practices in school." (Williams, 2005, p. 343) In her article, Williams (2005) talked about how growing up in a family of teachers helped her in developing her academic language. She said that debating, arguing, and providing evidence were parts of her daily life since she was a child. Then, she explained how that did not make her "smarter," but it made it easier for her to succeed in school. Not all students come from a family of teachers like Wiliams, however...
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Judging students based on their identity

Treating people based on their identity is a common act. People might like you or dislike you just because of your race, language, nationality, etc. Sadly, this act can be seen anywhere, even at schools. Many teachers put assumptions on students because of who they are and where they come from. What is worse than that is that some students believe that stereotypes and act upon them.   All students come to the class with their valued knowledge. As teachers, we should appreciate students’ culture and knowledge and make sure that they know how much we value them.  How students’ identity affects the way they see themselves and the way their teachers see them: Raul, a student in Vetter’s (2010) article admitted that he feels people around him sometimes see him as “dumb Mexican”. Because of that Raul rarely participated in class discussions. Many students are similar to Raul, they will prefer being silent rather than participating in the class because of the fear ...
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Identity

What is identity? Is it something we born with? Is it changeable? Holland’s et al. (1998)  defines Identity as a concept that figuratively combines the intimate or personal world with the collective space of cultural forms and social relations. Our identity is what we are, what we believe in, how we talk, how we feel, how we treat others, and the list goes on. Some parts of our identity are things that we are born with such as our color and biological sex. Other parts of our identity are things that we gain from the culture we grow up in such as the language we speak. Other identities we acquire while interacting with others and exploring different spaces.   The concept of identity is so complicated yet so simple. I am aware that identity is the features the person owns, practice, and believe in. however, those features are changeable. In other words, our identities are not fixed. Even at the same time, they can take different shapes in different places.  Sp...
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