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Our group talked about our stories in terms of where we are
right now, and it was really interesting to think about how these stories are
all constantly changing. It was new for me to think about my identity as a
story, as opposed to a snapshot. 

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Our group talked about our stories in terms of where we are
right now, and it was really interesting to think about how these stories are
all constantly changing. It was new for me to think about my identity as a
story, as opposed to a snapshot. 

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The significance of taking the time to learn about defining moments in another person's childhood; allowing yourself to take a momentary walk through the otherwise unknown struggles of their upbringing and how it still plays a prominent roll in their life today.

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Growing Jewish in a small town in Argentina religion was a taboo around me.  When I came to America things were different and people were more open. In my classroom I make sure people feel safe and share and teach us about their beliefs and we all hear with an open heart and learn about each other

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Growing Jewish in a small town in Argentina religion was a taboo around me.  When I came to America things were different and people were more open. In my classroom I make sure people feel safe and share and teach us about their beliefs and we all hear with an open heart and learn about each other

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Our group talked about how age, economic status and religion
have shaped our views and what we are mindful of in relating to our students
and how students and colleagues view us. 
It was interesting that though we come from different backgrounds we
still had the same core values and similar experiences.  

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Our group talked about how age, economic status and religion
have shaped our views and what we are mindful of in relating to our students
and how students and colleagues view us. 
It was interesting that though we come from different backgrounds we
still had the same core values and similar experiences.  

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My group felt very safe; we talked about experiences we had in High School in connection to family and/or ethnic background and how we connect with other people. The importance of connection was strong element in our conversation. 

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My group felt very safe; we talked about experiences we had in High School in connection to family and/or ethnic background and how we connect with other people. The importance of connection was strong element in our conversation. 

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Our group shared our cultural identities and although we all came from different backgrounds there were some commonalities. We all said we all want to find the balance between creating a safe space for our students and holding them accountable to high standards.

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Our group shared our cultural identities and although we all came from different backgrounds there were some commonalities. We all said we all want to find the balance between creating a safe space for our students and holding them accountable to high standards.

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Perceptions of your racial and ethnic identity are just as confusing/fluid for others as they are for you.

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Perceptions of your racial and ethnic identity are just as confusing/fluid for others as they are for you.

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I want to make myself visible as a person who's marginalized in some ways, had a rough time as an adolescent (as usual for adolescence!) and still is happy and capital-B Belongs at our school. How can I make that known and make myself available to students who might need to know that they're not alone, without making it all about me? How can I share without taking up space or monopolizing students' time?

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Stories in our group centered around the experience of belonging to multiple communities, and yet never quite feeling completely comfortable in any of those spaces. We also talked about language and growing up in families that communicate in multiple languages, and how this relates to that feeling of being in between spaces. Although each member of our group had very different stories to tell, we each identified with the difficult and at times frustrating experience of feeling caught between two different (and at times opposing) worlds.

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I found myself comfortable in my group of 3 women teachers; I enjoyed getting to know the struggles that we all share, and feel grateful to be in a space of trust and welcome.

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I found myself comfortable in my group of 3 women teachers; I enjoyed getting to know the struggles that we all share, and feel grateful to be in a space of trust and welcome.

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We talked about socio-economic status growing up, attending independent schools while on the lower end of the wealth scales there. It was illuminating to get out into the world and realize that my own perception of wealth was very relative.

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We talked about socio-economic status growing up, attending independent schools while on the lower end of the wealth scales there. It was illuminating to get out into the world and realize that my own perception of wealth was very relative.

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I really appreciated hearing my partner speak about people's assumptions about her race or class based on hearing her accent or lack thereof and about her own shifting idea of her identity based on context. Also, the way she tries to bring her experiences to her work in education.

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I really appreciated hearing my partner speak about people's assumptions about her race or class based on hearing her accent or lack thereof and about her own shifting idea of her identity based on context. Also, the way she tries to bring her experiences to her work in education.

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We also focused on our racial identities in an intersectional way (i.e. how we are perceived for not being able to speak a mother-tongue, how our gender plays into our racial performance and the expectations of others).

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We shared own different stories but seemed the stories all related to the gender identity. As teachers, we need to face some students who are having gender identity issues. 

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We shared own different stories but seemed the stories all related to the gender identity. As teachers, we need to face some students who are having gender identity issues. 

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It was encouraging to take time to share our stories - to hear what other's stories were, what their experiences were, and how my own related.  Hearing things others shared helped me to think of things for myself.  It made me see that we all have insecurities. As different as we may be, we all have ways we can relate.

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It was encouraging to take time to share our stories - to hear what other's stories were, what their experiences were, and how my own related.  Hearing things others shared helped me to think of things for myself.  It made me see that we all have insecurities. As different as we may be, we all have ways we can relate.

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My partner and I had a similar experiences of "passing" for white while having a more diverse background and the privileges afforded to us.

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My partner and I had a similar experiences of "passing" for white while having a more diverse background and the privileges afforded to us.

