Angelena Essery

EDTE 531
F15N02
Re: Scott Priestman
Nov 27, 2015
My Identity Paper
As educators, it is our duty to impart wisdom to our students; however, wisdom is the
sum of knowledge and experience. We can certainly provide knowledge to our students but
only life can bring experience; therefore, we are obliged to draw upon our own life
experience. I have had teachers whom I enjoyed being in their class and those whom I
dreaded. Of course my life experience is going to affect my life as a teacher, it would be
foolish to think these two things would not be connected. I am hoping to use this past
experience to better my future schools, my students, and my own teaching.
I believe school has become a place where people learn what they are good at and
what they arent; the place where you find out if you are a jock or a dork, if you are an A or a
D. A place where you think you have friends but dont because the only reason most of you
are friends is because you are together all the time and there is social time built in by outside
lunch and recess time. These friends can create life-altering nicknames or tales that follow
you for the rest of your life. By the time it counts for your future goals, many students have
already given up and chosen something else to do with their time, work, relationships, video
games, just not doing school work.
I think school should be a place where everyone belongs and where everyone knows
what will be expected of them in society. Students should learn how to critically think, so
they know how to vote and who to vote for. School should connect to the real world after
school, whether for some it is to learn how to improve ones study habits if pursuing a higher

level of school, and for others what a good interview looks like. It should be a place where
one can learn about what their interests are in a positive way instead of always being told
what to learn (I know we are starting to move in that direction). Schools should develop the
basics for learning social skills; how to politely disagree, and how to have a meaningful
discussion with someone.
My experience as a student was that school was a place of struggle. I was always
challenged and even if I was doing well, I was quickly out-shined by someone else. It was a
place where appearance and fashion mattered. I often connected better with adults than my
peers; every time a new student came I would hope we would be friends and until grade 10 I
really only had one good friend. It was a place where I was often dropped off early before
my mom went to work and stayed late until she could come and get us. I did experience the
positives and negatives of small class sizes as I graduated with 21 other people. Though we
were a tight bunch of friends' today 8 years later I talk to one person every six months or so.
I had all of 6 high school teachers most of them from 8-12. This meant my sister went
through school always being reminded she was my younger sister. This also led to them
questioning me when I did well in Math 10 and not as well in Math 11 these questions were
about my effort and intelligence; though it was a new concept and a now a mixed grade class
that I was struggling with. When I went through depression not one teacher helped me
through any one step of my journey, they kept trying to pawn me off to the next adult:
whether a counsellor, a youth leader, a doctor, meaning all these other people were involved
before my parents were. Many of my peers were children of the staff at school, which meant
socializing out of school became affected by school attitudes. School was a place which I

was never clearly understood, a place where my life experiences were not to be discussed or
shared.
I started university with the intent to help so other children didnt have to go through
what I went though. I started in a degree in Psychology which seemed all very theoretical:
subjects instead of patients, so I switched to child and youth care worker. This was a lot of
paper work and only working with the worst of the worse. I then took a year off and reflected
on my life. During this whole 3 years since I graduated high school, I was a Sunday school
teacher, a trainer at work, and I was volunteering with three different cadet groups on the
island. I realized I was teaching in all aspects of my life without realizing it, so I started to
look into the education program and many of my adventures as a young student counted as
credits for this degree.
I think most of all my past will give me the tools to ask the hard questions of whats
wrong? and how can I help? and mean it. I want to be there for students who have gone
through something traumatic and for those around them trying to understand what is going
on in their peers lives. I intend to adjust my teaching strategies and my classroom to fit
those students in the room. In the past, I have worked with a boy who was illiterate so I
taught my entire cadet training without using words on the board. He was so engaged and so
was everyone else, I did more hands on learning opportunities and more team work and
leadership building. To the point when he aged out of my group, I still didnt use the board as
often because of the benefit of the altered teaching strategy had on the entire group. I will do
my best to match the needs of the students who arent being heard or those who are always
needing to be heard and try and learn where that comes from. I will help with a before and
after school program in any way I can, even by just being there early so the school and my

classroom are unlocked just in case someone needs to be in out of the rain. I will do my best
to be available to my students in my school not just my classroom. I am sure I will also have
some sort of once a week or twice a month group either crocheting, or crafting, or
photography or Lego (or an activity the students have asked for); a different way for students
to be creative and succeed which is unique to them. By having this unique experience, it will
also help connect students who may not have otherwise known each other. This will help
build school wide community. The more connected the students are, the more likely
everyone will have a place and feel connected to the school in some way, and the more
connected the students are, the higher the school spirit. Students will then start wanting to go
to school.
When I began exploring my invisible identity, I found myself very selfish. All I could
think of were things which were invisible to others which havent been invisible for me: my
weight, my religion, my age and my gender (sometimes). I further considered a few general
things such as my skin colour, my dominate hand, and the country I am from. I then started
to think about it differently: I have had amazing family support, even while my parents were
getting divorced I still was always loved and supported. The language I speak, English, as so
many people in the world are fighting, hoping, and wanting to learn how to speak English. I
thought about things people notice or comment on in a positive way: is that your natural hair
colour? or Oh, I love your curls are they natural?, or what beautiful blue eyes you have!
I am often reminded of these things but never have these things been said in anger or
frustration. Never have these traits held me back or were questioned as I proceed through
my life. I will work hard to ensure the same is true for my students, doing my best to notice
a new hair style, a nice outfit, or a new scab.

