Samantha Levert

My Positionality Statement

As the middle child in a family of five being heard, loud and valid are things I did not

experience quite often. Many times my siblings would make a point and race to yell over one

another, whoever was loudest or fastest usually received the most accreditation. Being “number

three” meant a couple of different things for me, I would never understand the admiration

numbers one and two got solely for being ‘the firsts’ or the praise four and five got for being ‘the

lasts.’ While being number three I did however acquire the golden skill of absorption. The

inability to voice my thoughts to numbers one through four growing up meant that I spent most

of my childhood doing one thing at the dinner table, listening. Listening developed my curiosity

and the older I get, the bigger and deeper that curiosity grows. Curiosity is what makes me a

good student, and what will make me an even better Social Studies teacher.

ESL. “Why do I need to go to a classroom once a quarter to take a multiple-choice quiz

confirming that the red hat that is pictured is indeed, a red hat?” These are the questions I had

running through my head as an elementary school student who had just immigrated to the United

States. In Montreal, QC, CA where I was born and partially raised it is very culturally diverse

and also very much bilingual. Yet despite knowing French and English equally well; I must have

spoken a syllable or two out of place because I was forced to ‘assess’ my English quarterly for

the first couple of years following our move. Regardless of being understood by every teacher

perfectly and never receiving a bad note, I felt as though I was being punished simply for being

one thing: an immigrant. Another thing about growing up and being Canadian in the South is
that you never fail to have people ask you if you have seen a polar beer, or greet you by saying,

“Ey”. I suppose jumping to satirical cultural stereotypes is how some people ‘break the ice’ when

meeting someone from a different place . It is interesting to reflect on my immigrant background

now as a 25-year-old white woman because unlike those in the today’s tense political and social

climate, shamefully, blending for me was a lot easier. I remember the first time one of my middle

school teachers used the term ‘melting pot’ when referencing the United States and I have since

used it as foundation for most of my beliefs. When referencing my stance on education: America

is a melting pot and the classroom should be as well.

With my curiosity always evolving and the acceptance I have established for others and

their backgrounds through my own immigrant background, I am most like a social meliorists. It

is important that students (and teachers) are able to make cross connections and establish

reflective inquiry in the classroom while learning together. Another meliorists idea I find myself

being drawn to is wanting to contribute to social improvement! Social Studies is always

changing and evolving, yet we learn so many valuable life lessons through observing those that

came before us (just as I observed my siblings). Education is definitely a tool that can be used to

improve society. Since I understand the concept that every student IS able to make a good

contribution to society. If we are learning about American history, then I understand as a teacher

that many students won’t relate or connect solely to white history. It is my job as their educator

to bring a more diverse social studies into their world. It is my job to make the classroom a

curious, eager to learn, melting pot classroom.

Works Cited
Evans, R. W. (2006). The Social Studies Wars, Then and Now .