Noelle Stappenbeck

Chapter 5

Mapping the Journey of White Identity Development

Creative Connector

“It was helpful, for example, for me to realize that “identity versus identity confusion” was the central challenge facing me in the transition from adolescence to early adulthood.”

This passage can be viewed in two different ways…

First we can look back to those years in our lives and I know that for a bit I wasn’t exactly sure where I fit in, in school, in sports, socially, I never had to look at it from a racial point of view because of where I attended high school. Once in College I think that kids go through this transition again. It even starts before college because some young adults choose not to go to college, some join the armed forces, some get jobs right away, some start families right away etc. There are so many paths that can be chosen that some people can really struggle to figure out where they fit in. It becomes even harder for those individuals who may be in special education classes or differentiated learners, they may want to go to college that might have been a life long goal or dream for them, and they should be able to go they should not be shot down and told that they are not at the right level for college. It has been a proven fact that students do well in college because “they are learning/studying what they want to learn” so the material is interesting to them. Which brings us to the next way that this passage can be looked at.

Second, from a teacher’s perspective. As teachers of ALL learners we can look at this passage and realize that again ever individual is different. Each student especially around the middle school level and then again at the high school level is trying to “find themselves” this is a time in all students lives that they need guidance and support. As teachers we can help “steer” students towards the right paths. Help them realize their own self-efficacy and become independent members of society. Some students will need more guidance than others and as a teacher you will think that some won’t need help at all. But as a teacher we need to find those items that are interesting to our students at a young age. We are constantly being told to meet the needs of all learners, differentiated teaching is important, more teachers just need to start apply these techniques.