"Know from whence you came. For if you know whence you came, there is absolutely no limit to where you can go" (James Baldwin)
Mother's Daughter (scene from Spanglish) illustrates the significance of identity
What will you look closely at in your own family: history, stories, genealogy, individual family members.... etc? This engagement is solely for you to explore/research something that you want to know more about or take time to delve into about your own family. This is meant for you which will be shared with your classmates the final day of class. As teachers, it will become a ritual to share about yourself, who you are, where you come from, your roots, as your students share about themselves. This opportunity is an invitation for you to begin this introspective look at you and your roots. Remember everything starts from the center and moves outward, as sculptor Rodin said.
You cannot know you students without properly introducing yourself and caring about from whence you came. Sharing stories about you is a way to bond with your students and build relationships with them, for master teachers know teaching is all about relationships. Stories are what makes us human (Bruce Perry). So this is an opportunity for you to delve more deeply into your own ethnic roots and share a part of who you are and from whence you came.
Trumbell & Pacheco (2005) Leading with Diversity (Races & Ethnicity Chapter, p. 7) define ethnicity:
Denying the biological reality of race is counterintuitive to many people, who believe that they can identify race
visually. But in fact, race is a social category used to define people, sometimes for purposes of discrimination or
privilege (Cross, Strauss, & Fhagen-Smith, (1999). Attributions of superiority or inferiority to different races have
been used as a basis for denying basic human rights to certain groups and entitling others to social privileges. Thus,
because it does have social and political power and because it has a strong role in identity development, race cannot
be dismissed. Ethnicity generally entails common geographical and historical origins, a common culture, a common
language, and sometimes a common religion (Crystal, 1997).
Trumbell & Pacheco (2005) Leading with Diversity (Races & Ethnicity Chapter, p. 10) describe the importance of teachers exploring their own ethnicity:
Educators from the dominant group can benefit from investigating their own racial experience. Such exploration can
lead to development of a positive racial identity that allows them to take a conscious, constructive role in intervening
with practices that are unfair or destructive to certain students.Race and ethnicity are not qualities of “minority”
people but an identity marker for all people. “Whiteness” as a racial or ethnic identity is often unconscious on the part
of white students unless they are in situations where they are in the minority, compared to the numbers of students
from other backgrounds (Perry, 2002). In her study, Perry showed that being in a mixed environment led White
students to a deeper awareness of what it is to be Black (her terms), more support for affirmative action, and less
racism. An understanding of racial identity is important in being able to grasp the concept of “White privilege” and
how it operates in U.S. society.