“In all affairs it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted”
-Bertrand Russell
Teacher Identity
- What does it mean to be ‘effective’?
I feel that to be effective as a teacher is to strike a balance of delivering the highest quality of learning for the most students, while not spreading yourself too thin. I have a suspicion (held by others, as you’ll see in this BBC article) that in women-majority careers like teaching, extra unpaid labour is an expectation- not just of women, but of all teachers to varying degrees. I imagine this contributes to the high rate of burnout and of leaving the profession, and I’m sure we can all agree that a burnt out teacher (or one who has left teaching to become a dentist) is no longer an effective teacher. I firmly believe that effective teachers set boundaries and put themselves first so they have more to give.
- What characteristics does an effective teacher have?
Effective teachers are self-confident, because they prepare in advance and remain flexible when change arrives. They are also self-confident because they know that even if things “go wrong” in the classroom, they are capable of remediating it. This is because they have strong subject matter knowledge in what they teach, and strong interpersonal skills. This confidence allows students to have trusting relationships with teachers, and those trusting relationships let teachers do their job more effectively. Effective teachers are so many other things too: gentle, fair, respectful, attentive, honest, caring, humble, reflexive, open-minded, loving, creative, resourceful, hard-working, and dedicated. I think that for elementary and middle school teachers in particular, a key ingredient to effectiveness is being fun and being able to have a laugh. And last of all, an effective teacher is someone who knows you can’t pour from an empty cup.
- What kind of teacher do I want to become?
I want to become a teacher that is kind, that takes good care of myself and my community, and as I’ve decided most recently, a teacher that is fully myself. That last one may sound odd, aren’t I already “myself”? What I mean by this is that I do not want to have a professional identity that doesn’t represent who I really am. Because I am a nonbinary person, sometimes I feel uncertain about how to present myself in schools. What do I wear? How do I introduce myself? What do I say when students ask me what my pronouns are or why I “look like a boy”? I used to be afraid to answer these questions, and would spend so long getting dressed for in-situs for fear of looking “too unconventional”. I am finding ways to balance these anxieties with the knowledge that if a school can not support me being who I am, it is not a school I am meant to teach at. In other words, I want to be confident in myself.
- What do I need to learn to become an effective teacher?
I need to learn to develop a work-life balance, especially since I have struggled with this in the past. I also believe classroom management strategies will be crucial, particularly the ones learned and practiced through experience. I will need to learn strategies to support EAL (English as an Additional Language) learners, and to adapt day plans or lesson plans on short notice.
- What are my beliefs about teaching (my teaching philosophy)?
I believe teachers have to be strong leaders, as they have the responsibility of cultivating safe, loving, and informed communities. This includes being positive role models, supporting fellow teachers, protecting students from harm, and helping students develop the tools necessary to live the lives they wish. I think teachers must be committed to curiosity, which means not just accepting new information, but actively seeking to understand the world and to learn and share truths.
Reflection
I think of each person’s worldview as the set of their answers to the “big questions” in life (which of these questions are asked can differ depending on one’s worldview, so perhaps my definition needs some work). Some examples of what I believe to be the “big questions” are: “What is your purpose in life?” “How did the universe come to be?” “What happens after you die?” “What is right and wrong?” “What is normal?” “Who is most important in the world, and in what order?” and “How can we determine what is true?”.
- How would you describe your worldview?
I would partly describe my worldview by sharing things are very important to me: Indigenous sovereignty and Indigenous rights, antiracism, women’s rights, disability justice, queer rights, and environmentalism. I carry these ideas with me when I make decisions about spending money, voting, choosing words, and traveling; They affect my decisions and perspectives even when I am not consciously thinking about them, although it was not always that way. The layers of my worldview that I see as more inherent are European/settler Canadian, colonial, agnostic, spiritual, and politically left-wing.
- While thinking about your own worldview, also consider the impacts of your ethnocultural, socioeconomic, geopolitical and spiritual identities.
I am a white person who is descended from Irish and Scottish colonizers. I was raised by a loving, middle-class, white family who identifies mostly with “Canadian” culture, although we feel slightly connected to Irish and Scottish cultures too. Because of this, I turn to history and folklore (rather than religion) for spiritual answers, and being a good host with a tidy home and sense of humour is important to me. My grandparents have taught me that we value hard work, financial independence, formal education, and toughness through difficult times. I grew up in a suburb surrounded by people with very similar identities and upbringings to me, so I inaccurately view myself as the “default” much of the time.
- Why, as a teacher, is it important to be aware of your own worldview, as well as those of your students and school community?
It is essential for me to be aware of my own worldview because it affects what material I choose to teach, when and how I teach it, who I choose to learn from, who I include my classroom, and how I carry myself. In my school community, every person deserves to feel understood and respected, and understanding and respecting their worldviews demonstrates that.
- What can you do, as a teacher, to ensure that your worldview does not impede the success of the diversity of learners in your classroom?
To do this, I can choose to honour the responsibility of being a lifelong learner every day, by remaining curious and always being prepared to change. I can read, listen, and watch media and have conversations to advance my understanding of others’ worldviews, and I can do the same to examine the parts of my own worldview that I am blind to or accept as the norm.
- When do you consider it to be necessary to challenge the western worldview as it impacts the K-12 education system?
I consider this to be necessary every day, in every subject, and in how I carry myself as a teacher both in and out of work.
- What aspects of the BC curriculum reinforce or challenge a western worldview?
An overarching aspect of the BC curriculum that is very western is the fact that each subject is divided into a separate category, and each grade is separate as well. Another is that English and French are prioritized, while languages that are not European in origin only become available in grade five. Indigenous languages are virtually non-existent in the curriculum. The Applied Design, Skills, and Technology curriculum reinforces capitalist (typically western) values as well. I see that there are many areas where Indigenous topics, knowledge, and subject matter are included or even inform the broader curriculum design, but I do not feel that it is actually challenging the western worldview. I think it is more of a tiny nudge, hopefully one in a series of many potentially bigger nudges.
