What makes you, YOU?

Think about it.

I have been. For about a year I've been on a journey to find out who I really am, and what I am made up of. This concept turned into a final project for school, as we discuss different issues within education.

Identity. Everyone is their own unique person, therefore having their own unique identity. I wrote a paper and had to make a cultural artifact to represent the idea of identity. Parts of the paper had to reflect on course readings (our prof had to SOMEHOW incorporate the class!), but otherwise the rest of it should make sense. Then the picture will follow.

We all have a story, a unique story. This story is what makes each and every person in this world who they are; it is their identity. I chose the topic of identity based upon my own life experiences and understanding of being a student, as well as being a teacher. As I have experienced the transition from being a child into being an adult, I have realized the importance of identity and really understanding myself by examining all aspects of my life; my family, my friends, my faith, my education, my past, my present, my future goals, and so much more, these are all apart of making me who I am today.


Three particular articles from this course influenced me in my decision to talk about identity. Parker Palmer, in the written piece titled We Teach Who We Are, discusses how knowing oneself intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually will influence one’s ability to teach effectively. Similarly, Monture-Angus discusses in the article Alienation and Isolation: Patterns of Colonialism in Canada’s Education System, about how understanding our personal experiences will have an impact on education as we discover how it affects us in both our hearts and minds. Both of these articles discuss identity in terms of the teacher and their approach to teaching, with Monture-Angus also relating it to the students and how they enter the classroom. Lastly, Frances Lefkowitz discusses her personal story as a gifted student in The Gifted Classes, and how her understanding of her home life was interpreted to have an influence on the interactions between her and her classmates if they knew the truth. This is a grappling concept as students are well aware of stigmatisms given to different living situations, so as a teacher, this article really opened my eyes to how some student’s true identities can be hidden from the outside world, and how important it is to get to know my students for who they really are and what they are struggling with or what they are excelling in.


To represent this idea I decided to use photography and multimedia, which is something that is distinct to my personality and that I enjoy doing on a regular basis as a hobby. There are many things that have influenced me to become the person that I am today, so I wanted to document those things. There are three distinct aspects to my artifact and the representations they have towards my identity. The background is representative of two places that have played an important role in bringing me up. The top half is the house I grew up in for 14 years of my life, going through many ups and downs, and experiencing many lessons that have contributed to the person I am today. The bottom half is a landscape picture of the beach at the summer camp I grew up at, and continue to work at every summer. It is both a past and present influence in my life, and has been very influential in being a stable place and home for me as I encountered, and continue to encounter, different life situations. The second aspect is my person, which is chopped up and made up of different people who have influenced my life. Although I could not fit every single person who has touched my life, whether positive or negative, I picked people who are currently in my life as influences to represent the fact that everyone who touches your life changes you a bit, and impacts your life in one way or another, whether you notice it or not. The last aspect is the stance that I chose to have those people stand it. This stance is representative of Jesus on the cross, as faith is a driving force in my life, and I wanted to incorporate that as a key feature of the artifact since it has had, and continues to have, an immense impact on my life choices, reactions, and aspirations for the future.


Through this process of putting together this cultural artifact based upon identity, I have taken the time to reflect upon my own educational experiences and how those have affected my own life journey. I think back to my grade one teacher, and how she made the first impact on me to want to make a difference in the world of education, and then to my grade six teacher who inspired me to make sure that when I got to education, that I got to know every single child in my classroom. These are just the positive experiences, but there were also negative experiences. The time I have taken to reflect back, has helped me to realize that every person in this world learns from everyone, whether they are a certified teacher or not. However, teachers have the privilege of potentially making (or breaking) someone’s life choice in the way that they interact with their identity. I was lucky enough to have teachers who helped me further my ambition and goals in life, but I also know some that were not as lucky. I want my colleagues to be reminded that each child that enters their classroom, each parent they interact with, and each teacher they work alongside with, all have their own unique history that has made them the person they are at that moment of interaction. They must be respectful of each person’s identity, including their own, every day that they enter into the classroom.