Blog Post 5: Teacher Identities

To me, teachers have played a very important role in my life and who I am today. I remember all of my teachers I have ever had, what I thought about them and the experiences I had in their classroom.

            My fourth grade teacher, Mr. Grady, was an amazing man the incorporated music into everything he did. He had all different kinds of plants throughout the room, creating an easy, calming environment. My favorite part was the music, the way he involved us as well and made us a part of the learning instead of just listening. It was the way he used the music that interested me to get more involved in dance, which has now become my passion. Also, the way he spoke to us also, he always used a gentle voice that, I believe, in turn made us more calm and under control. He didn’t treat us like students, he treated like children, eager to learn, inspire, and play.

            My fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Stevenson, is the reason I want to be a teacher. She played games and had playful competitions between the groups of desks we sat at. She had a similar trait Mr. Grady had, they involved the students in their learning, not just giving the information and moving on. I have stayed connected with her throughout my years of high school and now college. She offers me tips on effective studying methods and lets me help out in her classroom to gain experience.

            Lastly, my eight grade teacher, Mrs. Deedon. She and I  created a connection I cannot explain. I was a “teachers pet,” but I didn’t care. I enjoyed getting good grades and helping the teacher out during lunch time and after school. I remember her telling me she was pregnant with twins and that I was the first to know out of all her students. From that point on I felt a sense of importance, and I wanted my future students to feel the same importance; I want them to feel like they have a purpose in this world just as she instilled into me. Sure, the information she released to me may have been inappropriate from aspects, but her family and my family ended up as good friends.

            When it comes to the different identities, I completely agree with Williams in that a teacher must possess, and be able to perform well, many different identities. I am a dance teacher and have been for a little over 6 years, and throughout the years I have developed many different identities. With teaching at my first studio, I developed the identity of a teacher figure, a babysitter, an extremely happy person, a friend, and an observer. Many of these identities have helped me become more patient with children and everyone’s learning curve is different. Also, I have become a really good actor; if I am having a bad day or am not feeling well, I need to be able to turn those emotions off and become the happiest person ever for those students.

I am sure I have more identities I have not realized or even associated with teaching, like my social identities I believe are separate, but I expect to develop many more identities the more experience I gain. I am excited to teach and become an actor of many faces; and who knows, maybe I will become really good at charades as well.