I’d like to believe that we are individuals with multiple identities, often based on where we are, when we are, and who we are at the time. I’ve often come across colleagues who deeply believe that the teacher identity is all- encompassing and the single identity that educators have. Certainly, the teacher identity is all-encompassing of a variety of experiences, but I would humbly disagree that it is the only identity one holds. Perhaps, the most dominant one?

It’s true, I’ve caught myself in moments where I’m thinking like a teacher. In a bookstore thinking about how I could use a text to supplement content in a class. At the grocery store thinking about an activity that would involve cooking, and these ingredients are peanut free! Reading an article on twitter, seeing a poster on Instagram. Visiting a park for the first time, stumbling upon a mural, meeting new people at an event… all resources to engage students with! It never ends.

At the beginning of the year, I attended a pro-d workshop on Social Justice and tried to define the term as it related to the kind of teacher I wanted to be. This initial foray into unpacking the concept of ‘social justice’ left me with more questions than answers. But the key terms that I had written down helped inform my own practice.

In many ways I hope to be an equitable and inclusive practitioner that acknowledges and values student diversity and difference towards cultivating more considerate learners beyond the walls of the classroom.