Week 2 Blog: Who am I? Who are we?

            The theme or major focus of this week’s readings was language and identity and the link between these two concepts.  The Holliday reading provided numerous narratives about how people considered “minorities” formed their respective cultural identities.  One of the most interesting narratives to me was the case of Parisa.  Parisa is an Iranian woman dealing with the complexity of forming a cultural and social identity.  She wants to excel in career and be seen as a respectable and efficient business woman.  Unfortunately this image often is portrayed as abandoning her Iranian cultural role.  It is easy for me to identify who I am, but these readings gave me insight into how complex the topic of identity can be.  Another interesting point was on page 19 about how people live up to or fill out certain identity roles in society.  For example, many tall black men are portrayed as basketball players or athletic by society.  Therefore, many tall black children may feel obligated or be coerced into becoming basketball players in order to meet this stereotype.  However, on page 98 of Holliday, the idea of a cultural supermarket is also discussed.  The idea is that people can choose their identities from a variety of choices, but these choices must be made within the eye of the social world.  This means that people have some freedom when constructing their identity, but they must choose carefully because this identity is how they will be identified by the rest of society. 

            The article also centers on narratives from immigrants about the processes of identity formation and language’s role in this process.  The article compares the experiences of immigrants at the turn of the 20^th century and immigrants in the modern era, particularly in regards to language’s role in the immigration process.  One of the finding in both eras is that immigration results in the renegotiation and reimaging of language, national, and cultural identities.  One apparent difference between the two eras is that in the past 1^st generation images had readily attached stereotypes and were forced to “accept the label forced upon them” (42).  Although stereotyping is definitely still a problem in society, I feel like the frequency of stereotyping has definitely decreased and no longer includes the majority of the population.  Another point I found very interesting was the concept of the “self-made-man”.  In both eras, becoming a “self-made-man” was the ultimate dream to most young people.  However, unfortunately, I believe becoming a successful “self-made-man” was easier back in the turn of the 20^th century.  In modern times, the rich often stay rich, while the poor remain stuck in a cycle of poverty.  Of course there are success stories, but not nearly as many as there should be.

           

            This was an interesting topic and the readings were insightful.  I do not have much criticism for this week’s readings partly because understanding the concept of identity is very important for teachers.  As a teacher, I need to be aware that not all students see the world the same; particularly, not all students see the world the same way as I do.  That is why it is important to teach from a multicultural perspective.  I need to incorporate the views and beliefs of my students into the classroom.  If I only teach from my beliefs, not only will my students miss out on learning opportunities, so will I.  I wish the articles said more about how to make people (ideally students) more comfortable when adjusting to new cultures.  As a TESOL teacher, this is one of my primary goals.  The readings share many negative or socially challenging experiences, but I’m unsure how to make an uncomfortable student feel like they belong.  Hopefully, I learn how to handle this challenge before I set foot in the classroom.