Identity Development at the NHS

The 9th graders that I work with are all in identity vs role confusion, as they are just starting out high school. They are constantly influenced by their peers, the traditions that make up high school, and much more. To start off, Mr. DuBe’s classroom allows students some freedom of expression through interest journals and also the decorations in the classroom. The atmosphere itself, decorated with white Christmas lights instead of using the bright, boring, fluorescent lights, allows students to have a different space than other classrooms. The classroom is decorated with various motivational quotes and maps of the world to tell the students that the sky is the limit. To add on, Mr. DuBe always asks students about what is something exciting in their lives and always expresses interest no matter what the students mention. The environment itself welcomes students to be their authentic selves, however, one can see the presence of sports in the classroom take priority at times.

In the second period, there seem to be two large groups of students, one that plays, volleyball and another group of white boys. The rest of the students are either individuals with their own friend groups outside of the classroom or with different extracurricular activities. A lot of the time, the conversations seem to revolve around the girls’ volleyball games, whether they kept their record of beating their opponent or finally taking an “L” in their game. Mr. DuBe always asks for updates, which encourages those athletes, but may ostracize others who are not a part of a sport. Furthermore, it validates those student-athletes and puts them in the spotlight as if they were in a way glorified for their sports achievements. This may make non-student athletes wonder whether they should be doing something differently to get approval (or not…).

Despite this, it seems like Mr.DuBe is quite aware of plenty of students and the roles they play inside and outside of school. For example, for the test they took last week, he stated that he wouldn’t let students take the short story with them just because it wouldn’t be fair for students who are athletes or those who work after school. This comment and reminder in class allow students to understand the different responsibilities and identities students have that don’t allow them to put as much time into school.

Moratorium and Me

I would say I am mostly in moratorium with some bits and pieces in the identity achievement. I am for the most part in moratorium because I am still figuring out my stance on certain issues as well as following my intuition. For example, I seek out advice from my mentor and other important people in my life when I am struggling with personal issues. Sometimes I know the answer to my own questions but don’t have enough confidence to make my own decisions, hence me asking someone else the same question and receiving advice from them. For example, recently I had been deciding whether to let go of a friendship that was not good for me or hold on and reach out to them. I already knew the cons outweighed the pros but I didn’t trust my intuition to make that decision. After talking with my advisor, then I became clear on it. There are plenty of instances like these where I have yet to fully tap into my values, thoughts, and perspective to make my own decision and conclusions.

Other than this, I have some aspects of my life figured out. For example, I am pretty sure what I want to do after graduating from college. I know that I love working with people, using my Spanish to help people out, and I’ve also enjoyed working with high school and college students. I don’t know what specific job I would like to have right after Carleton but I know generally what I enjoy doing and the skills I bring to the table.

Other Class Reflections

I’ve been thinking a lot about if I were a teacher what would I do differently. It’s so easy to criticize one’s teaching style but there are so many aspects to consider when teaching 9th graders. I really love the atmosphere that Mr.DuBe sets for his students. Recently the 9th graders took an exam on short stories and making sure they were able to identify themes, the trajectory of a character, and general knowledge of the story. I was thinking a lot about what an alternative to an exam would be. I think his exam very nicely replicated what they had been doing in in-class activities and I was generally excited for students to show off what they had learned. But rather than perhaps calling them exams, maybe check-ins would be a better word so students wouldn’t panic at the thought of a test that mattered in their grades.

I have also been thinking a lot about one of the students who I worked with on my very first day. I am slightly worried about him because I haven’t seen him since the first day. From the day we talked, he had told me that he lived in Faribault and that he hated writing. For his interest journal, he struggled a lot with what to write but I helped him come up with an entry about BMX (biking). I remember that day, Mr. DuBe had told him “Thank you for coming today, it means a lot,” which has made me think about whether he comes often to school and if not, maybe what is he battling at home or personally. I know I don’t have the authority to know what is going on with him, but from the first day, I grew a soft spot for him because, despite his tough look, he opened up to me just after 30 minutes of talking.