JODIE CARPENTER

IDENTITY PAPER

Identity Paper

What are the central values that guide me as a teacher?

Trust is something I value as a teacher and a learner. Trust can open up many doors for
learners because they will have a safe place to take risks and try new things. I have a hard time
feeling comfortable taking risks in situations where I dont feel there is any trust and I cannot
ignore those feelings. It is hard to be open and say yes in situations where you feel like
someone is judging you instead of cheering for you. I can only imagine for a young student how
scary it can be to try and trust the room when there hasnt been any kind of formal plan for
creating a safe place. A formal plan may be a week spent on building community in the
classroom and learning how to treat each other respectfully. This year has opened my eyes to
how difficult it can be to trust in a group of people who dont necessarily have the same values as
you. I never realized how important the concept of trust was to me until this year; this has put
into perspective how crucial it is to have students get to know each other and introduce trust
early on.
Another one of my central values is bringing joy and fun to learning. I know that there are
going to be times where we need to put our heads down and get the hard work done but I value
creating a fun learning environment. Children want to have fun so it just makes sense to
incorporate fun and play into learning. Fun can come in many different forms as well; this could
be reading fun stories, implementing a drama program into the classroom, having centre time, or
giving the students time to explore what they like. This could be incorporating an inquiry unit
into the program where students will receive an hour each week to learn about something that

JODIE CARPENTER
IDENTITY PAPER

they are interested in. There would need to be some guidelines such as; at the end of 3 weeks
they must present what they have learned to the class, or they could privately hand in their own
project for the teacher to look at on their own. This would be a form of differentiated learning,
probably best suited for intermediate students.
What do I think the main goals of education are?
I think the main goals of education are to educate students and give them the skills they will
need to be fully functioning adults in society. I believe that with the old curriculum (the
curriculum that is in place right now), doesnt exactly meet this goal because of the how massive
the curriculum is. It is set up to put teachers into the category of covering curriculum. However,
the new curriculum that is currently being developed and starting to be used in schools is more
reflective of this goal. With this curriculum we (teachers) can really focus on helping students
understand the big ideas, which will lead to deeper, more meaningful learning. Hopefully we
can get to a place where the goal of education will be to help students become critical thinkers,
problem solvers, collaborators, etc.
A goal I would like to achieve as an educator will be to get my students to a place where they
can take one of the big ideas from the curriculum and connect it to their real life. It would be
ideal to see students take that understanding and transfer it by teaching someone else, or making
a change in their own lives based off of the lessons they will learn. I believe one of the ways to
achieve this is to make all the learning as relevant to the student as possible. I can do this by
connecting the learning to their lives and their local surroundings.

JODIE CARPENTER
IDENTITY PAPER

What experiences did I have in school and how do they influence my view of education?
I honestly have a hard time thinking back as far as I need to in order to answer this question.
When I think about the experience I had in primary school (K-3), I can only remember activities
I participated in. I cannot actually remember any lessons I learned. I fondly remember my Grade
1 teacher Mrs. Frarie. She encouraged us to read at home with our parents, which I did because I
loved to read, and she always commented on how well I could read. Thinking about this right
now, it obviously made a huge impact on me because I still enjoy reading and I try to read every
day. When I think back on the memories I have of being a student I remember the comments my
teachers made towards me, good or bad. I can see that this had definitely influenced my view on
feedback and how powerful it can be.
My favourite memories of school were being part of school teams and clubs. I was actively
involved in the Drama department as well as most of the school sport teams which included:
volleyball, basketball, and soccer. It wasnt that we got to perform on stage or travel to different
towns to play in tournaments that was the best part in being involved with these groups. It was
getting the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than just yourself. To get to contribute to
the bigger picture and socializing with my peers. I got to know some students in a different way,
we had to work together towards a goal. As far as how this has influenced my view of education,
it is clear that I value socialization and I believe that we need to be able to interact positively
with our peers.
This brings me to bullying; I am a former victim of bullying. This is something I thought I
would leave behind in middle school, however, some people never really learn their lesson and
continue to make people feel lesser than they are well into adulthood. I think that part of my

