Jennifer Radja Ruth Myers-Vassal Ed.

D EPS 512 November 17, y Identity Reflection When I consider my identity as a teacher, I first consider my identity as a student. What was I like as a student and how has that shaped me into the teacher I am now? I attended an elementary school that had a mostly Puerto Rican student body and celebrated their cultural pride at every turn. There was arroz con gandules at our Thanksgiving feast in first grade. Teachers slipped in and out of Spanish throughout the day. At the end of the year everyone prepared for Puerto Rican Week which culminated in an assembly with songs and dancing. This was all wonderful for the students that identified with this culture, but not so much for the small group of students that were African American, Asian or White and never saw their cultures celebrated the same way. That included me: the Eastern European Jewish girl who never saw her culture represented. Christmas was always celebrated with no mention of Hanukkah. My mom would have to explain to my teachers why I couldnt do my homework over Passover. I would tell my classmates that I was Jewish and most would ask Whats that? That was until fifth grade. We got a new library teacher that year that made a point to teach the other students about Purim, and Dia De Los Muertos, and the Chinese New Year. The year after that my homeroom teacher gave me a copy of Number The Stars, which is about a young Jewish girl that escapes Nazi Germany. I started to feel like I was finally being seen by my teachers for who I was, instead of what I wasnt.

As a teacher, I never want my students to feel like I did: like their culture is not part of the norm or they are different from what is accepted. I want my students to see examples of themselves in my curriculum. I want to get to know them and their families so that I can understand where they come from and how their lives might be different from my own. I think I also have to consider myself academically. I was very driven by wanting to please my teachers and my parents. I could always figure out what was expected of me in school and I did what I needed to in order to make the grade. My parents always made school a priority and I internalized that value system. I always knew I wanted to be a teacher and others perceived me that way. If I finished my work early, I would help my classmates. I liked figuring out how best to explain difficult concepts to them. When I have a classroom of my own, I want to prompt my students with these questions of who they want to be, what is important to them, and where they want to go with their lives. In considering these questions for themselves, they may find motivation that they arent getting at home or in their community. I want to be a teacher that affirms my students positive perceptions of themselves. I want them to believe they can achieve great things for themselves, even if they may not see it yet. I want to see them for who they are, and not what they arent.