The first thing I noticed when looking deeply at myself is my skin colour. It never
affects my life, (other than a sun burn) and it has never held me back from anything I wanted
to do. Aside from people being aware of my acne, my skin tone has never even been the
topic of discussion; furthermore, it has helped me move forward and do what I want where
and when I wanted to. I have only once been a minority in a group and it was strange. I
remember how different and noticeable it was to me on the bus to Mexico realizing I was
one of two people who had white skin and spoke English as my first language. Working hard
to include other cultures of my students in my classroom is one of my firm goals. I will help
them not to blend into our society, but to be happy and content to be who they are and
connected both to where they are from and where they are now.
I am challenged now as I work to learn my second language of French. My first
language English has failed me once when I was in a small town in France. The purpose of
the trip was to immerse oneself in the culture; however, for one meal I had to use French and
I ended up with apple pie for lunch. For the rest of my twenty five years, I grew up speaking
English. If I mess it up or if I dont spell or pronounce something correctly. I am rarely
corrected and if I am corrected it is done quickly and politely; or I will be able to correct
myself and laugh it off. I will make sure the student wants to be or needs to be corrected if
they do mispronounce or misspell a word, if it is done in a simple conversation about their
weekend or a journal entry I will most likely not correct them. As being corrected constantly
can be exhausting. I will choose the appropriate time to correct and always in the most polite
way I can, trying not to over-correct any who are still learning the language.
Support is something I have never lacked even going through my alone teenager
phase. My parents have always supported my sister and me; even through divorce,

depression and eating disorders. I have been helped through navigating religion, school, and
life goals. I have been loved when I didnt believe myself lovable. In my future (and present)
I will do my best to support all my students and others around the school to the best of my
ability. As I have felt them myself, I will be aware of different cues and silent calls for help.
I will continue to do research in this area so I can always do my best, even if it is just sitting
with them while they wait for a ride, or being available to talk when they need an ear to hear
them.
I am a twenty five year old woman who is in the last year of her degree. I am married,
we own our house, we own our truck, we have two dogs and my cousin is able to live with us
while I am in school. My husband just finished his second degree last December. Although
at different times I may have felt limited by money or income of my family, in the end,
realistically, I am on top of the world. I have always been lead and pushed ahead and never
held back by something I couldnt control and even rarely by something I do choose or
control. How this will affect my classroom is I will work very hard to never let things that
should be invisible in our inclusive culture be brought up in a negative way. All students will
be expected to uphold this same level of expectation; if you dont have anything nice to say
dont say anything at all. Things which make us different should be celebrated; everything
from learning disabilities, to allergies, all the way to accents or cultural norms. All should
feel valued and included in my future classroom and if anyone is not helping create such an
environment will have appropriate consequences, such has a time for them to reflect on how
was they have said or done has affected others, or writing an apology letter (age dependant)
etc.. I will have an open door policy to let students know they are not alone in their problems
and struggles; even if I have not lived them.

In hindsight my childhood will help me connect to students at all social economic

levels having been a millionaires daughter and a penny pinchers child. I have been the new
kid and I have been there for all of middle and high school. I have been from a nuclear
family, I have been from a broken family. I have had my aunt and my cousin living with us
as a child and now I have a different cousin who pays me rent to live with me. I have lived
with both parents, and I have lived with my mom upstairs and my dad living in the basement
suite. I have lived with both parents on their own, and I have lived with new step parents. I
have shared a room with my sister and I have had my own. I have slept on the same floor as
my family, and I have had my own room down in the basement. As an adult I have lived in
my dads living room and I have lived in my own house. I was married six months before
my husband and I lived in the same town. I have been through many home life situations;
some were better than others; but through all of them I can now connect to at least one more
student and because of all of this I am able to better empathize with students no matter what
home life is like.
In my life Ive dealt with the loss of parents marriage, I have lost pets, I have lost
grandparents. I have been to funerals, I have been to weddings, and I have been to
christenings. I have missed school because I was sick, I have missed school because my
mom was sick, and I have missed school because we were on vacation. Ive walked to
school, I have been driven and I have taken the never ending bus route. Ive moved three
houses in six months and I have lived in the same house for 10 years. I was part of the
working world in grade ten, I went to summer camp and Ive stayed home for a few
summers.

Through all of these things in my life I have been blessed in some ways that now I
can honestly relate to many more students than those who have had a traditional childhood. It
was my unique experiences as a child and a youth that in the end lead me to the desire to
work with children and youth, which now I will use to help my future students grow and
develop the way that is best and most logical for them, as long as they are safe. Safety was
something else that wasnt always true at school but I will do my best to ensure it is for all I
can help. Simply doing washroom checks, (seeing who is frequently wasting time, or
damaging the property or self) regular desk/locker checks (weapons, no food in the desks,
some food in the lunch bag); regular real life check-ins everyday can make such a different in
some childrens lives. These are some of the small things that could have greatly changed
my school life, and really my whole life. By simply a genuine interest being shown to be and
appropriate avenues of where I could have gone for help or to ask questions could have made
all the difference and I will make that difference.