Identity Paper

Hailey Bergstrom
I believe that there are many goals to education not just to teach children the curriculum
in core subjects, but also to prepare and provide students with the skills that they need to have a
successful future in education and to have the tools to be good humans. A strong education from
the start is essential because it provides children with guidance and direction in life as well as the
tools necessary to think critically. I believe that our education system is meant to teach children
discipline, give social structure, build intelligence, increase self-confidence and allow children
the opportunity to discover their passions in life. It has not always been designed this way in the
curriculum, but this new proposed curriculum allows for more of a say from the classroom
teacher. This gives us the opportunity to cover the basics but also put an emphasis on social
justice issues that children will face later in life. I also believe that teachers should work to
inspire their students to continue their learning long after that class and their high school careers
are over. That is not necessarily through university or traditional ways of education, but also
through travel and amercing themselves in other cultures. As teachers we have the opportunity to
have a huge impact on our students lives and I just hope that eventually I will have students
leave my classroom with a positive school experience that they can look back on and feel good
about. Every student learns differently and each one benefits from different teaching techniques,
methods, and styles. Determining early on what style of teaching each student learns best from is
very important because it will allow me to incorporate those styles into my teaching which will
allow for equal opportunities.
My identity represents who I am at this point in my life, the things that I have gone
through that shaped me into this person and the beliefs and values that I carry with me not only
as a teacher but in my everyday life. In society to those who do not know my background or past

I am seen as a white middle class woman. It is because of those outside appearances that I have
been privileged in the way that I have never been excluded in school or society because of my
skin colour. As a student I have never had teachers treat me negatively because of my skin
colour. I did experience different treatment because I was a child of a single parent and we were
far from middle class, in ways that were not meant to be negative, in fact it was meant to make
my life easier but instead singled me out in front of classmates and embarrassed me. Education
has always been important to me, I always knew I wanted to be a teacher and I am a very
determined/ often stubborn person so getting to this point has not been the easiest by any means
but I have worked hard and done it. I knew there would be challenges for me, mostly financial,
but I also never had to consider the colour of my skin effecting my goals and dreams. I wish that
my family, friends and classmates who are not Caucasian had never had negative experiences
because of their outward appearances but unfortunately that is not the case. In my classroom I
know that I will never treat my students differently because of their skin colour, gender, or socioeconomic status.
My paternal grandmother is full East Indian making my biological father half, and my
brother and I quarter. My brothers skin tone is more olive than mine and his hair is darker so he
does look it more than I but people often still dont know that he is and we have both been
around when acquaintances ignorantly joke about Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and other
people/religions often mixing them up or confusing one with the other not realizing that they are
all completely individual of each other with different religions and beliefs entirely. It is a really
difficult situation to be in because instantly you take it personally when they joke about a person
being a terrorist because of their skin colour and a large chunk of my family comes from the
same religion/culture. My Grandma does not participate or believe in the religion like she did

when she was a girl but I have heard all of her stories about growing up in Lake Cowichan, a
largely white community and the things that her and her sisters went through and the racist
remarks that she has heard and continues to hear on occasion. These stories that she and my
cousins have shared with me about their experiences have made me much more aware and
realistic that racism does still exist, it is just quieter than it used to be. Being honest with my
students and keeping them informed of what reality will be like when they leave school is so
important to me and I know that my familys background has a large impact on that.
The vision that I have for my classroom is an environment in which every child feels safe
and comfortable. One where individuals strengths are emphasized and growth within these
strengths are encouraged. It will be a place where I am authoritative, but continue to be an
empathetic and understanding person towards my students. It is important to set guidelines right
away during the first few weeks of school. In order for a teacher to maintain control it is vital
that the students know what the rules and expectations are going to be. It is important to me that
we acknowledge the different cultures and religions in my classroom in one way or another,
depending on the grade level. It is also important that I be a proactive teacher in my classroom
and deal with conflict and misbehaviour in a calm, non-disruptive manner rather than a reactive
teacher who does nothing but create chaos and embarrass the students by yelling or scolding
them. If you show a child respect they will hopefully give you respect back.
There are many important conditions that I value in a classroom environment, all of
which are very important to me. I value a positive environment, a sense of community within a
classroom, open communication between the teacher, parents, students and colleagues. Having a
classroom where my students can always feel comfortable expressing their opinions, thoughts
and ideas openly without judgement. Experimenting with different teaching styles and methods

is also important to me, including experimenting with new developments in technology. I hope to
always incorporate these new things into my classroom, as well as incorporating activities into
the classroom when possible to make learning more interesting and exciting for students,
especially those with visual or kinesthetic learning styles. I hope to incorporate smaller group
work into my classroom when possible because I believe that students benefit from sharing ideas
amongst each other after brainstorming on their own.
Reflection and assessment in many different forms will be essential in obtaining not only
a positive but also an effective classroom environment that allows students to reach their highest
potential. Continuous assessment of my teaching strategies and my own values and beliefs within
the classroom will be necessary to efficiently run a successful classroom. The evaluation of my
students on a regular basis will help me to create a more positive learning experience for them.
Asking questions and reviewing each students progress through-out the year is important, as
well as being attentive to their needs, strengths, weaknesses and emotional state. I also think that
students learning to self-evaluate and doing it on a regular basis will help them not only in that
class but in life, arranging conferences with me and my students on a regular basis will ensure
that we are both on the right track for their learning goals and that I am meeting their educational
needs. Parental involvement in the classroom and their childs education is very important to me.
Continuous interaction and regular meetings with parents is something that I strongly believe
students and me as a teacher will benefit from. Parents are not always able to be there for their
children for whatever reason, and that is one area teachers need to be aware of and be able to
focus on. As potentially the only role models for some of these students we as teachers need to
create a non-threatening, non-judgemental positive setting where all children regardless of their
background have the opportunity to excel. Exchanges of ideas between my colleagues and

myself are something else that I believe will only benefit me as a teacher. Creating a system
where my students can give me feedback on how effective my teaching is for them is also
something that I hope to do in order to improve myself for the following years.
As a student teacher I dont yet have answers on how to handle all major educational
issues, I have learned a lot from my current mentor teachers, school staff and supervisor on how
to approach such issues and I plan to continue to observe, listen and learn different strategies and
techniques on how to deal with bullying in the classroom, students having problems at home,
teaching in classrooms with mentally challenged children or any other major educational issues
that I may face. When it comes to strategies I believe it depends on the individual students in that
particular class and the age of the students. Having the students interact with each other in
different group settings and mixing up those groups is important to me because it will make all
students feel equally included. Having a plan and setting clear consequences for misbehaviour
from the very start will also hopefully bring issues down to a minimum.
Growing up I was not in a middle class household, so I can also relate to those students
who come with less than others and can appreciate the single parents who cant make it to parent
teacher conferences because they are busy working their third job to pay the rent. I am
sympathetic to those children and have already noticed that in my practicum experience. I am not
sure if that is a negative thing yet or positive, but I do know that I have definitely been more
inclined to build relationships with those students first because they are often the ones who need
to know that they are supported and that someone does care. I know from experience that it also
feels pretty special when they are the ones that a teacher tries to connect with before other kids
who seem to already have everything. This might impact me negatively because it does take me
longer to make connections with students who do not fit into these categories but it does not

mean that I do not value the other students equally regardless of their social location or
background.