But I Teach [fill in the blank], Not Identity or Culture Class! But I Teach [fill in the blank], Not Identity or Culture Class!
Last week you read and thought about definitions of inquiry and equity, about different purposes for practitioner inquiry, and about the relationship between equity and inquiry. Identity is one key component of both of these activities: inquiry and equity.
While there are many factors to consider when working toward more equitable learning spaces, one of the big ideas that tie all those factors together is identity. To build a safe, generative, and just learning environment, we can’t ignore the identities of the teachers and learners in the room and the ways our complex identities are entangled with power (or the lack thereof).
Each educational space conveys a story about safety and belonging. Students learn whether their identity matters through curriculum, the pedagogical approaches or dispositions of educators, policies, peer interactions, and features within a physical environment. The classroom can be a space that nurtures intellectual capacity, promotes joy, and fosters a sense of community. However, the classroom can also reflect oppressive systems and practices that hinder learning experiences and dehumanize the identities of learners.
— Buchanan-Rivera, 2022, p. 2
We have an obligation to make kids feel visible. When we recognize and value students’ identities, we make time and space for them in daily classroom routines, curriculum, and dialogue. We can help students shine a light on who they are: their hopes and dreams, talents, family histories, how they identify culturally, the languages they speak, how they learn best, the story of their names, what they can teach us.
— Ahmed, 2018
Kimberlé Crenshaw refers to these multiple markers of identity as "intersectionality." Intersectionality is not just about listing and naming your identities--it is a necessary analytic tool to explain the complexities and the realities of discrimination and of power or the lack thereof, and how they intersect with identities… When teachers shy away from intersectionality, they shy away from ever fully knowing their students' humanity and the richness of their identities. Mattering cannot happen if identities are isolated and students cannot be their full selves.
— Love, 2019
Take a break now to read Buchanan-Rivera, E. (2022). Unpacking identity. Identity Affirming Classrooms, 75–102. [Library Resources] As you are reading, think about your own experiences in schools.
How have elements of your own identity held you back? Helped you move forward?
How have elements of your students' identity caused you to do something that held them back or helped move them forward?
References
Buchanan-Rivera, E. (2022). Identity affirming classrooms: Spaces that center humanity. Routledge.
Ahmed, S. K. (2019). Being the change: Lessons and strategies to teach social comprehension. Heinemann USA Imprint.
Love, B. L. (2019). We want to do more than survive: Abolitionist teaching and the pursuit of educational freedom. Beacon Press.
