Teacher Identity Essay

Carolina Berríos

Teacher Mauricio Miraglia

Language VIII

12 October 2012

                        Teachers’ Identity and its Impact in Society.

Throughout history education has been a very important and complex topic to deal with. This is because there are many aspects involved in it which are related to one another. Certainly, all these elements that shape the educational system share the responsibility for the quality of it. However, as an essential component of education, people who are involved in educational issues, especially teachers, play a fundamental role in the development of a society. For this reason, in spite of many factors that may interfere or adversely affect the educational system, I definitely sustain that to a great extent teachers are responsible for the quality of education that is provided, both locally and globally. Regarding this, in spite of the different characteristics and personalities that teachers may have, I strongly believe that reflection must be a transversal aspect that shapes teachers’ identity. 

We cannot ignore the fact that our country, as many others around the world, needs a radical transformation in regard to the current educational system. However, I sustain that teachers’ performance is one of the most important issues to consider if we are to talk about quality education. Research supports this statement. “The benefits associated with being taught by good teachers are cumulative. Research indicates that the achievement gap widens each year between students with most effective teachers and those with least effective teachers” (Center for public education). In this sense, their training becomes a vital part of education, as through it teachers are able to acquire the foundation of their future practice. Now the question is what is central for teachers to know? Or what characteristics should teachers have in order to be competent?

As we live in a diverse world, interests, personalities and characteristics differ considerably from one person to another. The same occurs in the field of pedagogy. Yet, in my opinion there are certain characteristics that teachers must have considering the fact that we live in a constantly changing world, full of new technologies, discoveries and developments. In relation to this, I believe that as part of teacher identity reflection is a very important aspect to consider. As we know, by being reflexive teachers are able to evaluate their performance and consequently they are capable of improving it. As being “reflexive” entails many consequences, I would like to mention that one of them is being able to understand power as a shared right. When students are seen as passive individuals who only have to obey the authorities and follow certain rules, they are not able to develop autonomy and as a consequence of this their learning is not meaningful. “…the very idea of control is antithetical to the democratic classroom and the autonomous learner” (Lefstain). This occurs also because generally students do not see any coherence between the real world and the treatment received at school.

Another feature closely related to reflection is updating of knowledge. If we are reflexive they would be able to comprehend that it is necessary for them to be continuously training, looking for new methods and ways to teach and more importantly to educate students in an integral way. In this respect, technology becomes a major contribution to educational matters as it allows teachers to deal with different styles and ways of learning. “Multimedia makes it increasingly evident that the work of thinking can take place through many forms: verbal, visual, auditory, kinetic, and blends of all and each” (McClintock). Although we cannot deny the accessibility of information and knowledge in our current world, students need something more than information in order to be educated and that is precisely the job of teachers, to make content meaningful and relevant for their lives.

Equally, as it was mentioned before, students need to be educated in an integral way. This means that they need to be prepared in order to be autonomous, reflexive, good citizens, and critical thinkers able to face an ever-changing and unpredictable world. As educators we need to provide our students the necessary tools for them to develop skills in order to face those challenges and be able to contribute to the development of a better society. Also, as educators we need to be in tune with the needs that society has, being able to adapt our practice and knowledge to modernity and produce lifelong learning.

My point to explore in 2013 deals with the fact of finding ways in which a teacher is able to be reflective about pedagogical practice and also about what surrounds him/her. Besides, a point to explore is identity itself, being aware of the fact that identity is constructed in a long term and through experience.