Identity Crisis

To start, my name is pronounced  TAN-E-SHEE-UH , not TAN-E-SHUH. Since the beginning of my existence, my name has been butchered all over the place. I’ve never made a huge deal out of it, but my name is a part of my identity…so it should make me want to say something whenever my name is pronounced or spelled wrong, right? Unfortunately, I’m too nice for my own good, so I continue to let people call me Tanisha, Toenesha, and the oh so dreadful…TAN-E-SEE-UH. *shivers*

Over the past few years, I’ve taken a lot of time to know, and I mean REALLY know my identity. From race, to religion, to moral beliefs, college has really influenced me to take time to figure out exactly who I am. In addition to this, I think it’s super important that I figure out my professional identity as well. This, my friends is a current work in progress, but I am making small strides.

So I’m in the middle of my second week of student teaching, and I’m already giving some serious thought to what I believe as an educator. I am surrounded by so many teachers with all these different ideas and beliefs! Some beliefs completely reflect mine, and others push on what I have known to believe. I think I’m having a bit of an identity crisis, but isn’t that what this education program is about? Every day I find myself thinking about who I want to be as an educator. I wonder about the best practices for being an effective teacher, and it gets super complicated. I constantly find myself “guessing” and  leaning on one idea until I have a solid idea of what I think is best for kids. In time, I will figure out my professional identity and be 100% sure on what I know is best practice. Until then, I will continue to absorb every bit of information I can about this profession.

I hope you guys never stop thinking about your professional identity. If you haven’t, take this week to begin and give it some serious thought. Today I leave you with two questions: Who are you as an educator? What do you believe is best for kids?