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I feel blessed by being able to share my story as it is, without any restriction or secrets. My group was very open and honest about themselves and that's something I appreciate because it makes you grow and learn from others. We all agreed that teaching is a great opportunity to mold and help young people to see the world in a different manner, away from stereotypes and wrong beliefs (racism, classism, gender, etc.).

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Our group found itself talking about something that has been very prominent in my teaching experience; helping transgender students. I feel this is still a very new element in teaching and in student relationships. Questions that came up are how to help a struggling transgender student, how to show support and how to mediate their struggles with their academic as well as social environment. Coming from Mexico, which still has very traditional views about gender identity, this is a very new element for me, and being there for my transgender students is very important; making sure they feel comfortable and accepted in their surrounding. I wondered how other teachers have approached this, and what other schools are doing today to help and support these students. What resonated is hearing the experience, reaction and endeavors of other teachers confronted with students who need empathy, patience and support as they struggle with gender identity or embrace their new identity.

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We had an interesting discussion about assumptions about our identities from the way we present, including the language we speak, our ethnicity, and where we are from. Context can shift a lot of these assumptions. We also chatted about dominant subcultures of marital status, which I think is a very invisible identifier in the sense that those in the dominant group tend to not consider those not in the dominant group, but people outside the dominant group feel acutely. It seems many less visible identifiers probably work like this. 

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We had an interesting discussion about assumptions about our identities from the way we present, including the language we speak, our ethnicity, and where we are from. Context can shift a lot of these assumptions. We also chatted about dominant subcultures of marital status, which I think is a very invisible identifier in the sense that those in the dominant group tend to not consider those not in the dominant group, but people outside the dominant group feel acutely. It seems many less visible identifiers probably work like this. 

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Our group discussed age, socio-economic class, relationships, personality type, and learning profiles.  Once again, I'm reminded that no matter your age, gender, sexuality, etc. we all have our demons that we struggle with.  We all have something we are recovering from.  This is true of our students, coworkers, and others in our life.  Some of us are better at others hiding these things and suffering silently, and others are using our demons to help others around them overcome them. I wonder how I stop suffering silently and help those around me better.

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Our group discussed age, socio-economic class, relationships, personality type, and learning profiles.  Once again, I'm reminded that no matter your age, gender, sexuality, etc. we all have our demons that we struggle with.  We all have something we are recovering from.  This is true of our students, coworkers, and others in our life.  Some of us are better at others hiding these things and suffering silently, and others are using our demons to help others around them overcome them. I wonder how I stop suffering silently and help those around me better.

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It's crazy amazing how the greater percentage of our identifiers tend toward our core values. It's crazy amazing how, more often than not, we are able to nod in agreement and appreciation for someone's story that might be different on the surface, but whose essence is the same as ours. (What were the questions??... Oh.) What resonated? Thoughts on acceptance; thoughts on connectedness. We gravitated toward each other. Although we all came from different backgrounds, our stories were and are similar. What questions do I have? Uhm... How can we take our own stories--similar or not--and maximize on this experience? How can we extend our connections? How can we increase our network?

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I enjoyed speaking with my group because we all had very different experiences to share, and all of them were related to identities that are not necessarily easily identified by looking at us. I feel like it's so easy to assume things about people based on what they look like, but actually hearing from people allows you to get better insight into their struggles. Even those who are in the "dominant" group have had identity issues, and knowing that we all have that shared feeling can help us to bridge the gap and minimize the differences between us.

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What resonated with me is listening to my partner's experience with the "imposter syndrome". Even through all that she had achieved and how far she came, feeling like "do I belong here?" I wonder if my students-at our independent Palo Alto school- feel like they "belong there". 

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What resonated with me is listening to my partner's experience with the "imposter syndrome". Even through all that she had achieved and how far she came, feeling like "do I belong here?" I wonder if my students-at our independent Palo Alto school- feel like they "belong there". 

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Globalization has bestowed upon us myriad, unconventional identities. We don't often consider all the untold options of cultural identifiers when meeting people. We do often participate in interactions where we make big assumptions. I also want to affirm something that floated in my group: identity questions are personal! They don't need to be answered explicity, completely or at all.

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Our group discussed the shared experience of having to claim our racial identities with both the in and out groups policing our ability to. 

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Our group discussed the shared experience of having to claim our racial identities with both the in and out groups policing our ability to. 

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Our group spoke about race, age, where we are from, and body
image (how size impacts our teaching styles). I found it interesting that all three of
us considered our cultural stories and identities within the framework of how
our students see us. 

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Our group spoke about race, age, where we are from, and body
image (how size impacts our teaching styles). I found it interesting that all three of
us considered our cultural stories and identities within the framework of how
our students see us. 

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How best to get over the 1st year jitters?

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How best to get over the 1st year jitters?

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First off, I want to thank the people in my group for sharing their personal experiences and struggles.  Something that I found interesting was the fact that some of us had similar experiences, yet we chose to share different parts of our identity. We mostly focused on ability, socioeconomic status and immigration status. What we all shared about each other were things that can go unnoticed, and it took a lot of courage to share those aspects of our lives. I noticed one commonality between all stories; they all extend back to our younger years; however, they have a huge impact on us and our behaviors today.