JODIE CARPENTER
IDENTITY PAPER

identity is that scared little girl who wanted nothing more than for people to treat her the same as
everyone else. Obviously this is something that is going to affect my view on education and
values as a teacher. I will not be the teacher who pretends not to see what is going on, or tell
students that bullies will eventually learn their lesson because that is not always the case.
Children need to be educated as early as possible about the effects of bullying and how it doesnt
just happen while you are in public school. I have to remember that students who bully are also
students and that just because they may choose to make a bad decision that doesnt mean they
dont deserve equal education.
I think that because of the experiences I have had as a student and even as an adult I will most
likely make it a priority in my room to teach students how to be decent, good, caring people. I
am a huge fan of teaching through stories, and the book Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by
Carol McCloud has become one of my favourite books to use. I have even used the language
from the book while talking to my students. For example: Do you see how you were dipping
from students bucket? and What is something that you can do to fill their bucket back up?
are some of the phrases I would use if there was an incident. They will really get the visual that
everyone has an invisible bucket and that if they dip from other peoples buckets they too will
have an empty bucket. I used this all the time in my first practicum and it is something I would
use in all classrooms and even my own home.
I do think about how my identity will shape the way I teach or view other people. Will I be
blind to those who are dealing with something I am not? How can I relate? How can I help when
I have not had to bear the same weights as them? Such difficult and complex questions, how can
I even begin to answer them? Everyones identity is important; I dont think it is fair to assume

JODIE CARPENTER
IDENTITY PAPER

that because I am a white, heterosexual female that I have it any easier than anyone else. So why
would I make that same judgement on someone else. At the same time, I dont think it is realistic
to think that I am going to give special treatment to someone else. We all need to be treated
fairly, even in a classroom. Every student deserves an equal opportunity to improve. My sponsor
teacher this year has done a great job of modelling how to have an inclusive classroom where it
is normal for everyone to work at their own level. Some of the students will use a calculator
with math and others do not; no one is singled out, it just is the way it is in that classroom and it
is really great to see all of the students accept the diversity.
That is exactly what I mean when I say that I am not going to just give one person special
treatment. I mean that everyone will be comfortable with the work they are doing and that no one
is better than anyone. I want to make the classroom a place where people come to learn; as soon
as they walk in nothing else matters, just be a student. I am aware that this may be idealistic but
it is a better way of looking at things rather than just letting the same old stereo types and status
quos continue. I wish I had gotten the chance to grow up in a community that was more diverse
so that I would be able to see how my identity may give me privilege in society.
In my small community, my identity did not give privilege; I was constantly on the outside
because my family didnt have a lot of money, I didnt have long hair like all the other girls, and
I wore hand-me-downs from my cousins and sister. So within that tiny bubble I felt like there
wasnt anything I got that I didnt work extremely hard for. However, now that I am living and
working in a much larger community than I am used to, I can see how I have privilege that I am
not even aware of most of the time. With that being said, I still dont think I am better than
anyone else and I dont really see this affecting the way I teach. Other than expecting my

JODIE CARPENTER
IDENTITY PAPER

students to work hard for what they want because that is what I did. Things werent just given to
me, and I dont expect to just give awards where they have not been earned.
I guess that is where my identity will affect the way I teach. It is exactly that, I worked hard
for what I have, I never gave up, and I always tried my best even when it didnt go as I had
hoped. I havent ever been given a free pass and I will have those kind of expectations for my
students. I understand that everyone works at their own level and I cant expect someone to do
more than they are capable of, but I will expect my students to give me their personal best work.
I am not a fan of I cant do it, one of my goals will be to change that mindset to, This is hard,
but I will try my best.
I think that because I grew up in a community that had a lot of lower to middle class families
I will be able to relate to those students who just have enough to get by. There were few upper
class families in my community but they didnt act differently or treat others with disrespect just
because their family had more than someone elses family. It was an extremely inclusive
community; whenever tragedy stuck, everyone was there to help. I did have the chance to spend
my practicum in a community that had a low socio-economic status. This was an eye opener to
say the least. I think that because I got to have the experience of working with students who
came to school wearing the same clothes every day and never had breakfast or never got to bed
on time, etc... That I am a lot more prepared and ready for that type of a situation in the future.
We did everything from having breakfast on hand for these students, to providing some shampoo
when we (myself and my sponsor teacher) knew that student didnt have these things at home.
I havent gotten to work with a group of diverse students who have different ethnicities,
religions, or gender/sexuality differences; so I honestly have no idea how I would relate to these

JODIE CARPENTER
IDENTITY PAPER

students. I think that some of the issues we have been learning about in class can be quite
situational, because something that causes a problem for one individual may not be the same for
another individual. I can only become better and more prepared for these types of situations as I
grow and become better at my profession. There will be obvious barriers that exist between me
as the teacher and my students all the time regardless of any social injustices. We all have our
own unique identities; I believe the best way to deal with this is to create an inclusive
environment and a positive classroom community. I will definitely spend the first month of
school with my students working on team building exercises to help create that atmosphere. I
also think that daily check-ins with students are super key in creating that connection. This could
be a short conversation during silent reading or work time. It could even be as simple as greeting
each student at the door in the morning and asking them how they are doing. For me, the best
way to overcome those barriers is to show the students that I genuinely care for them because
that is the truth. I have yet to work with a student who I didnt immediately start to care for their
health, education, and over all being.